Chronic Care Practice Forum Update and Awards

Chronic Care Practice Forum Update

Keely Ray, Past Chair, Chronic Care Practice Forum

On March 15th, 2017, the Chronic Care Practice Forum (CCPF) kicked off their Annual Meeting at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC. The three-day event consisted of 15 hours of ACPE-accredited continuing education and provided attendees the opportunity to network with colleagues and exhibitors. Attendance at the Forum included 96 pharmacists, 12 students, 2 residents, as well as 1 out-of-state pharmacist. Program planning for next year’s meeting is already underway.

During this year’s meeting, the CCPF recognized two pharmacists for their outstanding work in chronic care pharmacy. The NCAP Chronic Care Pharmacist of the Year Award recognizes a pharmacist who demonstrates an advancement of chronic care for patients and/or pharmacists or other practitioners over the past year or longer. This year’s recipient of the award is Rhonda Gentry. Rhonda has been a pharmacist for the past 29 years. She received her BS in pharmacy from University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1988. She has been involved in chronic care for over 20 years, holds her BCGP, and has been a mentor for countless students and colleagues, including myself. She currently practices as a consultant pharmacist for Neil Medical Group. It is in the capacity as CCPF’s Chair and Past Chair, Rhonda served and provided direction and counsel.

At the outset of her term, she set the tone as a catalyst for advancing our Forum, long-term care pharmacy practice, and the profession as a whole. While serving on the NCAP Board of Directors, she persisted in her quest for enhanced transparency regarding Board functions and Forum insight on key issues including, but not limited to, the organization’s financial status, forum-directed budgeting, and clarification of Board member roles and responsibilities. She was instrumental in spearheading the initiative for our forum to establish its very own mission and vision statements. Her leadership and contributions undoubtedly will serve as part of the foundation for our Forum’s lasting legacy, and her advocacy for improved geriatric care in our profession can also be evidenced by her involvement with ASCP. In addition to this role and continued service to our organization and members, Rhonda is also active in her community and has served as Sustaining Advisor to the Board of Directors for the Junior League of Asheville. Rhonda Gentry

The Dale Jones Memorial Award for Excellence in Geriatrics is presented to a pharmacist who embodies commitment in the following areas: geriatrics & patient care, education and continuous professional development, a commitment to community, and commitment to the pharmacy profession, as we honor the late Dr. Dale Jones and his exemplary contributions to geriatrics and his compassion for always putting his patients first. This year’s recipient of the Excellence in Geriatrics Award, Lori Edwards, has been a pharmacist for 23 years. Lori received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from UNC Chapel Hill in 1994 and went on to earn her PharmD in 1999 from the University of South Carolina School of Pharmacy. She completed an Advanced Clinical Clerkship at Moses Cone Hospital which involved developing a Lori Edwards disease management protocol for pharmacists to provide cognitive services for diabetes and hypertension in either an outpatient hospital practice or a physician’s office. Lori began her work as a consultant pharmacist in 1995 and continues to practice in that capacity for Neil Medical Group. In February 2006, she became a Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner with Cornerstone Healthcare. There she worked as an adjunct staff clinical pharmacist at Carolina Cardiology at Cornerstone and was instrumental in developing an anticoagulation monitoring program, providing medication management services, obesity counseling and dietary guidance for physician-ordered weight loss programs, and collaborated with other members of the healthcare team in maximizing patient outcomes. In addition to her clinical work at Cornerstone and her consultant pharmacist work in LTC, our recipient is a preceptor and adjunct clinical professor for three schools of pharmacy: UNC, Wingate, and Highpoint University. She has been an active member of NCAP and has served the past 3 years on the Chronic Care Executive Committee. She has also been a member of ASCP for many years and has been an advocate for geriatric care in pharmacy. In addition to her continued service to the organization and the profession, she is active in her community and her church. The CCPF would like to congratulate this year’s award recipients for their dedication and commitment to the profession and thank all of the attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors of the Annual Meeting. Lastly, if you or someone you know is interested in being actively involved with the CCPF, please email David Phillips, Chair (dphillips@blueridgerx.com).

Selected Powerpoint Presentations for NCAP members who were unable to attend:

1. Could I be Liable? Jay Campbell

2. Transitions in Care: What’s Your Role? Irene Park

3. Opioid Misuse and Addiction Treatment in Older Adults. Micah Sobota

4. Taking a “Break!” Bisphosphonate Holidays. Mollie Ashe Scott

5. Passing the Torch: The Emerging Role of Novel Pharmacotherapy in the Treatment of Systolic Heart Failure. Robert Tunney