Posted by William Nunnelley on 2007-12-07

Samford University pharmacy professor Charles D. Sands III was named a 2007 Health Care Hero by the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ) in the annual selection of people making noteworthy contributions to health care.

Dr. Sands was selected because of his efforts to improve access to health care locally and abroad, including missions trips to Asia, the newspaper said. He was recognized along with other Health Care Heroes at a luncheon in Birmingham Dec. 6.

Sands team-teaches a course about the clinical application of drugs and also works each Wednesday at a hypertension clinic at the Perry County Health Department in Marion, Ala. He particularly enjoys the hands-on aspect of the clinic.

"I like classroom teaching, but I prefer clinical because knowledge learned in the classroom is put to use in practical applications with real patients," he told the BBJ.

Sands works with and supervises three or four McWhorter School of Pharmacy students who complete a rotation each month and a pharmacy resident who completes specialty training in public health.

He has taught at Samford since 1984 and has also taught at Yanbian University Medical College in Yanji, China, and Sookmyung University in Seoul, Korea.

He told the BBJ that his work as a teacher and his commitment to improving the health of individuals was something he was called to do.

"I just feel like I am following the purpose of my life," he said.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.