Official Newsjournal of the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists
November 2021
Volume 47 Issue 4
Features
March is Illinois Poison Prevention Month!
Columns
College Connections
It’s Never Too Early to Have a Strategic Plan
A New Spin on Student/Teacher Interaction: The Faculty Auction
More
Officers and Board of Directors
ICHP Pharmacy Action Fund (PAC) Contributors
KeePosted Info
Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists
4055 North Perryville Road
Loves Park, IL 61111-8653
Phone: (815) 227-9292
Fax: (815) 227-9294
www.ichpnet.org
KeePosted
Official Newsjournal of the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists
EDITOR
Jacob Gettig
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Jennifer Phillips
MANAGING EDITOR
Scott Meyers
ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR
Trish Wegner
DESIGN EDITOR
Amanda Wolff
ICHP Staff
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Scott Meyers
VICE PRESIDENT - PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Trish Wegner
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Maggie Allen
INFORMATION SPECIALIST
Heidi Sunday
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND
PHARMACY TECH TOPICS™ SPECIALIST
Jo Ann Haley
ACCOUNTANT
Jan Mark
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Amanda Wolff
LEGISLATIVE CONSULTANT
Jim Owen
ICHP Mission Statement
Advancing Excellence in the Practice of Pharmacy
ICHP Vision Statement
ICHP dedicates itself to achieving a vision of pharmacy practice where:
- Pharmacists are universally recognized as health care professionals and essential providers of health care services.
- Patients are aware of the training, skills, and abilities of a pharmacist and the fundamental role that pharmacists play in optimizing medication therapy.
- Formally educated, appropriately trained, and PTCB certified pharmacy technicians manage the medication distribution process with appropriate pharmacist oversight.
- Pharmacists improve patient care and medication safety through the development of effective public policies by interacting and collaborating with patients, other health care professionals and their respective professional societies, government agencies, employers and other concerned parties.
- Evidence-based practices are used to achieve safe and effective medication therapies.
- There are an adequate number of qualified pharmacy leaders within the pharmacy profession.
- Pharmacists take primary responsibility for educating pharmacy technicians, pharmacy students, pharmacist peers, other health professionals, and patients about appropriate medication use.
KeePosted Vision
As an integral publication of the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists, the KeePosted newsjournal will reflect its mission and goals. In conjunction with those goals, KeePosted will provide timely information that meets the changing professional and personal needs of Illinois pharmacists and technicians, and maintain high publication standards.
KeePosted is an official publication of, and is copyrighted by, the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists (ICHP). KeePosted is published 10 times a year. ICHP members received KeePosted as a member benefit. All articles published herein represent the opinions of the authors and do not reflect the policy of the ICHP or the authors’ institutions unless specified. Advertising inquiries can be directed to ICHP office at the address listed above. Image disclaimer: The image used in the Pharmacy Tech Topics™ advertisement is the property of © 2015 Thinkstock, a division of Getty Images.
Copyright © 2015, Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists. All rights reserved.
Features
Meet Lynn Rheinecker
by Lynn Rheinecker, P4, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy - Rockford
Hello and Happy 2015 to my ICHP family! My name is Lynn Rheinecker, and I am a 4th year PharmD student at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy - Rockford Campus. I am a Southern Illinois native and graduate of Pinckneyville Community High School. I tried several career avenues after high school. Eventually, though, a career decision-making class at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) helped guide me towards a career in pharmacy. I graduated from SIUC in summer 2011 with my Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and immediately started pharmacy school.During pharmacy school, I developed my leadership skills by serving as the Rockford Treasurer/Fundraising Chair for Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International. Within this role, I planned, organized, ensured funding for, and executed various community outreach events for organizations like Crusader Community Health and St. Bridget’s Food Pantry. In addition, I collaborated with other student organizations, like ICHP, to ensure a venue and participation for several of their community outreach events.
Through my experiences in a variety of healthcare settings before and during pharmacy school, I have learned to effectively collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to provide patient-specific pharmaceutical care, which I hope to further improve during a PGY-1 pharmacy residency. After PGY-1 residency training, I plan to pursue a career as a clinical pharmacist in an ambulatory care clinic specializing in chronic disease-state management. This decision was validated by my experiences at Adam Benjamin, Jr. Community-Based Outpatient Clinic - Jesse Brown VA Medical Center General Medicine Ambulatory Care Clinic and Edward Hines, Jr. VA Outpatient Renal Dialysis Unit. Another career goal of mine is to be involved with both didactic and experiential teaching duties at a college of pharmacy. Some of my current areas of interest include chronic disease-state management, geriatrics, and nephrology.
School, work, organizational activities, and community involvement have kept me busy for the last 8 years, but I have still tried to maintain some of my favorite activities and hobbies as well. For example, I enjoy antiquing with my mom and try to make it to the Elkhorn Flea Market in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, at least once a year. I also like to travel. I just returned from a Thanksgiving trip to the Bahamas and usually visit the Gulf Shores/Pensacola area at least twice a year. My favorite vacation thus far was to Jamaica, but my dream vacation would be an African safari. Above all, most of my free time is spent with my pets. I have 3 dogs, a cat, a bird, 2 mice, a freshwater fish tank, and a saltwater aquarium. Yes, you could say it is a zoo at my house!
I will have to leave the zoo at home for the next 6 weeks during my rotation with ICHP’s Executive Vice President, Mr. Scott Meyers. During this time, I hope to research and understand ICHP’s various roles and contributions to the world of pharmacy. In addition, I plan to review any upcoming pharmacy legislation and its potential impact on our members. I am also excited to be able to work with existing ICHP staff to create a how-to packet/brochure in efforts to develop the leadership skills of student leaders and to provide a way for members to get more involved in community outreach and volunteering programs. My thoughts are that active ICHP student leaders and members will become future active ICHP professional leaders and members!
March is Illinois Poison Prevention Month!
Pharmacists can play a big role in preventing harm!
by Scott A. Meyers, Executive Vice President
Every year over 80,000 calls are made to the U.S. Poison Centers. Illinois is fortunate to have one of them based in Chicago. In addition, Illinois hospitals treat thousands of accidental poisonings each year.
What are you and your colleagues doing to help prevent accidental poisonings? Do you hang poison prevention posters in the halls of your hospital? Do you provide poison prevention presentations to grade school classes, PTO groups or other interested organizations? How about setting out informational table tents with poisoning statistics and facts on the tables in the cafeteria during this important observance?
If you haven’t thought about it, you’ve got plenty of time to plan. If you’re already planning your activities, add taking photos to your list of things to do. We would love to hear and share what you do for Poison Prevention Month and National Poison Prevention Week (March 15-21). (Please obtain signed permission from those photographed if faces are visible in order to be displayed in KeePosted. Without signed releases we will have to blur or disguise the folks in the pictures.)
