N.L. professor named Canadian 'pharmacist of the year' for her work advancing HIV care
CBC
A pharmacist in Newfoundland and Labrador has received a high honour for her role in providing HIV care, improving health equity and advancing pharmacists' scope of practice.
On Wednesday, pharmacist and Memorial University professor Debbie Kelly was named the 2025 Canadian Pharmacist of the Year by the Canadian Pharmacists Association.
As a pharmacy student in the mid-1990s, she said she was drawn to HIV care. During her doctorate training, new drugs became available that revolutionized how HIV was managed.
"It just lit me up. I loved working with the patients. I'm supported by an incredible community of HIV practitioners and researchers and community," Kelly told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning.
"It's been just the most rewarding area to work in."
HIV patients used to have to take 20 pills a day to manage HIV infection, followed by additional pills for the side effects, she said.
"We've now gotten to a point where HIV is managed by one pill once a day, which is incredible. And people live long, normal lives," said Kelly.
Besides researching sexually transmitted diseases, Kelly also leads the medication therapy services clinic, a pharmacist clinic run by Memorial University.
She said they recently studied how pharmacy consultation service impacts a patient's quality of life, with 200 patients meeting with pharmacists for an initial one-hour comprehensive medication assessment with additional follow-up meetings.
They found pharmacists helped improve two-thirds of patients' experiences by removing unnecessary medications, she said.
"Just being able to sit down with someone for this one-hour visit where they could ask all the questions that they have, really helped them understand their medications better and be a more active player in their health," said Kelly.
Kelly also advocates for pharmacists to practice to the full scope of work that they're trained for, but says there are often roadblocks.
"Even if they've got the ability to do it, a lot of times these services aren't covered. A lot of private insurances don't reimburse for a lot of the services that pharmacists can and and are doing for patients," Kelly said.
Even government insurance doesn't always cover the work pharmacists can do, she said.
Have you thought of adding social fitness onto your list of new year's resolutions for 2026?
There's been a subtle but significant shift in what NORAD has been seeing over the last year when it comes to mostly Russian — but also Chinese — activity in the Arctic, says the top commander of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD).
WARNING: This story references allegations of child abuse.
Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank is cutting ties with one of its largest member agencies after the charity uncovered discrepancies with invoices Feed Scarborough provided to support grant funding and reported those and other financial management concerns to police.
Two London residents with roots in China say they'll be paying close attention to this week's visit to China by Prime Minister Mark Carney. Both see the trip as a first step toward improving what has been a complicated trade history between the two countries in recent years.
Internal government documents obtained by Go Public suggest Transport Canada officials and successive transport ministers worked to delay — and potentially undermine — an effort to force airlines to help pay for Canada’s air passenger complaints system.
Strong winds are expected to sweep across the island of Newfoundland Sunday night, with the west coast getting hit with up to 40 cm of snow at the same time.
A Dalhousie University student is mixing their passion for conservation and art in a bid to help regrow native kelp populations.
Graffiti tags were discovered on the exterior wall of the old Molson Brewery on Saturday, just under the building's iconic clock face.
As hundreds of thousands joined another week of massive demonstrations across Iran, Alireza Niazi says it is devastating to be half a world away in Winnipeg while trying to find answers about his mother days after she was injured during a protest in Tehran.
The official Opposition says violent encounters will keep happening in Saskatchewan hospitals if the Sask. Party government doesn’t address safety and security concerns of patients and staff.
The Art Gallery of Alberta is channeling its creative energy to boost membership numbers that have failed to come back since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Veterinarians in the Okanagan are urging horse lovers across Canada to take precautions as new cases of an infectious disease, called strangles, spread.