URI alumnus Scott Campbell will receive the award for Ethics and Excellence in Healthcare during Seminar By the Sea
The University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy has announced alumnus Scott Campbell will receive the Dr. Norman A. Campbell Award for Ethics and Excellence in Healthcare, honoring the “consummate professional” for his dedication to patients and the pharmacy profession as a whole.
Campbell, a 1977 graduate of the College, owned two pharmacies in Rhode Island throughout his career — Ocean Health Mart in Charlestown and Richmond — the first of which he opened in 1987 after having worked in corporate pharmacies for several years after graduation. Owning his own pharmacy gave Campbell the opportunity to be the pharmacist he wanted to be, which wasn’t always the case in a corporate setting, he said.
“The way we wanted to run our stores — which is really what drove me away from corporate pharmacies — is what stands out to me,” said Campbell, who is no relation to the namesake of the award. “I really wanted to help people. When I first started, you had more time to talk to customers and get involved a little more. I think as a store owner, in a way, you’re there to make friends. If you treat people right, business would follow. I’m most proud that I felt like we treated all our customers as family. I’m proud of that.”
Campbell and his business partner opened a second Ocean Health Mart in Charlestown in 2001, operating that location until selling it in 2013. After closing the businesses, Campbell embarked on the second phase of his career, in pharmacy compliance. Serving as Chief Compliance Officer for the Rhode Island Department of Health, Campbell investigated any complaints made against pharmacies or pharmacists, and reported his findings to the health board to determine if there was any merit to the complaint. It is there that Campbell expanded his service beyond his individual patients to impact the pharmacy industry as a whole, according to Paul Larrat, dean of the URI College of Pharmacy.
“Scott is the consummate professional, serving his patients for several decades with notable clinical skills and superior customer service,” Larrat said. “It is his work in elevating health care quality and ethics through the RI Board of Pharmacy that is his lasting legacy.”
Campbell will be presented with the award during the 37th annual Seminar by the Sea Northeast Regional Conference presented by the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy Office of Continuing Professional Development. The flagship professional development conference hosted by the College brings health care professionals from all over the region to Rhode Island. This year’s conference, “Emerging from the Shadow of the Pandemic: Pharmacy Lights the Way,” will be delivered both virtually and in person on March 17-18, and offers valuable continuing education units for pharmacists. Register for Seminar By the Sea here.
Named for Professor Emeritus and former associate dean of the College, the Campbell Award honors those like Scott Campbell who have displayed high ethics and integrity over the course of their pharmacy and health care careers. Campbell said he was surprised to learn of the award, and honored to be recognized.
“When Paul Larrat called to tell me, I was taken aback; what did I do? I don’t think I’m anything special,” Campbell said. “I know many pharmacists who are equal to me, so why me? But it was a tremendous honor, to say the least, to be recognized by your peers for the work I did over 40 or so years. It’s very touching.”