University of Kentucky Pharmacy College Proposes Plan to Alleviate State’s Pharmacist Shortage

To counter a statewide pharmacist shortage, the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy has unveiled a multimillion dollar proposal that would place satellite training centers around the state, renovate the school's existing facilities and increase enrollment, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. The Kentucky Pharmacists Association estimates that the state loses about 125 pharmacists each year, the Herald-Leader reports. According to an HHS study published in December, Kentucky is one of seven states that have "the most acute need for pharmacists." And the state's shortage is "only expected to worsen," as the population ages and the FDA approves more prescription drugs. Under the proposal, the college would set up "outlying" training centers, where about half of the college's students would train during their third and fourth years of school. Kenneth Roberts, the pharmacy college's dean, said he hoped that placing students in rural areas would "encourage them to stay there." The proposal also calls for a $40 million to $50 million expansion and renovation of the existing pharmacy building on the Kentucky campus. At the same time, the school would expand annual enrollment from about 85-90 students to between 125 and 130 students, with the option of stretching enrollment to 140 students, "[d]epending on the level of the shortage." The school would need between $2.5 million and $3 million per year to maintain the proposed system, the Herald-Leader reports. The proposal must be approved by the university's leaders, the Council on Postsecondary Education, the governor and the state Legislature. Roberts said the proposal has the support of Dr. James Holsinger, chancellor of the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. In the meantime, the school will use existing funding to expand its enrollment to 100 students as a "good-faith" measure, Roberts said (Dooley, Lexington Herald-Leader, 4/21).