🤝 Learn how your pharmacy can help strengthen support for individuals experiencing homelessness. On Oct. 14 at 9 p.m. ET, attend a Community Connected webinar, a CPESN® initiative, to explore homelessness trends, outreach strategies, and opportunities to collaborate with community stakeholders. You’ll also learn how addressing common myths and stereotypes can help pharmacy teams provide trauma-informed, culturally competent, and equitable care. 🔗 Save your spot: register.gotowebinar.com/reg…

🚨 Just added: Mental Health First Aid certification training on Oct. 20, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. ET! Pharmacists and pharmacy team members are often on the front lines when individuals experience mental health or substance use challenges. Gain the skills and confidence to respond when it matters most. You'll learn: ✅ Common signs and symptoms of mental health challenges ✅ Common signs and symptoms of substance use challenges ✅ How to interact with a person in crisis ✅ How to connect a person with professional help 🔗 Don't miss this opportunity to level up your skills. Register by Oct. 15: ncpa.org/mental-health-first… Thanks to support from the Cardinal Health Foundation, participants receive a $50 discount on registration.

👏👏👏 “The RFI represents an important step toward translating Congress’s bipartisan reforms into meaningful protections for pharmacies and Medicare beneficiaries.” We applaud CMS for engaging independent pharmacy in the development and implementation of standards for reasonable and relevant Medicare Part D contract terms and conditions. Stay tuned for recommended language from NCPA that you can use when drafting your comments. Read the full statement here: nacds.org/pharmacy-coalition…

🤗 Your patients are neighbors, not numbers. This week, NCPA's Jack Mozloom shares how the “Neighbors, Not Numbers” campaign is promoting the personal experience of independent pharmacy — and how NCPA members can take advantage of its marketing tools. 🎧 Listen or watch: ncpa.org/rxforumpodcast

Ahead of Annual Convention, NCPA’s Jessica Satterfield is back for one last guide to Kansas City, but this time it’s the airport edition. Whether it’s picking up some BBQ sauce from the market or enjoying a lunch from the award-winning BBQ team @ Meat Rushmore, your #NCPA2026 and K.C. experience starts as soon as you land in town. Haven't secured your spot? You can register online throughout the convention. In-person registration kicks off on Oct. 3. 🔗 ncpa.org/annual-convention

Ready to create a medication synchronization program that works for both patients and staff? The NCPA/CPESN® Med Sync Fellowship Program, sponsored by Good Neighbor Pharmacy, is helping community pharmacies build stronger workflows, engage their teams, and improve patient care. 💬 "Once I started the fellowship, that is when I really started to feel confident with med sync. I learned how to actually build a workflow, how to look at what we were doing and make it better, and how to get the whole team involved. Now we have 295 patients enrolled and a much more organized process." The next cohort launches Oct. 14. 🔗 Register by Oct. 12: ncpa.org/fellowship

💬 Confidence in vaccine conversations starts with the right resources. The Vaccine Communication Playbook for Pharmacies, developed through the Trusted Messenger Program in partnership with the American Pharmacists Association and NCPA, gives pharmacy teams practical tools and trusted clinical information to support vaccine conversations. From addressing common concerns to handling more complex discussions, this free digital resource has you covered with vaccine topics including flu, COVID-19, RSV, and general vaccine guidance. 🔗 Check out the playbook: bit.ly/3USd9jC

✨ Meet Your Team: Jessica Satterfield, PharmD, MBA Jessica, who joined NCPA in 2021 as an executive resident, now serves as director of policy and pharmacy affairs. Her passion for independent community pharmacy began as a student, when she worked in independent pharmacies and became involved with NCPA through the Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. Today, Jessica works with both NCPA’s advocacy team and Innovation Center, with a focus on pharmacy access and closures. She’s especially proud of her work with the USC-NCPA Pharmacy Access Initiative, which examines how pharmacy closures affect communities at the neighborhood level. ⛳🧶🎹 Outside of work, Jessica enjoys golfing, crocheting, and playing piano. She’s also been a certified barbecue judge since 2015 — so you know she has plenty of recommendations for where to grab some good eats while you’re in Kansas City for #NCPA2026! 📖 Read more about Jessica in this month’s issue of America’s Pharmacist®: ncpa.org/americas-pharmacist Not a member yet? Join us today: ncpa.org/membership

Are you 👉 ready for #NCPA2026? We have plenty lined up for you, but among what we're most excited about are our receptions designed to help you relax, connect, and have some fun with colleagues. 🍖 Our Opening Night Reception, sponsored by McKesson, will be a Backyard BBQ Reimagined, featuring the elevated tastes and flavors of Kansas City. 🎶 On Monday night, join us for the Mix and Mingle, sponsored by GeriMed and WSPC. Explore local artisans, specialty makers and culinary favorites while getting a taste of the city’s entrepreneurial spirit. Plus, enjoy live music from Lost Wax Band! 🔗 Don’t miss the fun. Register today: ncpa.org/annual-convention