Poison Prevention is just one of the many roles a pharmacist can play and your active involvement in that role can and should be highlighted. If you need ideas for activities to highlight Poison Prevention Week or Month, go to the Illinois Poison Center’s website at http://illinoispoisoncenter.org/ or the National Poison Prevention Week website at http://www.poisonprevention.org/poison.htm where you will find a variety of activities and products. You can make a difference for your community and play a big role in preventing harm!
Columns
President's Message
New Year’s Resolutions
by Linda Fred, ICHP President
The New Year is a great time to reflect on the events of the previous year and look forward to the promise of events to come. I’m not really one for the New Year’s Resolution, but this is a year that promises to be interesting on many levels.
On the national front, the Affordable Care Act, while it has created a large new pool of insured customers for the health care industry, has also created new challenges for us. Access to care, especially in rural areas of the state, continues to be almost in crisis, and many organizations are struggling to meet the needs of the expanding customer base with a provider base that can’t keep pace. Constraints on reimbursement for government funded programs are driving providers and provider organizations to be creative in managing populations across a broadening continuum of care – with more transitions, more outpatient and home-based care, and a greater requirement for care coordination. All the while, we are asked to achieve and publicly report a growing array of quality and satisfaction metrics. Layer on top of that that new Republican-led Congress and ongoing Supreme Court challenges to the Act, and that makes for a very uncertain financial climate for the entire industry. The general economic outlook is strong though with unemployment numbers at the lowest rate in six years, and people feel more optimistic about the future. In Illinois, however, (and predictably) there are still issues – with ongoing budgetary constraints and political infighting. (Wow, does anyone else feel like “budgetary constraints” and “political infighting” are both absurd understatements in Illinois?)
Within pharmacy we continue to fight, state-by-state and at the national level, for provider status recognition. The profession is also spreading its wings a little bit as the access to care issues and transitions of care opportunities converge to create some exceptional openings for pharmacist expertise. As the pharmacists fill some of those access-created holes, our technicians are stepping into greater support opportunities as well. We are finding new and expanded ways to use our technical support staff to free up pharmacist time for a greater volume and new types of direct patient care activities.
What’s the ICHP climate for the New Year? It’s sunny! We are financially strong and are fortunate to have an outstanding staff and great group of committed volunteers. We came out of the Leadership Retreat last fall with a lot of ideas for improving member value, and I think we are all energized and excited about the challenges and opportunities we face. We have plans for an early 2015 membership drive and are hoping to expand the number of technicians utilizing Pharmacy Tech Topics™ as the source for their mandatory CE.
So…now for the 2015 New Year’s Resolutions:
- Make both an ICHP and ASHP PAC contribution this year in support of legislative efforts to achieve recognition as providers for pharmacists. I’ve contributed to the ICHP PAC for several years but have never made an ASHP contribution. We need a concentrated and coordinated approach. It’s time for us all to support our state and national organizations in this goal.
- Deploy another pharmacist in a Care Transitions role in my organization, and create better ways to demonstrate the value of that workforce in the Care Transitions setting. We have a number of staff working in these types of roles already, but the timing is right to expand and we also have to continue to demonstrate meaningful value in improvements in quality, access, and satisfaction.
- Implement at least one expanded role for pharmacy technicians in my organization. Again, we currently have technicians operating in high-functioning roles, but I have to challenge my staff to push the envelope.
- Recruit five new ICHP members. I need to be a better ICHP Ambassador. I love the organization and have been an active volunteer for most of my career. I need to do a better job of telling others why ICHP is important and encouraging not only membership, but active volunteerism.
- Finally, I want to make the most of my last few months with my daughter before she moves out on her own. Ellen is entering her final semester of college. I have been so fortunate that she decided to attend a local university. I got four more years together with her than many parents get, and it has been a great pleasure to spend these years with a young adult daughter who makes me so proud. I will miss her company and her excitement in life and her new career so much. It’s highly likely that she will end up in New York City, and I want to have no regrets about how we spend these last few months!
(And – #6 might be to check into pharmacist license transfer requirements for New York.) :)
I hope some of these ideas inspire you to invest in professional growth for yourself and our organization in 2015.
Directly Speaking
The Other Side of Addictions
by Scott A. Meyers, Executive Vice President
The UIC Student Chapter of ICHP is working on putting a panel together to talk about addiction and substance abuse in pharmacy and health care. It is a laudable undertaking and a topic that many pharmacy directors and managers have to deal with, often more than once in their careers.
It’s been 16 years since I have worked in a hospital pharmacy but in my 22+ years in the trenches, I have worked with more than a half dozen pharmacists who we eventually found were impaired pharmacists and whose addictions cost them as little as a reprimand to as much as their lives! I have had several other pharmacist friends who I knew but didn’t work with whose careers and in one case whose life were impacted in the same way.
Substance abuse and the addiction that can follow are common in all walks of life and are no more rare in health care than anywhere else.¹ Every third Friday night after I close the door at ICHP, I go to my part-time job (for no pay) as a security guard at our Church’s Celebrate Recovery (CR). As a volunteer, it’s my responsibility to make sure the Church and the people who attend this weekly event stay safe. Whether it is to monitor the behavior of an attendee who appears to be under the influence, provide first aid and call for an ambulance in a medical emergency or insure that the kids who are present at Celebration Station (program for 5 year olds to 5th graders) go home with the right parents. But at these Friday evening meetings, I also get to meet and hear stories from some of the nicest people and at one time, biggest drug addicts or alcoholics you can imagine. I can thankfully say many of these people are now my friends and they have taught me a lot about the other side of addictions.
I’ve learned a lot from these friends and their stories and perhaps the most important is that no one ever plans to become an addict or alcoholic! It’s not a life goal on their bucket list. Few see the process taking place until it is often way too far along. But of those who have come through the addiction and are in recovery, you find amazingly kind and giving people. They are people who continue to give back to the community they live in and often times the professions they came from.
If you are a veteran pharmacist, you’ve probably seen a few drug and alcohol issues with fellow employees. If you are a new graduate, hopefully you haven’t run into this yet, but surely you will. If you did or when you do it might happen like this: You work with someone who smells of alcohol at the beginning of a shift one day and it takes you by surprise the first time it happens. But then every time you work with them after that you’re quick to sniff to see if they need to have their work double checked or more importantly an intervention with the hospital’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP). It’s harder to spot the drug user because there’s no telltale smell to give them away, but sooner or later their impairment becomes significant enough that you know there’s something wrong and they need help too. They move more slowly or have trouble concentrating. They don’t finish one task before starting another.
Impaired pharmacy employees create significant strain on the rest of the department staff. Some of the staff feel they need to follow the impaired individual around and double check everything they do. Other less sympathetic employees will complain to each other that the impaired employee isn’t carrying their share of the workload. And many pharmacy employees are afraid to confront the impaired employee or even report them to the pharmacy administration because they don’t want to cause problems. The problem is that an impaired pharmacy employee is a safety problem that should be dealt with quickly and fairly.
