Daniel Abazia, a fifth year student
at the Ernest Marion
School of Pharmacy at Rutgers
University, was the recipient of
this year’s Dean Sciarrone
Award. Dan exhibited exceptional leadership
this past year as president of the Student
Chapter of NJSHP. He coordinated chapter
meetings which included guest speakers on various
pharmacy-related topics. He also participated
with members of his chapter in community
events, including a visit to a local hospital pediatrics
unit during Halloween which helped to
brighten the day for hospital-bound children.
Self-described as a “Pharma-Geek,” he is also
active in pharmacy school leadership and has
served as vice president of the Phi Delta Chi
Professional Pharmacy Fraternity, and served as a
Big Brother at the first-year student orientation
picnic.
Rochelle Van Mater of Jersey
Shore University Medical
Center was the recipient of the
Pharmacy Technician Award.
Described as a “department of
one,” by her co-workers,
Rochelle’s primary duties
revolve around coordinating
purchasing activities, which support 500-plus
inpatient beds, as well as many out patient services.
Her peers note that this activity goes on
with little supervision, but is completed quickly
and efficiently, helping to maintain the smooth
operation of the pharmacy department.
Roe has been known to go the extra mile for her
co-workers and patients, volunteering for additional
shifts on short notice and returning to work
on off-hours to assist in the ordering of medications
needed the next morning for critically ill
patients. Her concern for patients and pharmacy
operations made “Roe” a deserving recipient
of this year’s Pharmacy Technician Award.
This year’s Pharmacist Practitioner of the Year
Award was awarded to Linda Houle Spooner,
Pharm.D., of the Ernest Mario School of
Pharmacy and Jersey Shore University Medical
Center. Linda’s enthusiastic performance of her  duties as a clinical instructor
and clinical pharmacist has
contributed greatly to the lives
of both pharmacy students and
patients alike. She has been
recognized for her efforts in
providing education to medical
staff and other healthcare
professionals in many diverse areas of expertise,
including bioterrorism preparation, HIV management,
and has provided Grand Rounds presentations
on numerous occasions. She works
continually to monitor antibiotic usage at her
healthcare facility to optimize antibiotic utilization,
while reducing medication costs and resistance
rates.
Linda is also a valuable resource to the internal
medicine and infectious disease service ward
teams, participating on daily rounds, and offering
suggestions to optimize patient care through
medication evaluation and monitoring. Her
devotion to providing optimal patient care is evidenced
by her creation of a program, which provides
counseling of HIV patients in an outpatient
clinic setting. Linda’s professional devotion
to her patients, colleagues, and students is an
inspiration to those providing care at her healthcare
institution and the Ernest Mario School of
Pharmacy. |
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Joseph Walker, Pharm.D.
MBA, Director of Pharmacy
at Burdette Tomlin Memorial
Hospital, was the recipient of
the Gregory Santora
Pharmacist of the Year
Leadership Award. Joe’s
commitment to the profession
of pharmacy is evidenced in many ways,
including his service as president of both
NJSHP’s southern and state chapters. He has
also served as a consultant to the Cerner
Corporation and the New Jersey Hospital
Association. His interest in both clinical and
management principles provides his institution
with a remarkable resource to not only deal with
clinical and healthcare issues of the present, but
to foresee trends and events in the practice of
pharmacy, medicine, and patient care which
may impact his institution in the future.
In order to advance pharmaceutical care, Joe has always been an advocate for the use of technology
as evidenced by his bringing the first pharmacy
computer system in 1990 to Burdette
Tomlin. He continues to campaign for bar coding
and CPOE technology to be implemented
in his institution, as a way to enhance patient safety. Joe’s ability to communicate with his
staff in a highly professional and caring manner
make him a respected leader among his peers.
Joe can quickly eliminate departmental turf
issues and create team solutions. As a result of
these outstanding qualities, Joe participates on
several leadership committees outside of his
department.
His pursuit of higher education, including his
recent attainment of the Doctor of Pharmacy
degree, provides staff, administrators, and colleagues,
with undeniable evidence of his commitment
to the profession of pharmacy. His coworkers
note that Joe is a proponent of continuing
education for his staff. His commitment
makes it easy for them to pursue innovative and
creative ideas in patient care, which result in significant
cost savings to institution, while
enhancing both outcomes and the patient experience.
Joe Walker is a leader who embodies
the qualities of a dedicated leader and positive
contributor to the profession of pharmacy.
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