Students in pharmacy
Wednesday, April 28, 2021

On this Purdue Day of Giving, we are excited to announce the establishment of the Dollens-Hargrove Residency in the College of Pharmacy. This residency would not have been possible without generous support from John and Mary Cheryl Hargrove and Ron and Susie Dollens.

“Over the next few years, I am excited to see the outcomes from this unique profession-impacting opportunity. There is a great need for continued expansion of clinical pharmacy services in the community setting. Our hope is to be leaders and innovators in pharmacist-provided patient care,” said Dean Eric Barker.

The decision to support this program was a personal one for both couples. In 2020, Mary Hargrove was taking various medications that were thoughtfully prescribed by a specialist. She was experiencing extreme fatigue after taking her prescriptions. After consulting with Ron and Susie, it was suggested Mary contact the Purdue Pharmacy and get their feedback on what could be causing the fatigue.

“Thanks to a medication review by Purdue pharmacy students and instructors, I learned that the effects were amplified when taking my medication together, and were likely causing my extreme fatigue,” said Mary. Her physician adjusted her dosage based on the findings from the Purdue University Pharmacy which helped alleviate her symptoms. “While nothing in my experience was life threatening, I worry that in some cases it could be,” said Mary. “Ultimately, I hope the Dollens-Hargrove Residency will be the first step in helping pharmacy move to a place of leadership with patients and their doctors on issues of medicine management”

“An unfortunate “hidden ball” is that while prescribed medicines address distinct medical issues, multiple medications taken together often come with the risk of dangerous interactions, including life-threatening episodes,” said John. “It is all too common for patients to be unaware of the inherent risks.”

The goal of this residency is to improve the quality and use of medications among high risk, vulnerable, and underserved patients throughout the State of Indiana, leveraging Purdue Pharmacy’s work already happening in areas like the Center for Health Equity and Innovation. The residency will be dedicated both to analysis and prevention of overmedication. It is common for patients to be unaware of the inherent risks and this residency will assist them in effective management of their medications.

“Pharmacy’s value will reside, not in managing the distribution network, but impacting patient care, through consultation on complex, conflicting dosage schedules. Pharmacy will be defined by its leadership in effecting patient outcomes. It’s what Pharmacy was meant to be,” said Ron.

The first resident will arrive to the West Lafayette campus in Summer 2022.