ETSU's Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy Annual Report

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UAL RE N N A 7 1 0 2 6 201

Letter from the Dean

INSIDE: 2

Cover Story/Toward a National Footprint

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Toward Leaving Our Mark

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Toward Changing the Face of Health Care Abroad

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Faculty Footprints

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Toward Giving Back

11-12 Research Footprints 13-14 Student Footprints 15-17 Alumni Footprints 18

Celebrating Community Support

Having the opportunity to serve as the secondever dean of ETSU’s Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy over the past year has reminded me that the future is bright for the pharmacy profession. Since starting the job on July 1, 2016, I have witnessed the amazing work and dedication of our faculty and students in expanding the role of the pharmacist as a health care professional and continuing to provide quality health care to our patients.

ADMINISTRATION Dr. Brian Noland ETSU President Dr. Wilsie Bishop ETSU Vice President for Health Affairs

BILL GATTON COLLEGE OF PHARMACY Dr. Debbie Byrd Dean Dr. Adam Welch Associate Dean for Assessment and Academic Affairs Dr. Ralph Lugo Chair of Department of Pharmacy Practice Dr. David Roane Chair of Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Steve Ellis Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Sherry Armitage Director of Operations

What a wonderful year to start my journey at Gatton! We garnered national (and international) attention on multiple occasions for the great things happening here. Our pharmacy school was named the national champion of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s Clinical Pharmacy Challenge for the second time in four years. Our own Dr. Sarah Melton was awarded the Generation Rx Award from the American Pharmacists Association for her commitment to the mission of substance abuse education. She and other faculty members were involved in various activities on the state level – in both Tennessee and Virginia – regarding opioid abuse. Two of our students were among just 85 from across the country to be named American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Walmart Scholars and another student pharmacist was one of just 11 in the nation to be selected to participate in the Johnson & Johnson Global Citizen Young Leaders Program this fall. Additionally, I joined five fellow ETSU faculty members in Ireland and Scotland in late spring to participate in symposia focused on advancing interprofessional education and practice. We served as experts in all things interprofessional while also taking home some very valuable lessons.

You’ll find all of these stories and more inside this annual report.

I cannot begin to put into words the experiences of the past year. I am so proud to call Gatton my home and I continue to be in awe of all that our students, faculty, staff and alumni are capable of doing. The footprints each of you is leaving on our campus, our region and our world, are truly inspirational. I look forward to seeing where those footprints lead in the months and years ahead.

Editor Kristen Swing Director of Communications Graphic Design Stephen Russell Creative Manager Principal Photography Charlie Warden, Ron Campbell, Larry Smith

www.etsu.edu/pharmacy 1

Debbie Byrd, PharmD, MBA, BCPS Dean and Professor ETSU BILL GATTON COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

TOWARD A NATIONAL T N I R P T O O F ican College of Clinical

Amer e over ic w t s n io p m a Pharmacy ch

only e v a h s t n e d u t ally. Our s e r , e iv s s e llenge r a p h C im y y t c t a e r m p r a ’s “It linical Ph C P C C A rned e a h t e e in v d a e h t e e p w , m co that time g in r u d d n a , for five years wice.” t ip h s n io p m the cha For the second time in school history, the Gatton College of Pharmacy was named the national champion of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP)’s Clinical Pharmacy Challenge.

The Clinical Pharmacy Challenge is a unique pharmacy student team competition that draws participation from institutions across the country.

The online competition gave 112 teams the opportunity to compete in up to four rounds of competition which culminated in the final rounds in Hollywood, Florida, where they answered questions about everything from cardiovascular disorders and critical care to immunology and palliative care.

After successfully making its way to Hollywood and defeating opponents in the first three rounds of competition there, ETSU’s three-man team moved to the championship round against Oregon State University’s College of Pharmacy, winning the match and championship title.

Members of the championship team are Class of 2017 members Brad Dedic, ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

of Downs, Illinois; Dan Schroedl, of Syracuse, New York; and Wade Tugman, of Mountain City. Gatton College of Pharmacy associate professor Dr. David Cluck served as the team’s coach.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these students and how much dedication they put into being successful in this event,” Cluck said. “These students, from the first round moving forward, worked very well together and played off each other’s strengths.”

competition, with its first championship coming in 2013.

For Dedic, the experience showed him the value of working with others as a team.“You can accomplish a lot when everyone comes together to solve a common goal,” said Dedic, now living in Evanston, Illinois and working as a PGY-1 resident at NorthShore University HealthSystem. “There are many ways to accomplish a goal and having the opportunity to view the perspectives of other people can open up your mind and help you grow.”

For Tugman, the competition served as an invaluable learning opportunity. “It taught me that there are some very intelligent and hardworking people out there in the pharmacy world because the competition was incredibly tough,” said Tugman, now working on completing a PGY-1 pharmacy residency at the Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Healthcare System primarily based in Nashville. “But the competition gave me a lot of confidence leaving Gatton because our experiences at the College of Pharmacy left us very well prepared to compete against everyone else in the nation.”

The victory marks the second time the Gatton team has come out on top in the

“It’s pretty impressive, really. Our students have only competed in the ACCP Clinical Pharmacy Challenge for five years, and during that time, we have earned the championship twice,” said Dr. Debbie Byrd, dean of the college. “I am so proud of these three gentlemen. The teamwork and level of knowledge they displayed was astounding.”