The Illinois Pharmacy Practice Act provides funding to assist an impaired pharmacist or technician who has found that they have developed an addiction to alcohol or drugs. Participation in the program, the Illinois Professionals Health Program, can be initiated by the impaired pharmacist or technician, by their employer or by the state. If the impaired individual enters the program on their own and before any intervention by their employer or the state, the process can remain confidential, as long as the individual professional follows the requirements of the program. And some of the requirements will incur costs to the individual for drug and alcohol screens and other incidental items. The program is not completely free. If the employer intervenes before there is a need to report to the state (reporting is required when significant diversion occurs or a patient is harmed), the process can remain confidential also, and the employer may even be willing to pay for any costs incurred. In many cases, though, the state mandates participation, the individual often loses his/her job and his/her license is suspended or revoked. Successful completion of the program may provide the impaired individual with the opportunity to regain their license, but the costs are the highest both financially and psychologically.
Some of the pharmacists and technicians I’ve known have gone through the recovery program and are back at their jobs doing better than ever. There are three or four who lost their lives to conditions that could have been successfully treated. And there are a few who just walked away from pharmacy. The work of recovery was either too hard or the price was too high. Unfortunately, it was that way only in their minds. Addictions do not have to be career-ending, and I hope to never hear of another one being life-ending, but I know that will not be the case. We need to be aware of the warning signs of addiction, know where to turn when one is identified and be willing to reintegrate those professionals who have bravely worked their recovery and earned their way back into the profession. We need to encourage those individuals to share their stories with all professionals so that we all can learn from their mistakes and from the other side of addictions.
Celebrate Recovery (CR) is a faith-based recovery program that follows the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Narcotics Anonymous (NA) follows a similar 12-Step program. Here are the 12 Steps of AA²:
- “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.”
- “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
- “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”
- “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”
- “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”
- “Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.”
- “Humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings.”
- “Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all”.
- “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”
- “Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
- “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”
- “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”
References:
¹ U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration. Drug Addiction in Health Care Professionals. www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/brochures/drug_hc.htm (accessed 2015 Jan 27).
² Alcoholics Anonymous. Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. www.aa.org.pages/en_US/twelve-steps-and-twelve-traditions
(accessed 2015 Jan 27).
New Practitioners Network
Performance Board – Getting Colleagues Engaged
by Arpit Mehta, Pharm.D., MPH, Pharmacy Operations Manager, HSHS St. John’s Hospital, Springfield, IL
A performance board or a quality board is utilized in many hospital pharmacies to share some key information with colleagues within the department. Tremendous amount of effort goes into updating the performance board whether it is on a weekly, bi-monthly or monthly basis. Members of the management team carve out a good chunk of their time in ensuring that all the key information is communicated to the colleagues via the performance board and that the information is updated regularly. Despite these efforts, hospital pharmacies have struggled over how to engage the frontline colleagues. It’s a challenge to have colleagues take a few minutes out of their day to stop, read and remember the key information displayed on the performance board. This challenge could be due to a variety of reasons such as the information on the performance board not being the most appropriate, or not being updated, or colleagues being extremely busy. These were some of the challenges that we had experienced with our colleagues. This led us to thinking about what could be done in order to ensure that the most pertinent and key information is posted on these performance boards so that the colleagues can be engaged!
The first step was to design a performance board and find the best location for it in the pharmacy. There are many ways that a performance board can be designed and information displayed. As we thought through the designing of our board, we created a small team of colleagues to identify what interests the colleagues had in each of the following categories: hospital/system metrics; departmental metrics; and productivity/financial metrics. It was decided that the board would be placed in the central pharmacy where all colleagues would have easier access to view the board while walking in and out of the pharmacy. After brain storming with the team, the following hospital/system and departmental metrics were selected to be displayed on the performance board (Figure 1):
Figure 1: Newly designed performance board
Hospital/System: Core measures; Value based Purchasing scores; Patient volume (actual vs. budget); Employee of the month
Departmental: Key Performance Indicators; Team updates (operational, clinical and safety); Project status; Announcements; Key productivity/financial information; Star of the month
The next step was to get the frontline colleagues engaged in the quality improvement and departmental savings initiatives. In order to do so, an activity or a game was created where a member of the pharmacy management team asked questions on information displayed on the performance board during daily huddles. The questions asked would relate to information displayed on the board the week prior. Also, during the huddles, colleagues were encouraged to provide suggestions for quality improvement, cost savings and workflow changes for efficiencies. For any correct answer to questions during the huddle, colleagues received corresponding departmental dollars. Also, for all initiatives deemed appropriate by the management team, colleagues received corresponding departmental dollars. A set amount of departmental dollars could then be traded by colleagues for different rewards such as: weekends off; priority pick for holidays/vacation; gift cards; department ice-cream/pizza party; etc.
These steps allowed us to utilize our quality board to display and share key hospital/system information as well as departmental metrics. Also, the quality board incentives were utilized to increase engagement, monitor workflow process improvements and generate cost savings initiatives that were generated by our colleagues.
Board of Pharmacy Update
Highlights from the January Meeting
by Scott A. Meyers, Executive Vice President
The January 13th Board of Pharmacy Meeting was held at the James R. Thompson Center at Randolph and LaSalle Streets in Chicago. These are the highlights of that meeting.
Pharmacy Practice Act Rules Revisions: The most recent draft of the Practice Act Rules are approximately 90% complete and are expected to be posted in the Illinois Register for a second time within the next month. Once published, they will be reviewed by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules in approximately two months. We will keep you informed when the rules become final with the specific changes.
CE for Pharmacy Technicians: The Board discussed mandatory continuing education for pharmacy technicians. Phil Burgess presented the findings from the NABP 2015 Law Survey and stated that most states do not require CE for their pharmacy technicians. However, he did not provide a list of states that require recertification for Certified Pharmacy Technicians, and any state that requires recertification indirectly requires 20 hours of CE every two years with either exam. There are several states that require recertification. Dr. Miriam Mobley-Smith urged the Board members to take the high road and not keep Illinois average but rather become a leader. The Department and the Board does not initiate legislative changes which this would require, but both ICHP and IPhA are already working on this for this year. Garth Reynolds, IPhA Executive Director, has draft language prepared and will share with ICHP shortly. ICHP has reached out to Rob Karr at the Illinois Retail Merchants Association to see if they will jump on board with this issue or at least remain neutral.
Pharmacist Participation in State Executions: The Board also received a presentation from “The Sum of Us”, a human rights organization that is opposed to pharmacist participation in state executions. While Illinois has not had a death penalty for over 4 years, it was rumored that the botched execution in Arizona earlier in 2014 received compounded medications from an Illinois compounding pharmacy. The group asked to the Board to review the Illinois Pharmacy Practice Act to identify where violations could occur when a pharmacist and pharmacy participate in out-of-state executions. For example, in these cases is there a bona fide physician-patient relationship, a valid prescription for a medication of appropriate strength, and is the pharmacist compounding a medication that is commercially available? In addition, the group raised the concern that this type of activity violated the Pharmacist’s Code of Ethics. The Board took the group’s concerns under advisement but did not take any specific action.
