Walgreens Announces Mental Health First Aid Training for Pharmacists and Employees

Walgreens will begin a new partnership with the National Council for Behavioral Health and the APhA to provide Mental Health First Aid training for Walgreens pharmacists and other employees. 

At certain Walgreens locations, pharmacists and team members will be trained in health literacy, and understanding the risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns. They will learn strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and noncrisis situations. 

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Walgreens says that the initiative will further build on the chain’s digital platform and resources, and its efforts to curb opioid misuse and abuse. Initially, the training will be limited to select pharmacists before expanding to other Walgreens team members. Eventually, the Mental Health First Aid training will become available industry-wide and participants will have the opportunity to earn CE credits with the APhA. 

Walgreen’s mental health program was initially launched in 2016 and includes a mental health answers site featuring information resources, content, and a selection of free online screening tools through Mental Health America.