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D R A W TO G N I V A LE K R A M OUR 2013 - 2014 2010 - 2011 Outstanding Adaptive Reuse Award from The Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia for the renovation of BGCOP home, VA Campus Building 7 Phi Delta Chi chapter received the 100% Achievement Award during the PDC Leadership Development Seminar Dr. Larry Calhoun was a recipient of one of the 2010 Healthcare Hero Awards

2012 BGCOP students form Association of Interprofessional Healthcare Students (AIHS) the first interprofessional student organization in the nation Loren Kirk (’16) elected to be Region 3 Delegate for American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) Dr. Sarah Melton invited to appear on radio show to discuss importance of controlling prescription drug abuse

Dr. Brian Cross was on the cover of Pharmacy Today for a profile about American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). AAFP President Reid Blackwelder, MD, and Cross, PharmD, collaborate in family medicine clinics in Tennessee Kappa Psi chapter at BGCOP named “Most Improved Chapter” in the country The BGCOP team “The Cure Alls” won the fifth annual National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA)/Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA) Student Pharmacist Self-Care Championship at the TPA annual meeting. Teams from all six colleges of pharmacy in Tennessee competed in the event Dr. Sarah Melton was featured in back-to-back issues of Pharmacy Today. In the April 2014 issue, Dr. Melton was the subject of the magazine’s “Provider Status Profile”. In the May 2014 issue, she was featured in the cover story “Moving Mountains: Managing Patients with Psychiatric Disorders” APhA-ASP chapter awarded First Runner-Up Generation Rx Award for the second year in a row

Dr. Loni Garcia elected Tennessee Society of Chain Pharmacists (TSCP) Secretary/Treasurer

The APhA-ASP chapter was named one of the top five fundraisers for the APhA Political Action Committee

Dr. Chad Gentry elected Tennessee Society of Pharmacists (TSP) Chair

APhA-ASP chapter was awarded the national Most Improved Chapter Award

Rhett Byrne (‘14) elected Tennessee Society of Student Pharmacists (TSSP) Member-at-Large

Jake Peters (’15) was elected President of TSSP

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Loren Kirk (’16) was elected as the national APhAASP Speaker of the House. He joined Abby Surles who served on the APhA-ASP National Standing Committee on Awards and Haley Trivett (’15) who served as the Vice Chair of the National Standing Committee on Education. Will Beaty (’16) served as a Region 3 Member-at-Large Chelsea Phillips (’15) won “Best in Show” award from the Tennessee Society of Health-System Pharmacists. The poster was entitled “PharmacyRelated Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions: An Analysis of Tennessee’s County-Level Characteristics” ETSU pharmacy team captures national championship at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Clinical Pharmacy Challenge ETSU receives $2.2 million National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) grant to help battle nation’s prescription drug abuse epidemic BGCOP Generation Rx chapter was awarded the second-place national chapter at the APhA-ASP Annual Meeting

2015 National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Student Chapter at BGCOP was awarded 2015 National Chapter of the Year, 1st Runner-up Aaron Garst (’16), 2014-2015 president of NCPA Chapter of ETSU, awarded the Presidential Scholarship, recognizing academic achievement and leadership within independent pharmacy Scott Brewster (’17) served as BGCOP Delegate to the APhA-ASP House of Delegates

ETSU BILL GATTON COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

7 1 0 2 0 201 Generation Rx chapter at BGCOP was named the best overall Generation Rx chapter in the country during the APhA-ASP conference For the third consecutive year, ETSU’s APhA-ASP chapter placed in the Top 5 fundraising schools for the ‘Back the PAC’, raising money for the Pharmacists Provide Care Campaign APhA-ASP at BGCOP accepted the National Policy and Legislative Award, which is given to only one chapter in the country for its active participation as agents of change within the legislature Drs. Brian Cross and Reid Blackwelder gave the keynote address at APhA Annual Meeting Opening General Session. Drs. Cross and Blackwelder spoke on interprofessional practice and collaboration between pharmacists and physicians Dr. Cortney Mospan presented at the Educational Best Practices Roundtable session and also serves on various New Practitioner board and committees for the APhA Dr. Jeff Gray’s poster presentation won an APhAAPPM Merit Award, one of only 10 awards given

Blake Holland (’17) was a finalist in the Student Poster Session for the 2016 ACCP Annual Meeting. His poster was titled, “The Importance of Grit in Pharmacy Residents: A Residency Program Directors’ Perceptions of Residents Who Matched Compared to Residents Who Scrambled” Team from ETSU College of Pharmacy wins national championship at the ACCP Clinical Pharmacy Challenge Anh Dinh (’18) was the recipient of the 2016 NCPA Foundation Presidential Scholarship Dr. Nick Hagemeier was awarded the 2016 Cardinal Health Generation Rx Champions Award, which recognizes a pharmacist in the state who demonstrates excellence in community-based prescription drug abuse prevention Katrice Lampley (’19) was awarded the Willie Davis Brook Award by the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (Shah) Ngoentra Leelachantachot (‘17) received the Sybil R. Green Book Award from the Student National Pharmaceutical Association sponsored by Walgreens

APhA-ASP chapter awarded OTC Medication Safety award at Midyear Regional Meeting

Jason Sparks (’18) served as a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Student Training and Extern Program in the U.S. Public Health Service. He was 1 of 22 student pharmacists accepted nationally

Jessica Robinson (’17) awarded Student Member of the Year at the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) National Convention for 2015 & 2016

Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment established at East Tennessee State University with Dr. Nick Hagemeier as Research Director

Dr. Brock Leisge (’16) received the Miracle Maker Award from CVS, only one pharmacist out of the 4,000 employed is recognized for helping patients on their path to better health every day