Legislative Update: Garth Reynolds, presented the legislative update to the Board which included the announcement that Governor Quinn appointed a new member of the Board on the last day of his term. Rick Mazzotti of Springfield will replace Jack Mazzotti of Taylorville (Rick’s brother) effective immediately. Unfortunately for the Mazzottis, Governor Rauner repealed that appointment the next day.
In addition, Garth reported that Governor Quinn did not sign any marijuana cultivator licenses before leaving office and Governor Rauner, who opposes the use of medical marijuana will have to decide if he is going to sign these licenses. If he does not sign these licenses, the legal procurement of medical marijuana in Illinois will not be possible.
NABP Oversight of .Pharmacy Domain Names: NABP is now overseeing the distribution of domain names for online pharmacies using the .pharmacy instead of .com or .org. The pharmacies that use those domain names will be verified and inspected by NABP on a regular basis.
Next Board of Pharmacy Meeting: The next meeting of the Illinois Board of Pharmacy will be held at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, March 10th at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago. The profession is welcome to attend the open portion of this meeting.
Medication Safety Pearl
Promoting Situational Awareness and a Culture of Safety: The Daily Pharmacy Safety Huddle
by Amy Secord, PharmD, PGY-1 Resident(1) and Jen Phillips, PharmD, BCPS, Clinical Specialist, Drug Information(1) and Assistant Professor(2)
(1) Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, IL
(2) Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (ALGH) is a 638-bed community teaching hospital and Level I Trauma Center serving the north and northwest suburban Chicago area. Lutheran General is home to Advocate Children’s Hospital Park Ridge campus making ALGH the fifth largest hospital in the Chicagoland area and one of the largest hospitals within the Advocate Heath Care System. The diverse patient population, wide range of clinical services, and number of patients AGLH provides care for fuels the focus on patient safety, quality care, and the innovative practice environment the exists at ALGH.
The release of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report “To Err is Human” in 1999 served as a catalyst for improved patient safety in healthcare.1 The report highlighted the need to improve workplace systems and processes as an error reduction strategy. Additionally, IOM recommended building a culture of safety with an emphasis on effective communication. Subsequently, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement released a safety briefing tool facilitating adoption of daily huddles within heath systems.2 As organizations began implementing IOM’s recommendations and assessing outcomes, evaluations of innovative patient safety improvement practices such as conducting daily safety huddles to promote situational awareness have yielded positive results. Early adopters who have successfully implemented team huddles to reduce the potential for error during handoffs include patient care teams in the operating room, intensive care unit, and pediatric settings.3-6 This practice has expanded to other departments and organizations are now exploring implementation of tiered huddle approaches.7 At ALGH, a tiered huddle system is currently used, including a larger safety huddle encompassing the entire Advocate System followed by a smaller focused departmental safety huddle, in order to maximize situational awareness amongst hospital departments as well as within the pharmacy department itself.
Process
In June of 2013, the Department of Pharmacy at ALGH initiated a department-wide Pharmacy Safety Huddle to help promote situational awareness of issues with the potential to affect the safety and quality of patient care. The huddle occurs via teleconference every day at 0900 and involves representation from all of the service areas in the department, including each of the 6 pharmacy teams, the IV room, central pharmacy, clinical pharmacy, inventory control, and medication reconciliation. The pharmacy huddle was based on a model that was implemented in April of 2013 for two of Advocate’s largest hospitals – Advocate Christ Medical Center and Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. During the Advocate-wide Healthcare Safety Huddle, which occurs via teleconference daily at 0830, a manager or other designee from each of the hospitals’ major departments (including clinical and non-clinical areas) calls into the conference and provides relevant updates on safety or quality issues that have recently occurred or may occur in the next 24 hours.
During the Pharmacy Safety Huddle, a pharmacy manager (or a designee on weekends) leads the call. The call starts promptly at 0900, follows a strictly organized agenda, and usually lasts 4-6 minutes. First, the daily census and the number of scheduled surgeries are reported, followed by the number of days since any pharmacy-related error reported outside of the department. After this, the manger leading the call reviews any pertinent issues communicated during the Advocate Safety Huddle and any major errors reported in the last 24 hours are reviewed, along with strategies to prevent these types of errors in the future. Next, the manager calls on each participant on the conference call to provide an overview of their workload for the day, including how many protocols they are managing (i.e., heparin, warfarin, aminoglycosides, or vancomycin) and any other issues that they would like to make the department aware of. When an issue is presented, a strategy of how to safely address that issue to minimize the potential for patient harm is also provided. Examples of issues that have been reviewed on this huddle include: same-name alerts, drug supply issues, review of good catches, review of recent errors, and review of high-risk situations (e.g., patients with multiple allergies, substitutions during times of drug shortages, updates regarding department construction/new initiatives).
Immediately following the huddle, the manager who led the call distributes minutes for the meeting via e-mail. Figure 1 includes a template used for the minutes. This helps keep everyone in the department aware of major issues, even if they are not working first shift.
The ALGH Pharmacy Safety Huddle seems to be working very well. Comments from pharmacists regarding the huddle include, “I like the updates on drug shortages. Also getting information about workflow issues is nice; that way I am more likely to help.” Others felt similarly, and when asked what information from the huddles they consider to be the most valuable responded, “Updates on inventory status or which products are on backorder is extremely useful.” When questioned about how they use the information from the huddle, responses were similar again saying, “The sense of workflow allows me to help out others, and knowing the shortage information, I can recommend alternatives.” Pharmacists agreed the safety huddle has a positive impact on patient safety. In their opinion, even when not directly involved in a safety event, they want to hear about it because “hearing examples of safety events or good catches that occurred makes you more vigilant when checking medications or verifying orders.”
The only major barrier to implementation in the beginning was getting the department used to calling in every day at 0900. To help with this, stickers containing the teleconference number and passcode were created and posted in the main pharmacy and in each of the decentralized areas. In addition, calls/reminders were provided to team members who were frequently missing the calls. The Department recently celebrated one year of pharmacy safety huddles, and we look forward to many more.
Figure 1: Template of Minutes from a Daily Pharmacy Safety Huddle
References
- Kohn, LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson Ms, editors. To err is human: building a safer health system. Washington (DC): National Academy Press; 1999.
- Safety Briefings (IHI tool). Boston MA: Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2003. http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/Tools/SafetyBriefings.aspx. Accessed December 27, 2014.
- Leonard M, Graham S, Bonacum D. The Human Factor: the critical importance of effective teamwork and communication in providing safe care. Qual Saf Health Care. 2004;13:85-90.
- Wilbur K, Scarborough K. Medication Safety Huddles: Teaming Up to Improve Patient Safety. CJHP. 2005;58(3):151-155.
- Brady P, Muething S, Kotagal U, et al. Improving Situational Awareness to Reduce Unrecognized Clinical Deterioration and Serious Safety Events. Pediatr. 2013;131:e298-e308.
