Today is the last day of American Pharmacists Month, and I thank all of you for making it a great one!

The other day I shared with our staff how cool it was to look on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and see #APhM2017 posts every day. Thank you all for showing your pride in the work you do for patients and communities.

We’ve had a lot of fun at APhA. I loved seeing all your faces for #APhMSelfieDay! We were really pleased with the enthusiastic response we got. Student pharmacists across the nation held events including health fair, awareness weeks, social media campaigns, and immunization clinics in their communities. Thank you for all the photos, news clips, and updates on the activities you’d planned.

We held the 5th Annual Capitol Hill Health Fair, where pharmacists and student pharmacists provided free flu shots and health screenings right where the most important debates about the future of health care in our nation are taking place. I got my flu shot there and it was a great experience.

The health fair was an excellent platform for pharmacists and student pharmacists to demonstrate the valuable patient care services we provide—and it’s a great opportunity encourage U.S. Members of Congress to recognize the value of pharmacists in improving patient access to these services by supporting the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act (H.R. 592/S. 109).

The bill recently reached an important milestone: 226 members of the U.S. House of Representatives—more than half of the 435 members—have signed on as cosponsors!

Let’s keep on pushing! American Pharmacists Month was a great time to call, write, e-mail, and visit your elected officials and urge them to sponsor and eventually vote in favor of this legislation. Let’s keep the momentum going! Visit www.pharmacistsprovidecare.com for more on how you can take action and demand recognition.

Thank you for all you do, and for all the ways you celebrated American Pharmacists Month!