Dr. Sarah Melton awarded the Community Service Award at Healthcare Heroes

2016

ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

Scott Brewster (‘17) elected 2016-2017 APhA’s National Member-at-Large Dr. Larry Calhoun received the 2016 APhA-ASP Outstanding Dean Award Shannon Parkey (’18) received a summer internship in Pharmacy at Johns Hopkins University. The internship focus was on oncology through the Weinberg Pharmacy

2017 The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) honored Dr. Sarah Melton with the Generation Rx Award of Excellence, an award that recognizes a pharmacist who has demonstrated a commitment to the mission of substance abuse education Hannah Oakes, doctoral student, receives prestigious American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Pre-doctoral Research Fellowship, a highly competitive national fellowship that includes $10,000 per year to be used toward research and educational studies Dr. Sam Harirforoosh selected to serve on editorial board of Clinical Pharmacokinetics Sara Brandon (’17) won TSSP Student Allegiance Award; this is a highly competitive award that is only presented to one person in the state

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E C A F E H T G N I G N A H C D R A TOW LTH CARE ABROAD OF HEA

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ETSU BILL GATTON COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

Several members of the ETSU Academic Health Sciences Center spent time in Ireland and Scotland this past spring, serving as experts in interprofessional health care practice and education. There, they taught providers and educators how to create a team-based approach to health care that incorporates multiple health professions.

ETSU first established partnerships and affiliation agreements in 2013 with four colleges of pharmacy in that part of the world – the University College Cork (UCC) and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), Robert Gordon University in Scotland and Debrecen University in Hungary. Since then, ETSU has hosted representatives from these institutions and continues to offer a one-month student exchange program that allows students from those universities to come study here and Gatton students to go study there. In all, ETSU hosted 29 exchange students and sent 33 BGCOP students abroad to these locations between March 2014 and June 2017.

This year, the partnership took another step through an ERASMUS grant that provided funds for both student and faculty exchanges. Four students from Gatton and four from RCSI spent three months in each other’s homelands.

Meanwhile, four RCSI faculty, practitioners and administrators spent a week in Johnson City.

In May, six ETSU representatives went to Ireland as part of the faculty exchange. The team also received an invitation from RGU to travel to Scotland during their time abroad for an International Symposium on Interprofessional Learning. Those attending were Dr. Wilsie Bishop, vice president for Health Affairs; Dr. Debbie Byrd, BGCOP dean; Dr. Larry Calhoun, BGCOP dean emeritus; Dr. Brian Cross, BGCOP associate

professor; Dr. McKenzie Calhoun, BGCOP assistant professor; and Dr. Reid Blackwelder of the Quillen College of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine.

While in Ireland, the focus of the visit was to present a masterclass for individuals across the country. Blackwelder and Cross gave the keynote address, focusing on teambased health care and the relationship between ETSU’s Department of Family Medicine and the Gatton College of Pharmacy. Bishop also spoke, focusing her presentation on interprofessional education while McKenzie Calhoun gave attendees a glimpse into her everyday life working as part of an interprofessional team at her practice site, ETSU Family Physicians of Kingsport.

“I was humbled by going [to Ireland] and hearing their response to us talking about what we do,” she said. “From the moment I started my career, I walked into a practice site that was interprofessional so I took it for granted that this is the way things are done. It wasn’t until going there that I realized how unique this is in some regions.”

While in Ireland, the team also made presentations to accreditors representing various professions as well as the heads of schools and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.

Some team members participated in a national podcast at the Irish Institute of Pharmacy, where they discussed barriers to implementing team-based health care. The team then traveled to Scotland to present on interprofessional learning at a symposium where they shared best practices and identified challenges to implementing and improving interprofessional education. “We went over there to teach them something, but I feel like I learned a lot more than I taught,” McKenzie Calhoun said. “There’s just so much opportunity to learn from the health systems and academia in different countries. This is just the beginning.”

Dr. Dick Gourley, retired dean of The University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, was instrumental in helping ETSU obtain collaborative agreements with colleges of Pharmacy in Ireland, Scotland and Hungary. Gourley had a rich history in international work. He and Gatton’s founding dean, Dr. Larry Calhoun, visited a number of colleges in 2014, which resulted in the initial affiliation agreements being signed.

Left to right, Dr. David Allen, dean of the school of pharmacy at The University of Mississippi; Dr. Larry Calhoun, BGCOP dean emeritus, Dr. Debbie Byrd, BGCOP dean; and Dr. Dick Gourley.

ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

Interestingly, Gourley was dean of UT when current BGCOP Dean Debbie Byrd was a student there and hired Byrd as a faculty member and assistant dean. He later gave Byrd the opportunity to become an associate dean, a role that Byrd says prepared her to become the second-ever dean of the Gatton College of Pharmacy at ETSU.

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FACULTY FOOTPRINTS

Preventing hospital readmissions goal of interprofessional transitions of care team The unique efforts of ETSU faculty, staff and students to provide enhanced care to patients transitioning from the hospital back home are now being studied to better measure their effectiveness at preventing hospital readmissions.

For the past two years, health care professionals at ETSU Family Physicians of Kingsport have been providing an interprofessional transitions of care (IPTC) clinic for their patients who frequently are hospitalized due to some kind of chronic condition.

“We know that transitions of care – hospital to home, home to hospital, hospital to rehabilitation, skilled nursing facility to home – are places in the continuum of care that provide a significant opportunity for error, confusion and frustration for many patients,” said Dr. McKenzie Calhoun, a member of the IPTC team and an assistant professor in the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy. “There are often times when medication changes, new physicians have to be seen, and possibly changes occur in the ability of a person to take care of himself or herself. It’s also a time when a lot of money is spent by the patient, insurance or health care system.” Some of that money, Calhoun said, may be being spent unnecessarily.