- McClead R, Catt C, Davis J, et al. An Internal Quality Improvement Collaborative Significantly Reduces Hospital Wide Medication Error Related Adverse Drug Events. J Pediatr. 2014;165(6):1222-1229.
- Goldenhar L, Brady P, Sutcliffe K, et al. Huddling for high reliability and situational awareness. BMJ Qual Saf. 2013;22:899-906.
Leadership Profile
Gary Peksa, PharmD, BCPS, NISHP President
Where did you go to pharmacy school? University of Illinois at Chicago, and I graduated in 2010.
Trace your professional history since graduation. Where have you trained/worked? Any special accomplishments?
Post-graduation I completed a PGY1 in acute care pharmacy at Rush University Medical Center and accepted a position at Advocate Christ Medical Center as an Emergency Medicine Pharmacist. After 1 year at Advocate Christ, an opportunity presented itself to return to Rush University Medical Center in July 2012 as a Clinical Specialist in Emergency Medicine.
Special accomplishments I am proud of include President-elect of the Northern Affiliate Chapter of ICHP, and presently I serve as the President. I am serving a one year term as the Pharmaceutical Chair of The Executive Committee for The Chicago Healthcare System Coalition for Preparedness and Response.
Describe your current area of practice and practice setting.
The Emergency Department (ED) at Rush University Medical Center provides care for adult and pediatric patients in the greater Chicagoland area. It is comprised of 60 treatment beds divided into 3 areas by patient acuity: Pod A, Pod B (critical care), and Pod C. Rush is a Joint Commission-certified Stroke Center, a Center for Advanced Emergency Response, a Level-2 Trauma Center, and an accredited Chest Pain Center.
As the ED pharmacist, I monitor pharmacotherapy regimens for effectiveness and adverse effects. It is my responsibility to perform culture follow-up for patients discharged with subsequent positive results. I perform chart reviews, patient interviews/assessments, allergy and home medication documentation and additional tasks required to gather pertinent information. I participate in all medical “code” situations (e.g., cardiac arrest, acute stroke, myocardial infarctions), making dosage recommendations and preparing medications at the bedside. I provide appropriate and timely drug information responses to healthcare providers as well as education and counseling to patients when appropriate.
Lastly, I precept PGY1 pharmacy residents, PGY2 critical care pharmacy residents, and students from multiple pharmacy schools.
What initially motivated you to get involved, and what benefits do you see in being active in a professional association such as ICHP?
I initially became involved with ICHP during my residency year. I am interested in politics and saw an opportunity for my voice to be heard on the Legislative Affairs Committee of ICHP. Being active offers me the benefit of ensuring the future practice of pharmacy in the State of Illinois is shaped by the voices within the organization. Additionally, ICHP offers networking opportunities, continuing education, and continuing professional development for me as a new practitioner.
What advice would you give to a new practitioner eager to become more involved within ICHP? To the new grad? To the student?
If there is a will, there is a way! ANYONE wanting to be involved within the organization should start by expressing interest to current members that may assist them with getting involved. Additionally, ICHP reaches out to its members via electronic surveys that ask about ways members would like to get involved. Both are great starting points.
Is there an individual you admire or look up to or a mentor that has influenced your career?
Yes, Kathryn Schultz, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCOP. She facilitated my joining the Legislative Affairs Committee within ICHP, mentored me during my residency year at RUSH, and assisted me with my first original research article publication.
As a newer practitioner, what is your vision for pharmacy in the future? Or what would you like to able to see accomplished within pharmacy?
I hope the largest push within our profession is to obtain provider status.
What three adjectives would people use to best describe you?
Nonchalant. Honest. Helpful.
Do you have any special interests or hobbies outside of pharmacy/work/school? Special accomplishments?
Family, recently married and Godparent of 2 children.
Sports, watching and playing.
Music, all genres.
Do you have a favorite restaurant/food?
I can eat Mexican food all day, every day.
What is your favorite place to vacation?
Favorite past time is vacationing at the family lake house in Koontz Lake, IN.
More recently I love traveling to Mexico with Puerto Vallarta being my favorite city.
What is the most interesting/unique fact about yourself that few people know?
I was on an episode of the retired TV show, MTV High School Stories.
Anything else, you would like to share?
I encourage young practitioners to get involved with ICHP!
Government Affairs Report
The General Assembly is Sworn In
by Jim Owen and Scott Meyers
While the General Assembly was sworn in mid-January just two days after the new Governor, they have already been very busy with introducing 69 bills in the Senate and 270 bills in the House. Of those, 7 bills reference pharmacy and 36 bills reference drugs. It will be a very busy and interesting session this spring.
One early issue that has both a Senate and a House version is the “Right to Try”. These bills would allow terminally ill patients to petition pharmaceutical manufacturers who have investigational drugs in Phase II and III trials for compassionate use. Both SB29 and HB207 do not require the pharmaceutical manufacturer to provide the drugs but allows them to do so and it allows the manufacturer to provide them free or for a charge, whichever they prefer. The bills do not seem to be very restrictive but do bypass current FDA compassionate use procedures. It is highly unlikely that most drug manufacturers will respond to any request except to direct patients to existing programs. While seemingly well-intended, this type of bill is another example of State legislation circumventing federal regulation.
The Illinois Pharmacists Association and ICHP will be working on a bill that will mandate continuing education requirements for pharmacy technicians. The language is not finalized but will not be any more restrictive than current PTCB standards except that only technician specific ACPE approved programming would be accepted. If certified pharmacy technicians recertify with PTCB, they should be able to meet this requirement with only limited changes. ICHP member technicians will be able to meet this requirement solely by completing the Pharmacy Tech Topics™ online modules, which are provided free to them through their ICHP membership.
Another bill of interest for pharmacists is the SB32 which would prohibit the possession of alternative nicotine products by minors (under the age of 18). This Act that this bill amends, the Prevention of Tobacco Use by Minors and Sale and Distribution of Tobacco Products Act, and the bill is aimed at e-cigarettes. The of possession of smoking cessation products like nicotine gum, lozenges or patches by minors is not prohibited as long as their use is for legitimate medical purposes. ICHP will work with the sponsors of the bill to make sure access to these products for minors who are already smoking albeit illegally are not prohibited from obtaining and possessing those products.
There will certainly be many more bills that could impact pharmacy, and we will keep you informed with our new Government Affairs Report format. At the same time, we strongly urge each of you, our ICHP members to contribute to the ICHP Pharmacy Action Fund by sending a check to the ICHP office, 4055 N Perryville Road, Loves Park, IL 61107 or calling the office with your credit card at (815) 227-9292 and asking for Jan Mark or Scott. In addition we encourage each of you to build a personal relationship with your State Senator and Representative. The laws that govern pharmacy primarily come from Springfield, and your legislators are critical players! Next month’s report will most assuredly have a wide variety of bills for your review!