Make your voice heard! CMS has put out a request for public comments on reasonable and relevant contract terms in Medicare Part D. This is your chance to share your experience on pharmacy reimbursement and dispensing fees, auditing practices, and more. Stay tuned for recommended language from NCPA that you can use when drafting your comments. Learn more: bit.ly/4haaeMf

Two major PBM reform cases are playing out in the court this week. Yesterday, the Eighth Circuit heard arguments in cases challenging Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on PBM-owned pharmacies and Iowa’s PBM reform law. NCPA led amicus briefs in both cases, partnering with the Arkansas Pharmacists Association and a coalition of allies in Iowa. We’re proud to stand with those defending policies that put patients ahead of pharmacy middlemen. ⬇️ Learn more about the cases: bit.ly/4yQZU1x bit.ly/4AuKrWm

🤔 What role has association involvement played in your career? This week's episode tackles the power of professional networks, lifelong learning, and finding opportunities through association engagement. Plus, get a behind-the-scenes look at #NCPA2026 and learn how to become more involved in your professional home here at NCPA. 🎧 Listen or watch now: bit.ly/3tUJsS5

🌟 Our brand new how-to booths will be waiting for you in our Annual Convention Expo Hall to help you turn “what's next for my pharmacy?” into “I know how to get it done!” Stop in for one-on-one conversations with peers and other experts about the topics that matter most and engage with vendors to discover solutions, new products, and innovative technology at #NCPA2026. 🔗 Explore the line-up and secure your spot: bit.ly/34i5SMO 🗺️ Ready to map your plan ahead of time? Download NCPA+ and create your schedule: bit.ly/4AmomJI

🏠 How can community pharmacies help support individuals experiencing homelessness? Tune in on Oct. 14 at 9 p.m. ET for a Community Connected webinar, a CPESN® initiative, to explore current U.S. homelessness trends and practical ways pharmacy teams can make a difference. Learn strategies for homelessness awareness and outreach, discover opportunities to collaborate with community partners to expand access to health care, housing and social support services, and address common myths and stereotypes to help provide trauma-informed, culturally competent, and equitable care. 🔗 Register now: register.gotowebinar.com/reg…

💡 I Am NCPA: Rick Rondinelli, BS Pharm Rick is the president and CEO of InTouch Pharmaceuticals in Valparaiso, Ind., a long-term care pharmacy with 144 employees that serves 9,000-10,000 patients and processes at least one million prescriptions annually. Since founding InTouch in 2004, Rick has embraced technology to improve efficiency and patient care, including launching with a fully automated short-cycle system that was cutting-edge for LTC pharmacy at the time. Now, he sees potential in AI tools to help reduce labor demands and the risk of medication errors. Rick is also expanding InTouch’s LTC-at-home services to continue caring for patients after they transition home from skilled nursing facilities. 📖 Read more about Rick and InTouch Pharmaceuticals in this month’s issue of America’s Pharmacist®: ncpa.org/americas-pharmacist 🤝 Not a member yet? Learn more and join us: ncpa.org/membership

🥳 T-minus two weeks until #NCPA2026 — but your chance to save on your stay ends tomorrow, Sept. 18 at 5 p.m. CT! Take advantage of better hotel rates while you still can. Register for Annual Convention, book your housing, and join us in Kansas City to connect with peers from across the country and learn how to level up your pharmacy. 🔗 Register and book your stay: ncpa.org/annual-convention

⏰ Happening tomorrow! Join us at 3 p.m. ET to learn practical strategies for implementing medication and delivery device disposal programs in your community pharmacy. Discover sustainable disposal solutions that can improve medication safety, expand your pharmacy's services, and better serve your community. 🔗 There's still time to register: bit.ly/4zgtEGc

🧑‍⚕️ Community pharmacy took the mic on Capitol Hill today. NCPA member and @TNPharmacists CEO @pudlo testified before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee in support of the ECAPS Act earlier today. Lawmakers highlighted the bill's potential to expand access to pharmacist-provided care for seniors, improve health outcomes, and reduce overall health care costs. Thank you to committee leadership for holding the hearing and @RepHarshbarger for her continued support of community pharmacy! 🎥 ICYMI watch the hearing here: bit.ly/4yy6Hgm

🚨 Today the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health has a hearing scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. ET. Included in this hearing is one of NCPA’s policy priorities: the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act (H.R. 3164), which would ensure Medicare beneficiaries can easily access health care services by authorizing pharmacists to test and treat COVID-19, flu, respiratory syncytial virus, and strep throat. We are working hard with the broader pharmacy community and the subcommittee to advocate for final passage of this legislation. 🎧 Tune in here: bit.ly/3UPPIry

👀Sneak peek at Monday's HME Newswire: 🗣️What works for one independent pharmacy rarely works for another, which is why the National Community Pharmacists Association (@Commpharmacy) is shaping its 2026 Annual Convention around the art of translation. 🔗hmenews.com/article/ncpa-off…