University of Rhode Island officials, pharmacy faculty and pharmacy students joined CVS Caremark Corp. leaders including CEO Larry Merlo in September to formally celebrate and dedicate new facilities at the College of Pharmacy supported by the Woonsocket-based corporation. Although the $75 million home of URI’s College of Pharmacy opened in fall 2012, the ceremony gave URI leaders a chance to recognize CVS Caremark for its many contributions to the success of the project and its many years of support for the College of Pharmacy and URI overall.

Teaching and learning spaces highlighted during the ceremony were the CVS Caremark Professional Practice Laboratory, CVS Caremark Teaching Wing, CVS Caremark Interdisciplinary Health Delivery Simulation Laboratory, and CVS Caremark Multipurpose Teaching Laboratory. The inclusion of such facilities in the building project was made possible in large part to a $2 million pledge made by CVS Caremark in 2009 to support the project and the pharmacy college. This represents the largest single corporate gift to URI’s College of Pharmacy in its 56-year-history.

The simulation laboratory is designed for use by URI pharmacy and nursing students. Ultimately, physicians will also be able to participate in training sessions with the equipment from remote locations. One of the learning spaces features a mock CVS pharmacy where students work with faculty on developing their clinical and communication skills. The goal in developing such teaching and learning spaces was to enhance teamwork and communication among pharmacists, nurses, physicians, and other health professionals to deliver the best possible care to patients.

“We celebrate the commitment made by CVS Caremark to our students and faculty of the College of Pharmacy,” said URI President David M. Dooley. “These facilities are tangible examples of the productive and mutually beneficial partnership between our two organizations. Such collaborations only serve to benefit the health of Rhode Islanders, and indeed, people around the world, while also helping to bolster the state’s economy in the burgeoning health care and biomedical science industries.”