ICHPeople
On January 18, 2015, Trish and Bob Wegner welcomed their first grandchild into the world. Daisy Joy was 7 lbs 2 oz and 20.25 inches at birth and is a delight to her parents, Allison (Wegner) and Joel Negus. Gramma and Papa are ecstatic!
College Connections
It’s Never Too Early to Have a Strategic Plan
by Bernice Man, P4, SSHP Immediate Past President, Chicago State University College of Pharmacy
Most people know that physicians are required to complete a residency after medical school. However, outside of the medical profession, the fact that other healthcare professionals complete postgraduate training is not as well known. When I started working as a hospital pharmacy technician in 2009, I was unaware of pharmacy residencies. During one of my shifts, I overheard two pharmacists talk about how they envisioned residency would eventually be required. Because I assumed I eventually would be a hospital pharmacist, I knew that I would need to apply for a residency and that I would have to start preparing myself early for that possibility. This preparation would involve excelling academically, being involved in student organizations, and being a well-rounded pharmacy student.
Prior to starting pharmacy school, I was also unfamiliar with the term “strategic plan.” During my third-year, I learned that institutions identify goals and develop ways to achieve those aims by utilizing such an approach. While sitting in my pharmacy management class, I realized I entered pharmacy school with a personal strategic plan to eventually pursue post-graduate training. With the pharmacy residency and job markets becoming more and more competitive, I would highly recommend all students develop an informal or formal strategic plan for themselves. Here are some tips to keep in mind when developing your personalized strategic plan.
1. Become involved in student organizations. Because of my interest in institutional pharmacy practice, I was immediately drawn to the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacy (SSHP). I ran for the P1 Liaison position with the eventual goal of becoming President. Through my organizational involvement, I have learned so much about the profession and its future direction. I highly recommend that all first-year students pick at least one organization to become involved in that is aligned with your interest areas. Dedicate time to that organization and treat it as more than just a bullet point on your CV. Continue to be involved in your organization(s) of choice as pharmacy school progresses. The benefits of being involved will definitely be worthwhile.
2. Volunteer to take on more responsibility. When I started pharmacy school, I never envisioned myself as a leader. I thought I would be involved in one student organization and dedicate the rest of my time to my studies. Somehow along the way, my involvement and leadership developed organically. I have served on the e-boards of multiple student organizations, completed the Schweitzer Fellowship, served on American Society of Health-System Pharmacists advisory groups and American College of Clinical Pharmacy committees, and am currently on the national executive committee of Phi Lambda Sigma as Member-at-Large. Our studies can be overwhelming because of the rigorous coursework and the large volume of information that we receive. Though didactic learning is your first priority as a student, do not allow that to hinder you from taking on extracurricular responsibilities.
3. Keep an open mind. Many students may have preconceived notions regarding which area to practice in after graduation. However, I think it’s important to not limit yourself to one area of pharmacy. Make an effort to expose yourself to different areas of pharmacy early in the curriculum, whether that is through an internship, shadowing, employment, or through a student organization. Though I envisioned becoming a hospital pharmacist, I deliberately applied to be a Dominick’s Pharmacy intern because I wanted exposure to community pharmacy practice. Being exposed to multiple pharmacy areas gives you a wider breadth of understanding of different aspects of pharmacy and how the different areas interrelate with one another (i.e. transitions of care).
4. Be forward-thinking. Because your time during school can be somewhat of an insular experience, it’s easy to become caught up in immediately pressing issues, such as assignment and exam deadlines. However, I think it is important to look at every opportunity with a long-term vision and view every experience as a potential learning experience. When committing yourself to activities outside of studying, keep in mind how being involved can help you in your future, whether it is through networking or learning about aspects of pharmacy that you won’t learn about in school.
5. Believe in yourself. Often times, students may not volunteer to take on more because of fear or the belief that they cannot contribute. I truly believe that every individual is more than capable of contributing to progress through his or her talents and hard work. The only way you can know what you are capable of is by taking on more responsibility and pushing your limits. By doing so, you will discover you are capable of more than you thought you were.
As a fourth-year student who will be graduating soon, I look back on my pharmacy school experience and I am fortunate that I do not have any regrets because I kept my strategic plan and long-term residency vision in the forefront of my mind. Each person is capable of taking his or her career and destiny in his or her own hands. I hope that these tips will assist you in developing your personal strategic plan and help you secure your future within the profession. If you have any questions or advice about how to get involved, please feel free to email me at bman@csu.edu. I believe that if I have been able to accomplish as much as I have, every student is also just as capable.
A New Spin on Student/Teacher Interaction: The Faculty Auction
by Taylor Hunt, P3, and Hannah Sheley, P3, SIUE School of Pharmacy
I know what you are thinking, but don’t judge it by the name; it truly is harmless. The faculty auction is something that the SIUE chapter of ICHP puts on every spring to not only act as a fundraiser for the organization, but also to help students and faculty members interact on a more casual level. In place of a general meeting for that month, our chapter hosts the faculty auction consisting of donations from faculty members with various activities offered for the students to choose from. At the conclusion of each auction, a portion of the profits are donated to a charity of our choice. We are proud to say that for the past few years that choice has been the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Metro Saint Louis. It is a very popular event with our school of pharmacy that we can only hope will spread to other pharmacy schools throughout Illinois.
The executive board members of our chapter are each assigned five to six teachers that they are required to approach, asking if they would like to offer anything for the faculty auction. If a faculty member agrees to participate, we then send them a form asking them to fill out the details and requirements of their donation. Faculty members can donate individually to even in groups as big as 10 professors. The beauty of the auction is that each faculty member can create a personalized item that may be tailored to a personal hobby they may have or interest that they think students might enjoy. The data that is received from participating faculty is then compiled into one PowerPoint presentation that we use on the day of the auction to present all the details of each individual item to a large group of students.
Picture it now: an MC taking bids from students to hang out with faculty members; this is not your standard SSHP meeting by any means. We ask one student volunteer to MC this event, starting at a low, but reasonable, price and increasing as needed until a final price is met in which only one student/group remains willing to keep their bid. Depending on how many students the item allows for, bidding can be completed by a number of participants. People discuss, plan, and strategize so they can get the item that they desire at a price that they can’t resist. Some examples of previous items are: a dessert of the month, a day of boating for six guests, a tour of the Lemp Brewery, a night of bowling and pizza, a summer BBQ, dog training, and a variety of fun lunch outings.Once students have bid and their names are recorded, the students are responsible for contacting their respective faculty member(s) and working out a date that works for everyone. Students use this outing with their professors to network, discuss the curriculum and their thoughts on our program, and to simply have an enjoyable time learning about each other! The auction is not only a truly boundless fundraiser for our organization, but also an amazing, unorthodox way to give students and teachers the opportunity to interact outside of the normal academic setting. At the SIUE SOP, we hope to help bridge the gap between students and faculty through meaningful out-of-classroom excursions. If you can do all this and have an incredible time while you are at it, then why not join in on the fun and create a faculty auction at your school too!
