by Michaela Carpenter, Public Relations Writer
Dr. Andrew Straw, assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Cedarville University, has long been a friend of the Rocking Horse Community Health Center in Springfield, Ohio. Now, he’s paving the way for graduates of Cedarville’s Doctor of Pharmacy program to serve there as well.
Rocking Horse, a federally qualified health care center that provides care to underserved populations, is Straw’s clinic site. Starting this summer, Rocking Horse will also be homebase for a new pharmacy residency program location. Straw spends part of each week practicing pharmacy at the center and will oversee the new residency program as its director.
For Straw, developing a pharmacy residency program at the site was a natural step forward in providing better service at Rocking Horse and more opportunities for students, from Cedarville or any other school of pharmacy, to learn from the work being done at the center.
“I was looking for a way to expand the services at Rocking Horse and also provide opportunities for postgraduate training, so a residency really made the most sense,” said Straw. “Given all the services available, the population and the variety of disease states and medications that are available, it makes a great place for a student to receive that intense additional training.”
The first pharmacy resident for Rocking Horse will be Josh Willoughby, a 2018 graduate of Cedarville’s Doctor of Pharmacy program. Willoughby will be involved in direct patient care, including medication management and chronic disease management, during his one-year residency. He will also have opportunities for research and advocacy for the pharmacy profession.
“I am looking forward to having lots of direct patient interactions, where I can work with each individual to modify their chronic disease therapy in order to give them the opportunity to take control of their health,” said Willoughby. “I am hoping to gain valuable experience in pharmacy practice, chronic disease state management, research, teaching and student precepting over the yearlong residency.”
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,963 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.