FROM ONU PHARMACY FACEBOOK - Austin Hilverding, a 2018 ONU pharmacy graduate, was recently selected as an expert panelist for a statewide COVID-19 Population Needs Assessment.

The assesment was conducted by The Ohio State University College of Public Health.

During his undergrad years at ONU, Hilverding was coordinator of Ada Friends, a mentoring program involving ONU students.

The needs assessment evaluated barriers that specific vulnerable communities face while preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The assessment included six populations identified as at-risk for disproportionate burdens of disease and death during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hilverding is a pharmacist in charge at Shrivers Pharmacy, Nelsonville. He was selected to join the rural communities expert panel, which is made up of state-level leaders from the communities that were surveyed, academic researchers, and public health practitioners.

The six populations identified include:
• Rural communities,
• Black and African American communities,
• Latino and Hispanic communities,
• Asian and Asian American communities,
• immigrant and refugee communities,
• people with disabilities. 

Recommendations and analysis from the report are now being utilized to inform pandemic response efforts and policy formulation. The full assessment can be found at https://cph.osu.edu/inequitable-burdens-covid-19