ALEXANDRIA, Va. — New Jersey pharmacy owner Mayank Parikh has received this year’s NARD Ownership Award from the National Community Pharmacists Association Foundation as part of NCPA’s Annual Convention, which was held virtually.

The NARD Ownership Award recognizes an independent community pharmacist who embraces entrepreneurial spirit through promotion and demonstrated excellence in the field of community pharmacy ownership. NARD, or the National Association of Retail Druggists, was for a century the name associated with independent pharmacy. The organization was founded in 1898, and now as NCPA, represents the nation’s community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 21,000 pharmacies.

Parikh is a second-generation health care provider, citing his late father Dr. Ashok Parikh as his greatest inspiration. Mayank Parikh was convinced by his father to go to pharmacy school and become a Doctor of Pharmacy, which led him to co-found Super Health Pharmacy in 2016. In the short time since, it has grown to include 10 independent pharmacies in various areas throughout the Tri-State area.

Now more than ever, Parikh says, pharmacists are standing strong on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. The pharmacies have been converted into full-service COVID-19 testing centers and places where anyone can have their prescriptions or daily essentials delivered for free the same day. In addition to providing patients with safe, convenient access to cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment the pharmacies also worked with CutRedTape4Heroes.org to donate lifesaving PPE and hand sanitizer to frontline health care workers throughout New York and New Jersey. They donated 100,000 three-ply surgical masks and free three-ounce hand sanitizers to these frontline workers.

Parikh’s excellence in pharmacy ownership and his generous spirit extend beyond the health care services he and his pharmacies provide. He donated computers to P.S. 153 in Brooklyn which didn’t have enough for students, many of whom only had the chance to learn with computers while at school.

He also set up a preceptor site which has allowed pharmacy students of all backgrounds to learn through hands-on experience. Many of these students have stayed and been promoted within the company, and others have gone on to become leaders in their own respective areas. Parikh’s dedication to his students’ and business’ success allowed for the creation of a learning environment that gives real-life experience in independent neighborhood pharmacy.

Parikh is passionate and positive about the future of independent pharmacy. “We are only scratching the surface of what services pharmacists in an independent community pharmacy setting can provide,” he says. “My father’s words still echo in my ear as we positively impact the different communities we serve: ‘Help others and do the right thing.’”