CPESN Kentucky joins the UK Advancing Kentucky Together Network
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 26, 2026) — Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network (CPESN) Kentucky, a community health organization with a network of 72 community pharmacies located in 46 Kentucky counties, is the latest organization to join the University of Kentucky’s Advancing Kentucky Together Network (AKT).
The AKT Network is a statewide partnership that unites UK’s research, service and learning capabilities with partners to co-create solutions that expand opportunity, strengthen communities and improve well-being across Kentucky.
Under this new agreement, CPESN Kentucky and UK will work to provide greater health care access to Kentuckians across the Commonwealth and new training opportunities to Kentucky pharmacists.
“The Advancing Kentucky Together Network was created by our UK Board of Trustees to work with partners across the state to improve conditions and serve Kentuckians,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “CPESN Kentucky and its member pharmacies serve patients and families in 46 Kentucky counties, and we share their commitment to strengthening Kentucky communities and providing better access to care for all Kentuckians.
“This is, of course, another testament to the power in partnership, and we look forward to advancing our shared mission on behalf of the state we serve.”
The partnership was formalized through a memorandum of understanding signed in January 2025. The agreement outlines several areas for collaboration, including:
- Convening a conversation between CPESN Kentucky members and Kentucky health care payers.
- Partnering to develop a medical billing training workshop for community pharmacies.
- Developing a training opportunity pipeline for community health workers.
- Creating a new rural health disparity project, where CPESN Kentucky, the UK College of Pharmacy’s Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Practice and other potential collaborators will develop a research and implementation plan for community pharmacists to improve specific health outcomes across Kentucky.
“CPESN Kentucky is honored to join the Advancing Kentucky Together Network as we work alongside UK to dismantle barriers to care, strengthen local pharmacies and create sustainable solutions that improve health outcomes in communities across the Commonwealth,” said Dakota Barr, executive director of CPESN Kentucky.
This partnership seeks to leverage CPESN Kentucky’s statewide reach and strategic mission. CPESN Kentucky is dedicated to dismantling barriers in healthcare. Recognizing that access to quality care should never be a privilege, CPESN Kentucky works tirelessly to support community-based pharmacies in identifying, resolving, and treating health-related disparities.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.