Pharmacy

A steroid linked to a deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis has not been used at area hospitals, officials said Monday. The number of deaths rose Monday by one to eight, with another fatality in Tennessee, according to The Associated Press. The number of people sickened by the meningitis outbreak rose Monday to 105, with reported cases in Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio, according to health officials. Investigators suspect a steroid medication made by a specialty pharmacy might be to blame, the AP reported.

Rachel Flurie, daughter of Mike and Ranelle Flurie of Hagerstown, graduated from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in May, earning her Doctor of Pharmacy. After graduating from St. Mary's College of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry, Flurie went to pharmacy graduate school at the University of Maryland. While in pharmacy school, she was involved in many pharmacy organizations. Flurie is a member of the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists and the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists.

A public hearing will be held Monday on proposed changes to an ordinance that could allow a pharmacy and other retail businesses to open in an area of Berkeley County just outside the city of Martinsburg. The hearing on text amendments proposed for the Windewald Neighborhood Zoning Ordinance will be held by the Berkeley County Planning Commission at the board's 6 p.m. meeting in Berkeley County Council chambers at 400 W. Stephen St. in Martinsburg. Ronald Mislowsky, an engineer with Patton Harris Rust & Associates, confirmed Thursday that he asked county planning officials last month to amend the zoning ordinance to allow a proposed Walgreens pharmacy to be built in the neighborhood.

A Washington County resident was awarded a Doctor of Pharmacy from the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy. Kellyn Cole of Williamsport is a member of the WVU School of Pharmacy Class of 2012. Cole is the daughter of Pamela and David Cole Jr. She is a graduate of Williamsport High School. She completed her prepharmacy course work at Shepherd University. While studying at the WVU School of Pharmacy, Cole was a member of the WVU chapter of the American Society of Health-system Pharmacists - Student Society of Health-system Pharmacists and the Alpha Eta chapter of the Phi Lambda Sigma national pharmacy leadership society.

A 17-year-old Chambersburg boy has been charged as an adult in a robbery Thursday of Park Avenue Pharmacy, according to borough police. Ryan Nicholas Laprad, of 1012 Paper Mill Road, is charged with one count of robbery, a first-degree felony, police said. He was arraigned Friday morning before Magisterial District Judge Todd R. Williams and was being held in Franklin County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 5 at 1 p.m. in Franklin County Central Court, according to court records.

Demolition at the site of a planned Walgreens pharmacy store began last week near the intersection of Halfway Boulevard and Virginia Avenue in Halfway. A building permit, site plan and zoning certification for the 10,873-square-foot store with a single-lane drive-through pharmacy window were approved for the property at 17703 Virginia Ave. earlier this month, Washington County spokeswoman Sarah Lankford Sprecher confirmed in an email. The store, which will be the first in the Hagerstown area, is expected to open next spring, a Walgreens official said Friday.

A warrant has been issued charging a Maryland man with the February robbery of Walgreens pharmacy in Martinsburg, according to a Martinsburg Police Department news release. Robert O. Bottenfield, 24, of Gaithersburg, Md., is being held at the Montgomery County (Md.) Detention Center in Rockville, Md., where he has been charged with armed robbery, according to Martinsburg police and court records. Maryland authorities told police in Martinsburg that Bottenfield confessed to multiple pharmacy robberies, including the one at Walgreens at 101 Forbes Drive, police said.

Camille Heim of Hagerstown was recognized at the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy Scholarships and Awards Convocation. Heim was a recipient of a Frank W. Vigneault Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to deserving female students who demonstrate high academic promise. Heim also was recognized for her academic achievement in making the West Virginia University president's list for fall 2011. The president's list recognizes those who achieve a grade-point average of 4.0. Heim also was selected as one of eight pharmacy students to serve on the Educational Outcomes Development and Assessment Subcomittee for School of Pharmacy.

Hagerstown Community College's pharmacy technician program recently received one-year accreditation by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Commission on Credentialing.  HCC is one of only three accredited technician training programs in Maryland. The commission is responsible for the accreditation of pharmacy residencies and pharmacy technician training programs. This includes formulating and recommending changes in standards, assessing programs adherence to compliance of the standards, and recommending accreditation status of programs.

The Chambersburg Police Department is looking for a white male who robbed the North Point Pharmacy in Chambersburg on Tuesday. Police said the man entered the pharmacy at 370 Philadelphia Ave. at around 9:08 a.m. The suspect presented a pistol and subsequently took numerous  prescription drugs from the business, police said in a statement. According to North Point Pharmacy Manager/Pharmacist Lax Modha, no one was injured in the robbery. Police said the suspect fled the scene on foot, police said.