ASHP President Linda S. Tyler, PharmD, FASHP, Professor (Clinical) of Pharmacotherapy at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy, opened the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition on Monday, December 6, 2021. Dr. Tyler thanked pharmacists for their important, ongoing contributions to healthcare during the Pandemic. She also acknowledged pharmacy and other healthcare professionals and ASHP support staff during the annual Midyear Meeting Awards Ceremony.
CEO Award for Staff Excellence
Presented by ASHP CEO Paul W. Abramowitz, PharmD, ScD (Hon), FASHP, the CEO Award for Staff Excellence recognizes an individual staff member who, in addition to performing all normal job duties with excellence, has also demonstrated exceptional initiative in contributing to ASHP. Specifically, this award recognizes a staff member who has provided an outstanding contribution by leading or developing a project of significant value for ASHP and has demonstrated sustained excellence over time to the advancement of ASHP.
- Anna Legreid Dopp, Senior Director, Clinical Guidelines and Quality Improvement, Office of Practice Advancement
- Michael Ganio, Senior Director, Pharmacy Practice and Quality, Office of Practice Advancement
- Elaine Jimenez, Editorial Manager, AJHP and Special Publishing, ASHP Publishing Office
ASHP-ABHP Joint Leadership Award
The ASHP-ABHP (Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists) Joint Leadership Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. The 2021 recipient of the Joint Leadership Award is Manouchkathe Cassagnol, PharmD, BCPS, BCCP, FACC, FAHA, Clinical Professor in the Department of Clinical Health Professions, Assistant Dean of Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Executive Director of the Academic Center for Equity and Inclusion at St. John’s University in Queens.
ASHP Board of Directors’ Awards
Pharmacy Technician Excellence Award
The ASHP Board of Directors’ Pharmacy Technician Excellence Award recognizes contributions to excellence in the role of pharmacy technicians, advancement of the pharmacy technician workforce, and advancement of pharmacy practice. The inaugural recipients of the Pharmacy Technician Excellence Award are Glen J. Gard, CPhT-Adv, CSPT, Director of Sterile Compounding Compliance at Option Care Health in Chicago and Matthew A. Rewald, CPhT, Pharmacy Technician Program Director and Assistant Professor of Pharmacy at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and Pharmacy Technician Education Coordinator at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Mr. Gard is a nationally recognized expert in sterile compounding and a champion for the advancement of pharmacy technician roles.
Mr. Rewald is a respected pharmacy technician, educator, and leader with an exceptional record of spearheading the development of nationally accredited pharmacy technician education and training programs.
Pharmacy Champion Award
The ASHP Board of Directors’ Pharmacy Champion Award recognizes leadership in advocacy and public policy that contributes to significant improvements in patient care, drug safety, medication-use outcomes, and advances the vital roles pharmacists play as patient care providers. The inaugural recipients of the Pharmacy Champion Award are the coalition of New Mexico pharmacy professionals involved in the passage of H.B. 42, Pharmaceutical Services Reimbursement Parity and ADM Brett P. Giroir, MD, 16th Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Representatives of the New Mexico Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the New Mexico Pharmacists Association, and the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy forged a coalition to secure passage of legislation that allows pharmacist clinicians and pharmacists with independent prescriptive authority to be reimbursed by Medicaid and commercial insurance plans for primary care and specialty care services with parity to physicians.
ADM Giroir played a significant role in facilitating efforts to expand the authority of pharmacists across all practice settings.
Distinguished Leadership
The ASHP Board of Directors’ Distinguished Leadership Award recognizes contributions to excellence in pharmacy practice leadership in acute and ambulatory care settings. The 2021 Distinguished Leadership Award recipients are John E. Clark, Pharm.D., M.S., FASHP, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapeutics and Clinical Research at the University of South Florida Health Taneja College of Pharmacy in Tampa and M. Lynn Crismon, PharmD, FCCP, DABCP, BCPP, Behrens Centennial Professor in the College of Pharmacy and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
Donald E. Francke Medal
The ASHP Board of Directors’ Donald E. Francke Medal honors pharmacists who have made significant international contributions to advance pharmacy practice. The 2021 medalist is Lijian “Leo” Cai, PharmD, Chief Pharmacy Officer at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo. Dr. Cai is a highly respected and accomplished leader in international pharmacy. His steadfast commitment to shepherding advancements in pharmacy education, training, and practice have led to lasting improvements in the United States and China, particularly in the areas of medication safety, residency training, and patient-centered pharmacy services.
ASHP Foundation 2021 Award for Sustained Contributions to the Literature
The ASHP Foundation Literature Awards Program: Award for Sustained Contributions annually recognizes a pharmacist whose career is distinguished by significant contributions to the biomedical literature. Administered by the ASHP Foundation since 1971, this program is based on the concept that recognition through awards stimulates research and innovation and fosters improvement in the quality of the biomedical literature. The Award for Sustained Contributions is made to a person with a track record for publishing relevant articles of consistently high quality and impact in the primary, peer-reviewed, biomedical literature over a minimum of 20 years. The recipient of the 2021 Award for Sustained Contributions to the Literature is Sandra L. Kane-Gill, PharmD, MSc, FCCM, FCCP, Professor of Pharmacy and Therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.
Dr. Kane-Gill is a federally funded researcher whose work focuses on effective approaches for the detection, prevention, and management of medication errors and adverse drug events. She has successfully incorporated health information technology (clinical decision support, telemedicine) in practice to advance healthcare systems in promoting better safety and quality of care for patients. She also applies implementation science strategies to ensure adoption of medication safety practices.