“For a while, hospital readmissions have been a focus for health systems to try to reduce,” she said. “We’re looking at a shift that the primary care physician and team are also focused on that. We aim to prove that coming to an outpatient IPTC clinic soon after discharge can improve outcomes and decrease overall costs and health care utilization.”

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Prior to being discharged from the hospital, a patient receives an appointment date and time for their IPTC clinic visit.

“We aim to get every single patient in within seven days of discharge,” Calhoun said. “Within two days of getting home from the hospital, our social worker on the IPTC team calls and checks on the patient and reminds them of the appointment.”

The day before the weekly IPTC clinic, student pharmacists work up the files of those patients who will be seen the next day, assessing their most recent medication changes and other health details from their hospital stays. On the morning of the clinic, the health care team, which includes a pharmacist, one to two physician residents, a social worker and both pharmacy and medical students, meets to discuss each patient coming in that day. “That is our time as a team to get on the same page,” Calhoun said.

During the IPTC clinic, patients are seen in roughly 30-minute blocks, much longer than an average primary care visit. During that time, they see all members of the health care team.

By the time the visit is complete, the team has gone over medications, done a physical assessment of the patient, offered community resources, coordinated any other followup appointments with primary care physicians and answered patient questions.

“Our patients love it,” Calhoun said. “Now we want to prove that we are meeting our goals of preventing readmits as well as preventing errors that can happen during transitions of care.”

Through a Research Development Grant from ETSU, Calhoun is using data collected over the past two years to determine just how well the IPTC is working.

“I really feel strongly that what we are doing is valuable,” she said. “And if it proves to be the case, we have an obligation to share our best practices with others all over the country.”

ETSU BILL GATTON COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

Dr. Sarah Melton, a professor of pharmacy practice, has been awarded a national honor for her work related to prescription drug abuse. In the spring, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) honored Melton with the Generation Rx Award of Excellence, an award that recognizes a pharmacist who has demonstrated a commitment to the mission of substance abuse education. In receiving the honor, Melton was recognized for her 20 years of dedication to fighting the prescription drug abuse and opioid addiction epidemic in Appalachia. An advocate for reducing stigma and promoting evidence-based treatment, Melton cares for patients receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders.

Melton spearheaded a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Health and ETSU’s colleges of Pharmacy and Public Health to train health care providers in naloxone rescue. In addition to training more than 500 health care providers, she has trained more than 1,500 citizens in Virginia alone. Melton is chair of OneCare of Southwest Virginia, a substance abuse collaborative that has provided free training to more than 3,000 health care providers on prescription drug abuse-related issues. She was twice appointed to the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth and has chaired the Education Workgroup in Virginia, Governor Terry McAuliffe’s Task Force on Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse.

Dr. Sarah Melton receives national honor for work related to prescription drug abuse

Both the Tennessee and Virginia pharmacists associations previously recognized Melton with their Generation Rx awards.

“Dr. Melton is very deserving of this award,” said Dr. Debbie Byrd, dean. “I am so proud of her hard work and efforts to be an agent of change in the Appalachian region in reversing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse deaths.” In May, Melton continued those efforts by leading an opioid overdose town hall in Abingdon, Virginia, at the request of Gov. McAuliffe.

There, Melton joined McAuliffe on stage to discuss the latest legislation regarding opioids and the impact of the epidemic on southwest Virginia.

Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell visited the campus of East Tennessee State University in March along with several state representatives serving on the House of Representatives task force on opioid and prescription drug abuse. Dr. Nick Hagemeier, in Gatton’s Department of Pharmacy Practice and research director for ETSU’s Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment, was among those to address the task force and discuss issues surrounding opioid abuse. Several representatives of the Gatton College of Pharmacy attended the event, including Dean Debbie Byrd, Dean Emeritus Larry Calhoun and longtime Gatton benefactor Dr. Guy Wilson.

ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

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TOWARD GIV IN

G

Generation Rx students partnered with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to create a continuing education program on opioid safety that was reviewed by

$5,227 raised by Kappa Psi for the ETSU Relay For Life

19,000

pharmacists, more than pharmacy technicians and

BGCOP students worked with

95 counties of Tennessee and in all 50 states.

physicians in all

40

approximately youths at the Highlands Detention Center, educating them regarding prescription drug abuse and medication safety.

120

individuals More than attended the Rally for Recovery event in Cherokee, N.C., hosted by Generation

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Rx. A total of naloxone kits were dispensed through the event.

SNPhA students

21

assisted patients during an education session to support awareness for Chronic Kidney Disease.

Students provided naloxone information and training to patients waiting in line at four Remote Area Medical Clinics.

75

market to attendees.

150

Approximately individuals received free blood pressure, blood glucose checks and heart age calculations from 14 BGCOP students taking part in the TriCities Heart Walk.

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Student pharmacists attended the biweekly Johnson City Farmers Market, providing clinical services such as blood glucose checks and education on issues such as disease management

Generation Rx conducted nearly

60 events, providing education that reached a total of 101,733

community members, laypersons, health care providers, student pharmacists and other health care professional students.

Students educated over

450

560

students and parents on medication safety at a local Trunk-orTreat event in Johnson City.

ETSU BILL GATTON COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

Student pharmacists at Gatton College of Pharmacy spend hundreds of hours every semester giving back to the community. Here are just a few ways they gave back during the 2016-17 academic year:

BACK Members of Rho Chi Honor Society collected personal hygiene items, hats, gloves and blankets to create

100 gift bags for individuals in

need through the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center.

