Greater Lawrence Family Health Center

About Us

Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (GLFHC), in affiliation with Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS)-Boston, offers a Postgraduate Year One (PGY-1) pharmacy residency program which provides in-depth, hands-on experiences in all aspects of ambulatory care pharmacy practice.

GLFHC, a Federally Qualified Health Center, is the second largest health center in Massachusetts and provides primary health and acute care services to residents of Lawrence and the surrounding Merrimack Valley area. The city of Lawrence is a densely populated community named the "Immigrant City" for its rich multiethnic and multicultural history. Currently, a large percentage of the population is Hispanic which further shapes the local culture and how health care is delivered.

GLFHC is recognized as a National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) level-3 Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) which affords our pharmacy residents a wealth of interdisciplinary interactions. GLFHC became the first organization in the nation to have an accredited Community Health Center sponsored Family Medicine Residency. This means residents will have the opportunity to directly work and train alongside primary care physicians.

Our clinical pharmacy team provides direct patient care as partners in the PCMH model and practice under collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) agreements. The GLFHC Family Pharmacy participates in the 340B program which enables scarce resources to spread to the most vulnerable patient populations. GLFHC distinguishes itself by providing the highest quality multidisciplinary patient care experience and innovative solutions to improve health outcomes in an underserved urban community.

MCPHS is one of the few private, free-standing universities in the United States specializing in the education of health professionals and has prepared more students for professional careers in pharmacy than any other academic institution in the world.

PGY-1 Residency Program Experience

The residency program offers required and elective experiences which allows residents to become fully immersed in the PCMH model, sharpen core skills, and be involved in the community. The following experiences will serve as the framework for the residency year:

• Orientation
• Clinical Pharmacy Services (CPS)
• Transitions of Care
• MCPHS and GLFHC Teaching and Learning
• MCPHS Teaching and Learning includes completion of the ‘Residency Teaching Certificate Program’
• Patient-Centered Dispensing
• Operations Management
• Research
• Specialty Clinics (LTBI; HepC; HIV)
• Electives*
• Homeless Shelter
• Behavioral Health
• Geriatric

*There is also an opportunity to create a new elective based on the resident's interests.

Upon completion of the program, residents will demonstrate competency in:

• Patient care
• Advancing practice and improving patient care
• Leadership and management
• Teaching, education, and the dissemination of knowledge

Accreditation Status

The program is accredited by the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP).

Number of Positions

The program currently has 2 available positions.

Program Start Date

The one-year residency program runs approximately from early July through the end of June.

Applicant Requirements

We utilize the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS) and the Match. Applications are due in PhORCAS by January 7th. Using PhORCAS, please submit:

• Letter of intent
• Curriculum vitae
• Three letters of recommendation
• Official school of pharmacy transcript (undergraduate transcripts not required)

Applicant Eligibility

• Must be a candidate for spring graduation or already have obtained a PharmD degree from an ACPE-accredited school of pharmacy
• Be a citizen of the USA (naturalized citizens must provide proof of naturalization) or hold a visa allowing for completion of your residency year; we are unable to sponsor visas

Contact Information

Residency Program Director:

Alicia Mam daCunha, PharmD, BCACP
Email: amdacunha@glfhc.org

Residency Program Manager and Coordinator and Primary Contacts:

Ashley Rogers, PharmD, BCPS
Email: arogers@glfhc.org

Neiloofar Jafari, PharmD, APh, CDCES
Email: neiloofar.jafari@glfhc.org

For additional information on current and past residents and preceptors, please visit our website.