It’s a Small World After All
by Neha Kapur, P3, President, University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy - Rockford
Time and time again, I have heard the phrase “pharmacy is a small world.” Having spent a few years in the profession, I could not agree with this statement more. In both the classroom and workplace, I have witnessed an extremely interconnected network of pharmacists. Just the other day, I was applying for a certain rotation site and even my mom knew who the preceptor was (for the record, my mom is not a pharmacist, although my sister is).
This strongly connected web of pharmacy professionals creates great opportunities for students. One advantage of this linkage is that it facilitates networking and opens doors to new opportunities for individuals. Nevertheless, this network can also lead to some unfortunate consequences as well. If you make a poor impression on someone or “burn a bridge”, word may spread and your prospects may become more limited. Therefore, in the small world of pharmacy, it is important for individuals to build and protect their personal brand. You brand is all about the image you portray of yourself and encompasses others’ perceptions of your strengths/weaknesses, ambitions and potential.
So how does one go about building their brand? In order to build your brand, you must first determine what your aspirations are and what you want your brand to convey. For instance, let’s say you want to obtain a PGY1 residency at a Chicago hospital. What personal attributes and experiences are needed to acquire the residency and become a successful resident? Some ways you can answer this question is by attending various informational or recruiting events, going on websites like LinkedIn to see the types of experiences current or past residents have had, getting your CV reviewed by a residency director, clinical pharmacist, or resident and by conveying your interests to others. Joining organizations like ICHP is a great way to figure out how to build the brand you want, particularly in the example provided above. ICHP provides students with opportunities to learn about what a residency entails and strategies to obtain residencies. It also holds meetings like the ICHP Annual Meeting where students can speak with potential employers and expand their network of contacts.
Once you have envisioned your ideal brand, you need to assess the current state of your brand. How do others view you and how closely does that match the image you want to portray? Once you have gathered feedback from peers and supervisors, you need to work toward filling those gaps. For instance, if people generally perceive you as someone who has trouble problem solving during clinical case studies, that’s an issue you should work to resolve. As a student, you should come prepared to recitations involving clinical cases and writing SOAP notes. Additionally, you should seek out opportunities like internships where you can gain real-world experience that allows you to improve upon that skill. Don’t be afraid to seek help from mentors who can guide you in the right direction.
Now that you have a picture of what your brand should look like, as well as the extent to which you exemplify it and how to fix any misconceptions, you need to make sure you maintain all aspects of your brand. Your brand needs constant care and nurturing in order to grow how you want it to. This does not only include the technical skills and experiences mentioned earlier, but also soft skills and your physical appearance. Soft skills refer to how well you communicate and work with others on a social and professional level. Your physical appearance can play a role in terms of how well put-together or professional you seem. We all take care of these aspects when attending an interview, but we need to check to see if we are upholding this when we enter the workplace, attend a professional or volunteer event, walk into the classroom and interact on social media outlets. The more in sync you are across these various mediums, the stronger your brand becomes.
Altogether, we cannot always control how others view us or our work, but we can control our own actions and the work we produce. Mistakes are inevitable but they can be overcome with persistence and preparation. We need to make sure that we are doing all that we can to present the best image of ourselves…it’s a small world after all.
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Officers and Board of Directors
LINDA FRED
President
217-383-3253
linda.fred@carle.com
linda.fred@carle.com
MIKE FOTIS
Immediate Past President
michael.fotis@northwestern.edu
Immediate Past President
michael.fotis@northwestern.edu
GINGER ERTEL
Treasurer
660-342-5022
gertel@msn.com
TRAVIS HUNERDOSSE
Director, Educational Affairs
thunerdo@nmh.org
DESI KOTIS
Director, Professional Affairs
MIKE WEAVER
Chairman, House of Delegates
815-599-6113
mweaver@fhn.org
DAVID TJHIO
Chairman, Committee on Technology
816-885-4649
david.tjhio@cerner.com
JACOB GETTIG
Editor & Chairman, KeePosted Committee
630-515-7324 fax: 630-515-6958
jgetti@midwestern.edu
Treasurer
660-342-5022
gertel@msn.com
CHARLENE HOPE
Secretary
773-292-8200 x4190
TRAVIS HUNERDOSSE
Director, Educational Affairs
thunerdo@nmh.org
CARRIE VOGLER
Director, Marketing Affairs
217-545-5394
DESI KOTIS
Director, Professional Affairs
312-926-6961
dkotis@nmh.org
dkotis@nmh.org
KATHY KOMPERDA
Director, Organizational Affairs
630-515-6168
kkompe@midwestern.edu
Director, Organizational Affairs
630-515-6168
kkompe@midwestern.edu
MIKE WEAVER
Chairman, House of Delegates
815-599-6113
mweaver@fhn.org
ANA FERNANDEZ
Technician Representative
312-926-6980
DAVID TJHIO
Chairman, Committee on Technology
816-885-4649
david.tjhio@cerner.com
BRANDI STRADER
Chairman, New Practitioners Network
217-544-6464
JACOB GETTIG
Editor & Chairman, KeePosted Committee
630-515-7324 fax: 630-515-6958
jgetti@midwestern.edu
JENNIFER PHILLIPS
Assistant Editor, KeePosted
630-515-7167
jphillips@midwestern.edu
Assistant Editor, KeePosted
630-515-7167
jphillips@midwestern.edu
SCOTT MEYERS
Executive Vice President, ICHP Office
815-227-9292
scottm@ichpnet.org
Regional Directors
Executive Vice President, ICHP Office
815-227-9292
scottm@ichpnet.org
Regional Directors
NOELLE CHAPMAN
Regional Director North
Regional Director North
312-926-2547
nchapman@nmh.org
JENNIFER ARNOLDI
Regional Director Central
jennifer.arnoldi@st-johns.org
JENNIFER ARNOLDI
Regional Director Central
jennifer.arnoldi@st-johns.org
LYNN FROMM
Co-Regional Director South
Co-Regional Director South
618-391-5539
TARA VICKERY-GORDON
Co-Regional Director South
Co-Regional Director South
618-643-2361 x2330
tvgordon@hmhospital.org
Student Chapter Presidents
Student Chapter Presidents
KEVIN CHANG
President, Student Chapter
University of IL C.O.P.
kchang29@uic.edu
President, Student Chapter
University of IL C.O.P.
kchang29@uic.edu
JULIA SAPOZHNIKOV
Student Chapter Liaison
University of IL C.O.P.
sapozhn1@uic.edu
NEHA KAPUR
President, Rockford Student Chapter
University of IL C.O.P.
kapur4@uic.edu
CAROLYN TOY
President, Student Chapter
JULIA SCHIMMELPFENNIG
President, Metro East Society (MESHP)
jschimmelpfen@sebh.org
MEGAN METZKE
President, Sangamiss Society
memiller8@yahoo.com
ED RAINVILLE
President, West Central Society (WSHP)
309-655-7331x
ed.c.rainville@osfhealthcare.org
Vacant Roles at Affiliates —
President, Rock Valley Society; Southern IL Society; Sugar Creek Society
Student Chapter Liaison
University of IL C.O.P.
sapozhn1@uic.edu
NEHA KAPUR
President, Rockford Student Chapter
University of IL C.O.P.
kapur4@uic.edu
CAROLYN TOY
President, Student Chapter
Midwestern University C.O.P.
ctoy59@midwestern.edu
MARIA LAURA ITUAH
President, Student Chapter
Chicago State University C.O.P.
ctoy59@midwestern.edu
MARIA LAURA ITUAH
President, Student Chapter
Chicago State University C.O.P.
mituah@csu.edu
KIMBERLEE KABBES
President, Student Chapter
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville S.O.P
kikabbe@siue.edu
COURTNEY MAKOWSKI
President, Student Chapter
Roosevelt University C.O.P.