Generation Rx members trained

33,200 community members and nearly 10,000 over

Heart, diabetes, immunization and health living education was

health care professionals, student pharmacists and medical students through naloxone courses in Tennessee and Virginia.

provided to attendees of the Health Expo at The Mall at Johnson City.

150

SSHP raised

$1,000

for the ETSU Relay For Life

$350

and another for the American Heart Association.

BGCOP student pharmacists helped with flu clinics in Kingsport and Johnson City as well as Abingdon,

500

Virginia, that saw approximately individuals receive the flu vaccination.

Services were provided to

12,800

over patients

by APhA-ASP members through various events and activities.

ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

Three Generation Rx members spent

18

hours over the course a total of of two days at the Appalachian Fair, discussing with fair-goers safe medication storage and disposal.

7 pharmacists and 40 student

pharmacists volunteered in the annual DEA-sanctioned Drug Take Back Events at seven different locations.

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RESEARCH FOOTPRINTS Oakes Receives Prestigious National Fellowship A doctoral student conducting research alongside a faculty member from Gatton received a prestigious award this spring. Hannah Oakes, of Bristol, earned the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) Pre-Doctoral Research Fellowship, a highly competitive fellowship that includes $10,000 per year to be used toward research and educational costs.

Oakes submitted a research proposal that was reviewed by a panel and selected based on novelty, relevance and feasibility of the proposed research.

Working with Dr. Brooks Pond, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Oakes is conducting research related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and methylphenidate (MPH), which is the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of the disorder. Her research is focused on the long-term consequences of MPH exposure and whether females are at a greater risk when exposed to MPH. “Most of the scientific literature focuses on the short-term consequences of MPH even though individuals are taking MPH for many years,” Oakes said.

Oakes is a first-generation college student who began her collegiate career at Northeast State Community College. There, Oakes received three associate’s degrees in five different concentrations – mathematics, physics, chemistry, preengineering general and pre-engineering chemical. She transferred to ETSU to earn her bachelor’s degree, double majoring in biology-biochemistry and chemistry.

After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in 2014, Oakes was accepted into the biomedical graduate program at ETSU, where she is currently working on a Ph.D. degree in biomedical sciences with a concentration in pharmaceutical sciences.

Studying the Effects of Bath Salts Gatton associate professor Dr. Brooks Pond is studying the effects of synthetic drugs known as “bath salts” on individuals who abuse them. “Despite the fact that bath salts are generally combinations of synthetic compounds known as cathinones, current research has focused on studies of the individual cathinones contained within bath salts,” Pond said. “Our laboratory has begun studying both individual and combined effects of the drugs.” Pond has found evidence that the drugs, when used in combination with each other, exponentially increase the levels of dopamine in certain regions of the brain. The immediate dramatic increase in dopamine may result in damage to brain cells, and her research indicates that chronic exposure to combined cathinones leads to the depletion of dopamine, which may be indicative of brain cell loss.“These bath salts produce dangerous health effects, including hypertension, respiratory distress, violent behavior, seizures, suicidality and even death,” she said. “So a better comprehension of the acute and chronic effects of these compounds is critical.”

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ETSU BILL GATTON COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

Preventing Falls in Older Adults Each year, 2.5 million people 65 and older are treated in emergency departments for falls, resulting in over 700,000 hospitalizations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also notes that falls are among the 20 most expensive medical conditions, with an average hospital cost for a fall-related injury of $35,000, leading to an estimated burden of $34 billion annually on the health care system.

With those statistics in mind, an interdisciplinary research team, which includes BGCOP faculty members Drs. Zach Walls, Peter Panus, Brian Odle, Kelly Covert and Samuel Karpen, as well as Dr. Courtney Hall, an associate professor in the ETSU College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences Department of Physical Therapy and a research health scientist at the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center, is focusing its efforts on preventing falls in older adults by looking at the role prescription medications play.

“A number of drugs – especially those affecting the central nervous system, like sleep medication and psychoactive drugs – are known to increase the risk of falls, yet they are still commonly prescribed in older adults. Our goal is to better understand the impact of prescription drugs on mobility in order to predict those at risk for falls based on their medications,” said Hall, the primary investigator on the grant. “The ultimate goal would be that even before a physician has seen a patient that doctor could put the patient’s medications into an app and it would alert to fall risks.”

The researchers have developed two different drug indices: the Quantitative Drug Index (QDI) and the Medication-based Index of Physical Function (MedIP). The researchers are currently working to validate each index. Once validated, the hope is to create an app so that they could be adopted by health care workers almost immediately. The research project was the subject of an editorial featured in the journal Age and Ageing. The editorial called the introduction of such a “novel” tool “much needed” and referred to the effort of the team as a “fresh perspective.”

ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

Stopping the Spread of Disease Dr. Nick Hagemeier, in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, is studying the feasibility of community pharmacies serving as intervention points for the prevention of Hepatitis C Virus and HIV through distribution of sterile syringes for injection drug use. “The consequences of prescription drug abuse have disproportionately impacted our region,” he said. “One consequence is the transition from non-injection routes of administration to injecting prescription or illicit drugs such as heroin.”

The Centers for Disease Control indicates the Appalachian region contains many of the nation’s most vulnerable counties when it comes to rapid dissemination of HCV and HIV, both of which are related to injection drug use. Hagemeier is now evaluating the feasibility of community pharmacists serving as access points for sterile syringes as a method of preventing the spread of disease.

