Clinical Professor Anita Jacobson is a leader in fight against the opioid epidemic
The University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy presented Clinical Professor Anita Jacobson with the Norman A. Campbell Award for Excellence and Ethics in Healthcare, honoring her contributions to the pharmacy profession, and her extraordinary impact on health care in the community, especially as director of the Community First Responder Program.
Jacobson—who teaches a variety of subjects in the college’s Doctor of Pharmacy program including physical assessment, mental health, health disparities and more—plays an active role in patient care and substance use disorder, specifically battling the opioid epidemic. The CFRP, based on URI’s Kingston Campus, focuses on harm reduction, overdose education, and naloxone outreach, distributing more than 58,000 opioid overdose-reversing kits each year in Rhode Island and throughout New England. The program serves as the hub of the Northeast Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Regional Center.
“Throughout my career I have been privileged to work beside dedicated professionals who share a commitment to improving healthcare access and addressing the challenges our society faces,” said Jacobson, an alumna of the college. “This honor is not just a recognition of my efforts, but a testament to the collective work of so many who strive to make a difference every day. In times of uncertainty, it is our responsibility as health care professionals to lead with integrity, compassion and resilience, values that Dr. Campbell so passionately instilled in his students.”
Jacobson has secured more than $5.5 million in state and federal grant funding, and leads an interprofessional team of social workers, pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians to offer accredited training programs on the use of naloxone, helping prepare average residents to become life savers. Through her work, Jacobson has broadened the reach of educational efforts including stigma reduction; empowered individuals with the tools to respond effectively in emergencies through the distribution of naloxone; and helped decrease barriers to treatment of substance use disorders.
Named for URI College of Pharmacy Professor Emeritus and former Associate Dean Norman Campbell, the award honors those like Jacobson who have displayed high ethics and integrity over the course of their pharmacy and health care careers.
“This award was created to honor individuals in the healthcare profession who have shown a profound dedication to the well-being of society,” Dean Kerry LaPlante said. “Recipients serve as role models for future generations of healthcare professionals. Recipients, during times of difficult situations, will serve as beacons guiding health care, to remember that mankind is our business.”
Jacobson received the award March 13, during the college’s 40th annual Seminar By the Sea Northeast Regional Conference, the college’s flagship conference hosted by the Office of Continuing Professional Development, which offers valuable continuing education credits for pharmacists. As Campbell was unable to attend the conference in person this year, his daughter, Linda Campbell Carver, who’s also a pharmacist and URI alumna, presented Jacobson with the award.
“Both he and I feel Anita is truly deserving of this,” Campbell Carver said. “He has great respect for her. He heard her interviewed on TV recently. He listened to her words and was so proud of how she spoke and what she said. It represented what kind of person and professional she is. That was just one of the many things she’s done that made him very proud. There are way too many examples. We’re just really glad that Anita was chosen to continue on the legacy that this award started when they started it for him.”
This year’s Seminar By the Sea, “The Next Era in Pharmacy: Sustaining Impactful Practice Through Innovation and Resilience,” held March 13-14 at the Newport Marriott hotel, featured such pertinent topics as AI in pharmacy, navigating drug shortages, treatment of migraines, telehealth in the pharmacy, treating dermatological conditions, personalized medicine in oncology, and building vaccine confidence, among others. The Campbell Award presentation is an annual highlight of the conference.
“I am deeply honored to receive the Dr. Norman A. Campbell Award for Ethics and Excellence in Healthcare,” Jacobson said. “Dr. Campbell was not just a professor, but a mentor and guiding force during my time in the URI College of Pharmacy. His unwavering commitment to ethics and excellence left a lasting impression on me, shaping the way I approach my career and my responsibility to the communities we serve. To receive an award that bears his name is truly humbling.”