While at ONU, Larry J. Merlo, president and chief executive officer of CVS Health, said, "As change accelerates in health care, pharmacy can drive important solutions in the areas of cost, quality and access."

"In fact, I believe we are witnessing the beginning of a reinvention of pharmacy that will help drive more affordable, accessible and effective care," he said while delivering the Sebok lecture on campus.

At the conclusion of the talk, Merlo, along with Hanley Wheeler, an ONU graduate and CVS Health senior vice president, presented the College of Pharmacy with a corporate grant of $50,000.

The funds will provide support for the ONU HealthWise mobile clinic, which features a comprehensive smoking cessation programming in addition to primary care services for the rural Hardin County region.

CVS Health, the nation’s largest pharmacy innovation company with net annual revenues of $177 billion, touches more than 100 million people each year through its unique combination of assets, including 9,700 retail pharmacies, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with more than 89 million plan members, a comprehensive provider of pharmacy services to long-term care facilities, and expanding specialty pharmacy services.
 
Under Merlo’s leadership, the company is helping to reshape health care by delivering breakthrough products and services that enable people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable, effective ways.
 
Additionally, Merlo was recently named “Health Care Executive of the Year” by Chain Drug Review publication.

“We were honored to have Larry Merlo visit campus and deliver the Sebok Lecture,” said Steven J. Martin, dean of the ONU Raabe College of Pharmacy.
 
“We are grateful for this gift and the impact it will have on improving the quality of life for areas of the region,” ONU President Daniel DiBiasio said.
 
During his time on campus, Merlo also talked with several ONU pharmacy students who are interns with CVS Health.
 
The Sebok Pharmacy Lecture was established by alumni and friends of the Raabe College of Pharmacy to honor Dr. Albert A. Sebok, a 1953 ONU graduate and one of the College of Pharmacy’s most distinguished alumni.