“With injection drug use a growing public health concern in South Central Appalachia, we have to establish harm reduction strategies for HCV and HIV prevention in rural areas,” Hagemeier said. “We are hopeful this research will help move us closer to that goal.” etsu.edu/pharmacy

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19 states 3 foreign countries

55% have a bachelor’s

degree or higher upon coming into BGCOP

45 different colleges

and universities

74% women 26% men

Class of 2021 STUDENT FOOTPRINTS Nine Gatton College of Pharmacy students were among those to complete the interprofessional education program at ETSU. The cohort of approximately 46 students spent two years participating in interdisciplinary courses and activities that culminated with a full-scale simulation in March.

A special ceremony also was held in March to award the students with cords for being a part of the interprofessional cohort. The students will wear the cords with their graduation caps and gowns during ETSU commencement ceremonies. The nine pharmacy students completing the program are: Kyli Breeding, Wesley Brillhart, Jonathan Clark, Parker Wilson, Andrew Tarasidis, Seth Seagle, Nathan Martin, Caden Cox and Elizabeth Thomas.

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Joshua Whitfield (Class of 2018) was selected as a Pharmacists Mutual Companies Scholarship recipient and is part of an elite group chosen from many qualified applicants. The scholarship recognizes Whitfield’s commitment to practice in either an independent community pharmacy, small chain community pharmacy, or in an underserved geographic or cultural community.

Emily Perez (Class of 2020) represented BGCOP at the American Pharmacists Association’s Institute on Alcohol and Drug Dependencies held at the University of Utah. “The most important concept that we learned about was addiction as a treatable brain disease rather than a moral failing,” Perez said. “Hearing people share their stories of addiction and how it has affected their family and relationships was moving.”

ETSU BILL GATTON COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

STUDENT FOOTPRINTS

Mahnaz “Mia” Rahima Baladezaei (Class of 2019) spent Summer 2017 as an intern at UNICEF in New York City, where she Irene Abia (Class of 2018) and Dr. KariLynn Dowling, a post-graduate research worked in the polio eradication division. fellow, are among just 85 individuals across the nation to receive the 2017 AACP Her efforts resulted in her being selected Walmart Scholar Program scholarship that allowed them to attend the events as one of just 11 students in the country to in July in Nashville with their faculty mentors. The program aims to strengthen be a Johnson & Johnson Youth Leader in have a bachelor’s participants’ skills and commitment to a career in academia in order to ensure Global Health. “Your work demonstrates there are an adequate number of degree well-prepared individuals the acolleges true passion for improving the health of or higher uponwho aspire to join different faculties of expanding programs across the country.

Dowling called the experience the world…,” wrote Sarah Colamarino, a and universities coming into GCOP “an immersion in the world of academic pharmacy that helped me confirm this is vice president for Johnson & Johnson, in the path I want to take for my career.” the letter to Baladezaei.

55%

45

56% of BGCOP

49% of BGCOP students

are first-generation students

82%

match rate through the national of BGCOP students residency program are from rural zip codes (National rate is 67%)

31%

ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

graduates reside and practice in Tennessee

4 members of the

Class of 2017 were the first students to graduate from the new Bachelor of Science degree program at Gatton

Class of 2017

etsu.edu/pharmacy 14

e t u o r l a n o i t i d a r t n o n reer path ng the

Taktimi e’s a charm for Wes Waters’ ca Third

Wes Waters (Class of 2015) was 33 years old and on his third career path when he arrived at Gatton College of Pharmacy in 2011. The native Midwesterner moved hundreds of miles from home to attend pharmacy school, beginning classes less than two months after his final treatment to beat Hodgkin lymphoma.

“It was hard moving so far away from my family right after finishing treatment, but Gatton ended up being a family for me,” Waters says. “In fact, that’s why I chose Gatton in the first place. Originally, I was just looking for one more pharmacy school to apply to, but when I came to interview, the family atmosphere just overwhelmed me from the moment I walked in the door.”

that mattered,” he says. “In pharmacy, I don’t have to wonder. Every day, I get to interact with doctors and patients and really share the knowledge that I have. It is the making a difference in patients’ lives “Pharmacy school is really hard but even that makes me know I’ll always want to be a pharmacist.” starting out as a P-1, we were getting into the pharmacies for rotations and When not at work, Waters can be found the excitement for this career was kind running. He completed his first marathon of contagious,” he says. “The support in November 2010. A week later, he was system that is built into Gatton really diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. “I helped, too. Faculty really care. They told myself, ‘Not only am I going to beat gave you their phone numbers on Hodgkin lymphoma and finish pharmacy the syllabus and were fine with you school, but I am going to run a marathon contacting them with questions, even in all 50 states,’” he recalls. after hours.” management over a period of five years.

Again feeling like he wasn’t in the right career, Waters began taking chemistry classes and decided on pharmacy school.

Following graduation from Gatton, Waters did a year-long residency at St. Luke’s in Twin Falls, Idaho. Today, he Waters began his higher education journey lives in Tyler, Texas, where he works as a clinical pharmacist at Christus Trinity planning to become a teacher. He was Mother Francis Hospital. It is a job, and working on his master’s degree in early a career, that makes him feel like he is childhood education and teaching at a making a difference. pre-school when he realized “this really wasn’t for me.” Waters walked away from “With all the things I did before, I was his first career path and took a job in a left wondering if I was doing something factory where he worked his way up to 15

After beating cancer, Waters returned to running just two weeks after treatment and ran his first post-treatment marathon in 2013. While at Gatton, he completed marathons in 25 states and the nation’s capital. Today, he has nearly 40 states under his belt. If all goes as planned, Waters expects to complete his mission in April 2019 at the Boston Marathon.

ETSU BILL GATTON COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

Lori Choate works in a lab at Gatton College of Pharmacy during her time as a student pharmacist at ETSU. Today, Choate is the pharmacy manager at a 24-hour Walgreens store in Nashville.

