Dear SPA Members,
We are off to an awesome start for 2016! We have already had a social networking event at Liberty Ciderworks, two C.E. events (Washington State Immunization Records System review in January and the dynamic, student organized, WSU-NCPA event on “Technology Innovations in Community Pharmacies”) and a third C.E. on the Washington State Pharmacy Review Process coming up on March 22nd and 23rd.
Before we continue on with 2016, I’d like to acknowledge two outstanding SPA Board members who left the Board at the end of 2015:
- Jason Doss, your amazing source of great education opportunities for the last few years, has turned the C.E. duties over to Brett Haney
- Past-President Manpreet Chahal has stepped off the SPA Board, but is still representing the Spokane area on the WSPA Board
- Chris Greer is now the SPA past-president, but continues to provide leadership in many areas, especially with the Community Pharmacy Forum, and working with the Spokane Regional Health District on their immunization and tobacco education programs.
These three people have raised the quality of all of the SPA educational and community projects to a whole new level in the last few years.
Speaking of Chris Greer, did you know that he received two major awards last year? He received the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Master Preceptor Recognition Program award (the first selected from Washington), AND from the Washington State Pharmacy Association, the Washington State Health System Pharmacist of the Year award. You deserve recognition for your good work, Chris and we’re proud of you.
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Looking forward into 2016, we have an exceptional year planned for you:
C.E.
After the March C.E., the April topic is “Biosimilars” and the May topic is new/old glaucoma treatments. Please see the specifics and the registration details on the SPA website at www.spokanepharmacy.org. Note that the locations are different for each of these C.E. offerings in the hope that we can make the C.E. as convenient to everyone as possible.
WSPA is offering “New Drugs-New Laws” C.E. on April 17th
Save the date – Tech Day is October 1st, 2016. A great start to National Pharmacy Month.
Pharmacy students
Brittany Croy will be leaving SPA in May to go on rotations, and Pahulpreet Handa has been selected to be the student representative to the SPA Board. Brittany, Mira Kim and Pahulpreet are planning events to encourage additional student participation and membership in SPA.
New SPA Board Members
Anna Mucker (Providence Health System), Kendra Demaris (Community pharmacy) and Eleanor Carbett Doss (PQAC) are our new board members. They are already involved and providing leadership – Kendra is President-Elect, Anna is co-chair for the Annual Meeting with Heather Homchick, and Eleanor is presenting your March C.E. program.
Legislative issues
You can follow the legislative issues and actions at www.wsparx.org. In case you missed the opinion column by WSPA President Jeff Rochon in the March 12, 2016 Spokesman, there is a posting of it on the SPA Facebook page www.facebook.com/spokanepharmacy.
Community Involvement
SPA is actively involved with Spokane Regional Health District programs. We actively support their immunization education and vaccination clinics, and Chris Greer is working to develop a program to coordinate students to help with tobacco education and cessation programs as there are areas of Spokane where there is still up to 40% of the population who are smoking.
What we do EVERY day matters – to someone
Pharmacy is a profession where each of us has the opportunity every day to make a difference for one, if not many, people. Even the most basic function of getting “the right medication to the right person for the right reason” is not just our job – it is what we do to help people live better lives. Even when a patient/ family receives their medication and every single item needed is there and correct, which they rightfully expect, it is one less thing for them to worry about. When we make an intervention that makes a dramatic difference in someone’s life, it adds value to the day for both giver and receiver. In honor of those thoughts, I would like to mention the following pharmacies and pharmacy professionals who provide excellence every day.
2015 Annual Awards
Pharmacy of the Year – Hart and Dilatush
Pharmacist of the Year – Casey Blair (CHAS)
Pharmacy Technician of the Year – Ben Hoffman (Valley Hospital)
Pharmacy Student of the Year – Stephanie Lind
You can take note of excellence all year long and be sure to nominate a co-worker in the fall !
2016 Pharmacy Focus (so far)
January – Hart and Dilatush
February – Medication Review
March – Riverpoint Pharmacy
Remember: You can nominate a pharmacy, a clinic, a specialty group, a specific store or department monthly, all year long!
SPA members
Kudos to each of our members, who each day ensure that the right thing is done, who take time to listen, who work to counsel/educate, who look for opportunities to make a difference, who give credit to their co-workers when they see exceptional performance, who work together to solve problems, who belong to and participate in their professional organization, who advocate for their profession – because they care.
Thank you for the excellent work that YOU do every day!
Landa Vierra
SPA 2016 president
Spokane Pharmacy Association 