Kenneth McCall interviewed for AP story on drop in pharmacy robberies for 2013

Kenneth McCall, Pharm.D., UNE associate professor and chairman of the pharmacy practice, was interviewed for a June, 10, 2013 Associated Press story on reports that pharmacy robberies are down in Maine for the year although the use of street heroin is up. The story appeared in a number of regional news outlets, including the Boston Globe and Portland Press Herald. 

Robberies have dropped from a total of 56 last year to only five so far this year.

McCall, who is president of the Maine Pharmacy Association, told the reporter that this year's steep drop is a relief for the state's 324 licensed pharmacies. Robberies are traumatic and have caused some pharmacists to sell their businesses or change career paths, he said.

"Last year was not just a record year, but it was an alarming trend because 2012 exceeded 2011, and 2011 exceeded 2010, and 2010 exceeded 2009," McCall said. "In consecutive years we've seen escalating numbers of pharmacy robberies, so the positive trend in the first half of this year is a very important step in the right direction."  Read the entire story in the Globe.

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The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.