ALUMNI FOOTPRINTS Class of 2010 Bruce Jones is an Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Savannah, Georgia, and was selected as the Outstanding Pharmacy Practitioner of the year for Georgia at the summer meeting of the Georgia Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Class of 2011

Pursuing her passion

First-generation student and full-time mom found the right fit at Gatton Lori Choate (Class of 2010) spent 20 years as a pharmacy technician before becoming the first in her family to attend college. Choate’s uncle, a pharmacist, hired her at age 16 to work with him after school every day. She spent four years working as a pharmacy technician alongside her uncle before taking a job at Vanderbilt University where she worked as a pharm tech for the next 16 years.

“I always wanted to go to pharmacy school, but I had a good job and they allowed me to do a lot there,” recalls Choate, a native of Greenbrier, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville.

“So I kept putting it off.” However, her dream of becoming a pharmacist just wouldn’t die. So Choate applied to two private pharmacy schools but was denied acceptance at both of them.

“At that point, I really didn’t think the opportunity would present itself for me to go to pharmacy school,” Choate says. “Then I was accepted to Gatton.

ETSU saw me as a whole person and not just a student or a number. Right from the beginning, they were extremely supportive and encouraging.”

In 2007, Choate moved from Greenbrier to Johnson City with her husband and two children – ages 13 and 9 at the time – to become a member of the first class of ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

student pharmacists at Gatton. During her years in East Tennessee, Choate was a full-time student and full-time mom.

She also interned with Walgreens for three of those years.

After graduating in 2010, Choate worked for a year as a pharmacist at a Walgreens in Kingsport to allow her eldest child the ability to complete his senior year of high school before returning to the Nashville area. In 2011, Choate was offered a position at the 24hour Walgreens store in Nashville where she currently serves as the pharmacy manager.

Choate is quick to credit God’s timing with making everything happen when it did in her life and says she often encourages the pharmacy technicians working at her pharmacy to pursue a PharmD, no matter how long they’ve been working in the field, if that is what they really want to do.

“It’s never too late. If it is something you want, you owe it to yourself to pursue it,” she says. “I uprooted 16 years of marriage and two kids to move across the state in order to pursue my dream.”

Despite the challenges, it was all well worth it, Choate says. “If I won the lottery today, I’d be right back at work tomorrow,” she says. “I love what I do.”

Zach Frye married Sarah Wright of Kingston on May 27, 2017. After their honeymoon, they moved to Lexington, South Carolina, where he had just started a new job with Walmart. He is currently a Regional Health and Wellness Director, covering 84 Walmart Supercenters in the state. He supervises pharmacy, vision center, and OTC products in this role.

Class of 2012 Morgan Pendleton Randolph left her position at Wake Forest in April 2016 to move to Richmond, Virginia, with her fiancé. She took a position as the outpatient Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Clinical Specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. She was married on September 2, 2017.

Class of 2013 In October 2016, Stephanie Elliot joined imgRx based out of Austin, Texas, to open a contract 340B pharmacy within Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems in Bristol, Virginia. She was the Pharmacist-in-Charge there until September 2017, at which point she joined NPS Pharmacy Services from Nashville to open another contract 340B pharmacy in conjunction with our own Gatton COP and ETSU Infectious Disease Clinic in Johnson City.

Last year Hunter Perrin obtained his BCPS and completed a PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at Bristol Regional Medical Center in June. In July, he began a PGY2 critical care pharmacy residency at Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston, West Virginia. etsu.edu/pharmacy 16

ALUMNI FOOTPRINTS (continued) Courtney Pitre’s business, Courtney’s Thriftyway Pharmacy, was voted the third best drug store in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, in 2017. The business was up against 22 other pharmacies.

Class of 2014

Miracle Maker Brock Leisge (Class of 2016) was honored with the Miracle Maker award from CVSHealth after going above and beyond to help a patient.

Leisge works as a pharmacist at the CVS in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.

When a patient came in to have a prescription filled, Leisge questioned a change in the woman’s medication dosage and then learned her TSH level, an indicator of thyroid function, was more than 20 times the normal level. He immediately had her sit down and took her blood pressure and pulse rate, both of which were high. Leisge’s actions and advice prompted the woman to go to the emergency room where she learned she was going into a myxedema coma, which is life threatening. Following his actions that likely saved the woman’s life, Leisge was honored with the Miracle Maker Award from CVS.

Have exciting news to share with the BGCOP family?

Send it to pharmacy@etsu.edu for inclusion in the next publication.

17

Hannah Marcum Blackwell and her husband, Brad, became owners of the Pheonix Pharmacy in Knoxville. Hannah serves as the head pharmacist. A story on the couple was featured on the news blog, Inside of Knoxville.

Christopher Conder bought Goolrick’s Pharmacy in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

The pharmacy has been in existence since the 1800s. An article on Conder taking over the business was featured in The Free Lance-Star daily newspaper in Fredericksburg.

Farrah Snyder started a new job this year working as an inpatient pharmacist for Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, California.

Class of 2015 Elicia White has accepted a Clinical Pharmacist/Clinical Assistant Professor position with Mountain States Medical Group in affiliation with the ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy.

Chelsea Phillips Renfro completed a Community Pharmacy Research Fellowship at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. In September, she joined the faculty at University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy in Memphis as an Assistant Professor. In her new role, she will teach student pharmacists at UTHSC’s new Interprofessional Simulation and Patient Safety Center with a focus on community pharmacy and interprofessional communication.

