Taylor Coston, from Florence, Alabama, a pharmacy and public health student at East Tennessee State University, was awarded the prestigious U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award.
Coston is enrolled in ETSU’s PharmD/Master of Public Health dual degree program and will pursue a career in pharmacy.
Coston is one of 10 students nationwide selected by the Pharmacist Professional Advisory Committee (PharmPAC) Student Awards Program as a “Top Award Recipient” for their public health work that positively impacted their local communities and beyond.
In total, just 88 pharmacy students from across the country received Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Awards.
“It's humbling to be considered among so many other students who have used public health knowledge and skills to contribute to the health of their communities,” said Coston. “It is challenging but also very rewarding to find ways to integrate public health principles into pharmacy practice settings to impact provider well-being, health literacy and patient access to health care.”
This honor recognizes student pharmacists who have made significant contributions to public health by promoting wellness and healthy communities. Specifically, students are evaluated on their contributions toward voluntary health-related services or an emerging public health issue or contributions that advance the goals of Healthy People 2030 or the National Prevention Strategy.
Among her activities, she:
- developed and implemented a well-being program for the ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy;
- planned and executed COVID-19 and flu vaccination clinics for the unhoused population of Johnson City; and
- conducted outreach to educate the public about mental health and related resources.
“I feel so blessed to attend an institution where community engagement is such a significant part of the school's culture and identity,” said Coston.
Following graduation on May 5, Coston will spend the next two years as a pharmacy resident at Prisma Health Richland Hospital in South Carolina, specializing in pharmacy administration and leadership.
“This honor has encouraged me in that I actually can make a significant difference in my community by integrating pharmacy and public health,” said Coston. “Having such a strong background in public health gives me a greater systemic or global perspective of health-care operations and allows me to identify small upstream procedural changes that lead to big downstream effects that impact patient care.”
“I am so proud of Taylor and the impact she has made on our college,” said Dr. Debbie Byrd, dean of ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy. “This is an incredible honor that proves how far ETSU students go beyond the classroom to impact the lives of the underserved in our rural communities. Taylor’s accomplishment not only elevates our college but also the profession of pharmacy.”
“We are very proud of this recognition of Ms. Coston’s contributions,” said Dr. Randy Wykoff, dean of the College of Public Health. “It is an important reminder of the value of interprofessional education - one of the areas in which ETSU is a national leader. It is also a reminder of the impact that individual students can have on their communities. I join the entire faculty in congratulating Ms. Coston and in wishing her the very best for her career.”
“Today, we face increasing public health crises in America as evidenced by the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, opioid epidemic, rise of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” reads the website for the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. “With the advent of these public health issues, pharmacy students can play an important role in finding innovative ways to address these challenges. Therefore, the USPHS would like to recognize and encourage students to learn about public health and engage in public health efforts in their communities.”
According to the USPHS website, the Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy award is issued by the PharmPAC of the United States Public Health Service. The USPHS is led by the Surgeon General and is made up of more than 6,000 Commissioned Corps officers that work on the front lines of public health – fighting disease, conducting research and caring for patients in underserved communities.