ALEXANDRIA, Va.  — Amina Abubakar, owner of Rx Clinic Pharmacy in Charlotte, N.C., has been named the National Community Pharmacists Association’s 2020 Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year. The award is sponsored by Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC. Abubakar received the award as part of NCPA’s Annual Convention, which was held virtually Oct. 18-19, 2020.

This annual award is given to a pharmacist who exhibits exemplary professional leadership, service to community, and commitment to independent pharmacy. Upsher-Smith has sponsored the award in conjunction with NCPA for the past 12 years. The award is named in honor of Willard B. Simmons, a former executive secretary of NCPA (then known as the National Association of Retail Druggists) and a longtime trustee of the NCPA Foundation.

Abubakar grew up in Kenya, where her interest in pharmacy and healing began. She came to the United States to pursue her dream and study pharmacy, receiving her degree in 2005 from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.

She opened Rx Clinic Pharmacy in 2009, specializing in treating HIV patients. Abubakar witnessed the early effects of HIV in Kenya, which left a lasting impact. She is a passionate advocate for patients with HIV/AIDS, presenting to the community on the subject and participating in patient support groups to offer education and empowerment services. Abubakar and Rx Clinic Pharmacy are also involved in local health fairs and seminars, promoting various health screenings for early detection of diseases and linkage to care. She offers immunizations and point-of-care testing in her community as well.

Rx Clinic Pharmacy is part of the CPESN® USA national network of clinically integrated pharmacies. Pharmacies that are part of this network team up with other health care providers and insurers to render clinical care services to patients such as annual wellness visits, chronic care management, and transition of care services from both inside and outside of the pharmacy. As a designated luminary of CPESN USA and Mutual CPESN, Abubakar is helping combine Rx Clinic Pharmacy’s high level of care with those of other like-minded pharmacies to offer new quality services to the market.

Abubakar’s activity within the pharmacy community includes roles on the NCPA Emerging Models Committee, the Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition Committee, the American Pharmacists Association’s PharmTANK Competition for Annual Meeting Committee, and the Academia-CPESN Transformation Pharmacy Collaborative Task Force. Abubakar further supports pharmacists in her advocacy through the Charlotte Independent Physicians Group, discussing pharmacists’ value in collaborative care. She is also the founder of the Avant Institute, and clinical director for Troy Medicare, a North Carolina-licensed health insurance company that leverages pharmacist-senior interactions and enables pharmacies to improve patient health outcomes and drive down costs.

Additionally, Abubakar is on the board of directors of Safari Doctors, a community-based organization in Lamu, Kenya that helps to provide innovative, community-driven health care solutions that promote well-being for marginalized communities in Lamu County.

“Amina is a tireless advocate for her patients, her community, her colleagues, and the future of pharmacy,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey. “She is a deserving recipient of the Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year Award, demonstrating with her strong leadership what it means to be an independent community pharmacist. We applaud Amina’s dedication and hard work and are proud to partner with Upsher-Smith to recognize her as this year’s Independent Pharmacist of the Year.”

“Upsher-Smith is proud to partner with NCPA in recognizing the contributions of community pharmacists who positively impact their community by partnering with patients and providers to offer innovative and effective health care,” said Rusty Field, President and CEO, Upsher-Smith. “Amina Abubakar’s passion for pharmacy and her efforts to leverage her pharmacy practice to help patients — even on a global level — demonstrate why she is the most deserving recipient of this year’s award.”