Chelsea Leonard is the Director of Clinical Services at Chad’s Payless Pharmacy in Florence, Alabama. She develops and implements new clinical services and serves as a preceptor for residents and students.

Class of 2016 Morgan Corbin is currently completing a PGY2 Hematology Oncology Residency at Novant Health Oncology Specialists in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Tyler Finocchio completed a PGY1 residency at Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport and is now completing a PGY2 residency in critical care at the Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Class of 2017 Scott Brewster is currently completing a PGY1 Community-based Residency Program with UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Moose Pharmacy, where he implements clinical services in the community setting, serves as a preceptor for student pharmacists, and delivers instructional activities at the School of Pharmacy. His career plans include delivering ambulatory care services through independent pharmacy and teaching student pharmacists.

Brad Dedic is currently completing a PGY1 pharmacy residency with NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, Illinois.

Dan Schroedl works for CVS Health as a staff pharmacist in the Hudson Valley District of New York and lives in West Hurley, New York.

Brooke Adams completed her PGY2 Hematology/Oncology residency at Indiana University Health in June and relocated to Florida to begin her career as a Stem Cell Transplant Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the University of Florida Shands Cancer Hospital.

Wade Tugman is completing a PGY1 pharmacy residency with the Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Healthcare System primarily based in Nashville.

ETSU BILL GATTON COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

THANK YOU TO OUR 2016-17 DONORS** Ms. Yaritza Abdelnour

Mrs. Lou P. Johnson

Dr. Lucy Jo Adkins

Dr. and Mrs. C. L. “Buddy” Jones

Mrs. Sherry L. Armitage

K-VA-T Food Stores Inc. (Food City)

Mr. and Mrs. John D. Badgett

Travis* and Linda Keller

Mrs. Janet P. Banks

Ms. Carmen H. Linne

Mr. George W. Bell

Mr. and Mrs. Gary M. Mabrey, III

Mr. and Mrs. Carl H. Bennett

Dr. Sarah T. Melton

Mr. Paul Bishop and Dr. Wilsie S. Bishop

Bill* and Martha Nan Meredith

Dr. and Mrs. Chester Blankenship

Ms. Margaret R. Moore

Mr. and Mrs. Landon L. Blinn Mr. Harry L. Boling Ms. Holly Booth Dr. John B. Bossaer Dr. Stacy D. Brown Dr. Jessica E. Burchette CVS Caremark Charitable Trust Dr. McKenzie L. Calhoun Dr. Maria D. Costa

Mr. and Mrs. D. Christopher Metzger Mountain States Health Alliance Olympus Imaging America Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Ted Pate Dr. Amy M. Perkins Pharmacy Plus Programs Dr. Courtney Elizabeth Pitre Dr. Emily Vaughan Ritchie Dr. Nancy H. Scherrer and Dr. Paul Scherrer

Mr. James Crowell and Dr. Marion R. Crowell

Dr. Mikel L. Shelton Jr.

Dr. and Mrs. Roger L. Davis

Dr. and Mrs. Allan D. Spritzer

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis C. Deanhardt Jr. Mr. Steve Ellis

Dr. Paige L. Sholes Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Stevens

Joyce D. and James R. Estepp

Dr. David W. Stewart and Ms. Hillary L Stewart

Mr. Nathan D. Flores

Ms. Barbara S. Sylvester

Mr. C. M. Gatton

Takoma Regional Hospital

Ms. Michele L. Graybeal

Dr. James C. Thigpen, Jr.

Dr. William B. Greer and Mrs. Edwina Y. Greer

Dr. Christan M. Thomas and Mr. Joshua B. Thomas

Dr. and Mrs. Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Estate of Shirley B. Underwood

Dr. Rachel E. Hanners

Mr. and Mrs. Tony R. Vaughn

Mr. and Mrs. James P. Hill

Mr. and Mrs. Harry D. Vick

Ms. Joy A. Hurley

Walgreens

Mr. James L. Hurst

Dr. Adam C. Welch

JCWCA Chamber of Commerce

Mrs. Suzanne D. Williams

Ms. Kathleen M. Jeter

Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Wright

Ms. Anna Johnson * Deceased ** Donors from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017

ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

Celebrating a tradition of community support In an era when the state government was providing anywhere between 30 to 40 percent of an institution of higher education’s operating budget, it became painfully obvious in 2004 that if a much-needed pharmacy school were to be created in East Tennessee, it would have to take a unique approach.

That approach was to create an independent, private school of pharmacy at East Tennessee State University, and it was a successful approach. In 2005, community members contributed $5 million toward the creation of the pharmacy school in just 58 days. The remaining $2.5 million needed came quickly thereafter.

The Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy became the first – and remains one of the nation’s few – private schools of pharmacy to be housed within a state institution of higher education. And, in 2007, the Gatton College of Pharmacy welcomed its very first class onto campus.

“It has always been a point of pride and innovation that we were able to do this,” said ETSU President Brian Noland. “The model has worked well for us and we are grateful to the community for the support that has existed over the last 12plus years of this journey.” etsu.edu/pharmacy 18

NONPROFIT ORG

PO Box 70414 Johnson City, TN 37614

VISIT • APPLY • GIVE www.etsu.edu/pharmacy

East Tennessee State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate, master’s, education specialist, and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, telephone 404-679-4500, or http://www.sacscoc.org, for questions about the accreditation of East Tennessee State University.

East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE),135 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 4100 Chicago, IL 60603-4810, 312/664-3575, fax 312/664-4652, website www.acpe-accredit. org. The ACPE accredits Doctor of Pharmacy programs offered by Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy in the United States and selected non-US sites.

ETSU is an AA/EEO employer. ETSU-108-17 1.6M