Long-time Madawaska area pharmacist Éric Lee, known for his generous community spirit, leadership and vision, has earned one of pharmacy’s highest honours.
The New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association (NBPA) honoured pharmacist/pharmacy owner Éric Lee with the 2022 Bowl of Hygeia recently during the NB Pharmacy Awards in Fredericton.
“Éric Lee epitomizes the very best of the pharmacy profession with his excellent patient care, his professionalism and his extraordinary contributions to his community,” said Andrew Drover, President of the NBPA. “We couldn’t have chosen a more deserving pharmacist to honour during our 40th anniversary year.”
The Bowl of Hygeia is the most widely recognized international symbol for the pharmacy profession and is considered one of the profession’s most prestigious awards. This award recognizes pharmacists who make outstanding contributions to their profession and to their communities.
As a pharmacist/owner of Familiprix pharmacies in Clair and Edmundston, Éric has been helping patients and contributing to his community for over 30 years. His commitment to his patients and his community spirit are extraordinary.
Although he is very busy as a father of three children and pharmacy owner, Éric always volunteers a lot of his time to various organizations in his community. He was part of the Bob Fyfe Foundation, an organization that provides children in need with a hot meal. He has also volunteered much time to the local soccer and hockey programs. Although his own children have grown out of the hockey system, he continues to support the local hockey association through fundraising efforts to buy equipment for underprivileged children who couldn’t otherwise afford to play.
For the past two years, Éric has vaccinated more than 6,000 people against COVID. When the pandemic hit his community particularly hard, Éric made several television and radio appearances (often in his second language) to raise awareness about vaccination. He rallied his community to help organize a mega vaccination clinic involving other health care practitioners.
Éric served as a member of the economics committee of the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association and is always willing to provide feedback and advice to the association to help advance the profession. Currently, he is part of the Board of Directors of the medical clinic of Haut-St-Jean.
Says his pharmacy co-owner Kevin Smyth: “Éric Lee is very respected in his community as a leader and a visionary and for his involvement in his community.”
New Brunswick pharmacists gathered in Fredericton recently for PharmaNB 2022, a hybrid pharmacy conference that included continuing education sessions as well as the NB Pharmacy Awards in conjunction with the New Brunswick College of Pharmacists. The NBPA also marked its 40th anniversary.
“As the NBPA celebrates this milestone, the pharmacy profession is in the midst of significant transformation,” said Drover. “With the recent expansion in our scope and the public coverage for new pharmacy services, pharmacists are doing more than ever to help patients and to improve access to primary care. I’m extremely proud of how pharmacy professionals stepped up during the pandemic to care for patients and to administer close to one million COVID vaccinations. We look forward to continuing to help reshape our healthcare system to the benefit of patients.”