KIMBERLEE KABBES
President, Student Chapter
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville S.O.P
kikabbe@siue.edu
COURTNEY MAKOWSKI
President, Student Chapter
Roosevelt University C.O.P.
cmakowski@mail.roosevelt.edu
AMANDA OUTINEN
President, Student Chapter
Rosalind Franklin University C.O.P.
Amanda.outinen@my.rfums.org
ICHP Affiliates
GARY PEKSA
President, Northern IL Society (NISHP)
AMANDA OUTINEN
President, Student Chapter
Rosalind Franklin University C.O.P.
Amanda.outinen@my.rfums.org
ICHP Affiliates
GARY PEKSA
President, Northern IL Society (NISHP)
JULIA SCHIMMELPFENNIG
President, Metro East Society (MESHP)
jschimmelpfen@sebh.org
MEGAN METZKE
President, Sangamiss Society
memiller8@yahoo.com
ED RAINVILLE
President, West Central Society (WSHP)
309-655-7331x
ed.c.rainville@osfhealthcare.org
Vacant Roles at Affiliates —
President, Rock Valley Society; Southern IL Society; Sugar Creek Society
Welcome New Members!
| New Member | Recruiter |
| Regina Takamura | |
| Tina Zook | |
| Nilubol Cencula | |
| David Morrill | |
| Brieann Koster | |
| Fahima Hassan | |
| Li-wun Chu | |
| Fahma Abdirahman | |
| Liliia Gutsul | |
| Ashokkumar Patel | Angelia Dreher |
| Katie Conklen |
ICHP Pharmacy Action Fund (PAC) Contributors
Names below reflect donations between February 1, 2014 and February 1, 2015. Giving categories reflect each person's cumulative donations since inception.
ADVOCACY ALLIANCE - $2500-$10000
Kevin Colgan
Edward Donnelly
Dave Hicks
Frank Kokaisl
Michael Novario
Scott Bergman
Andrew Donnelly
Ginger Ertel
Linda Fred
James Owen Consulting Inc.
Jan Keresztes
Kathy Komperda
Despina Kotis
William McEvoy
Scott Meyers
Michael Rajski
Edward Rickert
Christina Rivers
Michael Short
Carrie Sincak
Miriam Mobley-Smith
Avery Spunt
Michael Weaver
Patricia Wegner
Thomas Westerkamp
CAPITOL CLUB - $500-$999
Sheila Allen
Margaret Allen
Rauf Dalal
Drury Lane Theater
Ann Jankiewicz
Leonard Kosiba
George MacKinnon
Janette Mark
Mary Lynn Moody
Jennifer Phillips
Edward Rainville
JoAnn Stubbings
UIC Student Chapter
Jill Warszalek
GENERAL ASSEMBLY GUILD - $250-$499
Tom Allen
Pete Antonopoulos
Peggy Bickham
Jaime Borkowski
Sandra Durley
Nancy Fjortoft
Michael Fotis
Travis Hunerdosse
Zahra Khudeira
Ann Kuchta
Mary Lee
Gloria Meredith
Justin Schneider
Kathryn Schultz
Heidi Sunday
Alan Weinstein
SPRINGFIELD SOCIETY - $100-$249
Jen Arnoldi
Jerry Bauman
Jill Borchert
Donna Clay
Mark Deaton
John Esterly
Gireesh Gupchup
Joann Haley
Joan Hardman
Charlene Hope
Diana Isaacs
Kim Janicek
Stan Kent
Kati Kwasiborski
Kristopher Leja
Ronald Miller
New Practitioners Network
Karen Nordstrom
Peggy Reed
Katie Ronald
Brandi Strader
Jennifer Tryon
Carrie Vogler
Marie Williams
William Wuller
Cindy Wuller
GRASSROOTS GANG - $50-$99
Brett Barker
Susan Berg
Jeanne Durley
Mary Eilers
Lara Ellinger
Clara Gary
Tory Gunderson
Carol Heunisch
Brian Hoff
Robert Hoy
Mike Koronkowski
Kim Lim
Mark Luer
Bella Maningat
Milena McLaughlin
Megan Metzke
Katherine Miller
Mark Ruscin
Stacy Schmittling
Evanna Shopoff
Lucas Stoller
Jerry Storm
Dave Willman
Janeen Winneke
Amanda Wolff
CONTRIBUTOR - $1-$49
Renee Advincula
Yinka Alaka
Anchalee Ardharn
Lisa Ball
Roger Ball
Marci Batsakis
Greg Biedron
Amy Boblitt
John Chaney
Kathy Cimakasky
Mardhia Dayisi
Andreea Ducu
Veronica Flores
Deb Fox
Janice Frueh
Crystin Gloude
Linda Grider
Alisa Groesch
Rebekah Hanson
Margaret Heger
Ina Henderson
Julie Kasap
Dijana Keljalic
Nehrin Khamo
Josephine Kochou
Huda-Marie Kuttab
Irvin Laubscher
Chris Little
Kristopher Lozanovski
Laura Mazzone
Kit Moy
Syed Munawer
Whitney Palecek
Hina Patel
Abby Reeder
Cheryl Scantlen
Elba Sertuche
Hannah Sheley
Chris Shoemaker
Carrie Silverman
Theophilus Simon
Jennifer Splawski
Gloria Sporleder
David Tjhio
Zakarri Vinson
Michael Wilcox
Christina Yates
Thomas Yu
Click here to make a donation to the PAC.
Upcoming Events
Visit the ICHP Calendar for the most up-to-date events!
Tuesday, February 10 & Thursday, February 19
LIVE Webinar! Technicians – Keeping Pharmacy Safe
Technician specific Champion Webinar
Wednesday, March 11
9th Annual Under the Dome Pharmacy Legislative Day
Illinois State Capitol | Springfield, IL
Thursday, March 12 & Tuesday, March 24
LIVE Webinar! Intranasal Medication Delivery – Nothing to Sneeze At
Pharmacist & Technician specific Champion Webinar
Friday, March 20 & Saturday March 21
ICHP/MSHP 2015 Spring Meeting
Pharmacist & Technician specific CPE programming
St. Charles Convention Center | St. Charles, MO
