Walgreens Completes First Phase of Mental Health First Aid Training for Pharmacists Focused on Health Outcomes
May 20 2020 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Specialized training developed along with
National Council for Behavioral Health and American Pharmacists
Association to soon be available industry-wide
With a sharply rising need for mental health resources since the
onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Walgreens today announced it has
completed its first phase of training in Mental Health First Aid,
administered by the National Council for Behavioral Health, for all
of the company’s health outcomes pharmacists. The training
initiative was first announced last May in conjunction with Mental
Health Month in the U.S.
Mental Health First Aid trains participants in mental health
literacy, understanding risk factors and warning signs for mental
health and addiction concerns and strategies for how to help
someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations. It is accredited
by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
These Walgreens pharmacists, whose role is focused on improving
patient outcomes and medication adherence, are also the first to
complete the specialized training developed through a unique
collaboration between Walgreens, National Council for Behavioral
Health and the American Pharmacists Association.
“Every day, in communities across America, our pharmacists are
talking with patients with a wide range of conditions, including
mental health,” said Rina Shah, Walgreens group vice president,
specialty and retail pharmacy operations. “With the prevalence and
rise of incidents of depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD and
others, specialized training can be key to identifying warning
signs, and working with other providers, even finding gaps in care
or treatment. We’ve long believed pharmacists can play an even
greater role as part of patient’s care teams, and we’re proud to be
at the forefront of our industry expanding our efforts in the area
of mental health to help meet this growing need.”
Today’s announcement comes as many mental health centers and
providers across the U.S. report greater patient demand. Mental
Health America has seen significant increases in the number of
daily screenings completed for depression (64 percent) and anxiety
(70 percent) from January through April 2020. And a recent Primary
Care Collaborative study1 cites 74 percent of clinicians surveyed
saying they expect to see a surge in patients with mental health
needs coming out of the pandemic.
“Mental Health First Aid training is more essential than ever,
as our country risks a wave of mental illness in the wake of the
tragic COVID-19 pandemic,” said National Council for Behavioral
Health President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia. “We are extremely
gratified that these Walgreens pharmacists have received this
important training and have the capacity to provide vital
assistance and counseling when demand for Mental Health First Aid
is expected to reach historic levels.”
Walgreens spearheaded the collaboration and training initiative
in 2019, and recognizing it could benefit the industry at large,
the pharmacist training will become available to any pharmacist
industry-wide this summer, along with the opportunity to earn
continuing education credits through APhA.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened what was already a
pressing need for pharmacy personnel: increasing their awareness of
acute mental health issues and equipping them with tools to help
direct patients to the mental health resources they need,” said
Scott J. Knoer, PharmD, MS, APhA CEO/EVP Designate. “We are
grateful to Walgreens for its partnership in granting
profession-wide distribution of this much-needed training
program.”
Mental Health First Aid and the Workplace
Also as part of the collaboration between Walgreens and the
National Council, and furthering Walgreens’ commitment to workplace
mental health and wellness, Walgreens recently completed its
initial phase of Mental Health First Aid training with 65 team
members in the company’s human resources department.
For team members, Walgreens offers a wide variety of services
through its free employee assistance program, including an
allotment of behavioral health visits available at no cost for team
members and their families. All Walgreens-sponsored medical and
prescription drug plans also include comprehensive mental health
care for eligible employees.
About Walgreens
Walgreens (walgreens.com), one of the nation's largest drugstore
chains, is included in the Retail Pharmacy USA Division of
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), a global leader in
retail and wholesale pharmacy. Walgreens is proud to be a
neighborhood health, beauty and retail destination supporting
communities across the country, and was named to FORTUNE*
magazine’s 2019 Companies that Change the World list. Approximately
8 million customers interact with Walgreens in stores and online
each day. As of August 31, 2019, Walgreens operates 9,277
drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, along with its
omnichannel business, Walgreens.com. Walgreens also provides
specialty pharmacy and mail services and offers in-store clinics
and other health care services throughout the United States, most
of which are operated by our health care strategic partners.
1 Primary Care & COVID-19
https://www.pcpcc.org/2020/04/08/primary-care-covid-19-week-4-survey
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Jim Cohn Phone: 224-565-1967 jim.cohn@walgreens.com
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