MPA SHINES AT STATE & NATIONAL LEVELS

BY MARK GLASPER, chief executive officer, Michigan Pharmacists Association

Very proud of the Michigan Pharmacists Association (MPA), our members and staff and the excellence we have achieved together. In February, we held our extremely successful Annual Convention and Exposition (ACE) in Detroit and I just returned from the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Annual Meeting and Exposition, held March 24-27 in Phoenix. While the two events are vastly different in terms of size, both offered opportunities for MPA to shine at home and on the national stage.

ACE Radiates Success

We had 500-plus members and more than 700 total attendees at our first fully in-person ACE since 2020. Up to 15 continuing education hours were available, including two fantastic keynote presentations. For our Opening Keynote, I want to thank National Boards of Pharmacy Executive Director Al Carter and MPA Past President Charlie Mollien for an informative fireside chat on hot topics in pharmacy. It was also a reunion for both, as Mollien followed Carter at Walgreens earlier in their careers.

Our second keynote featured a panel of national pharmacy leaders who spoke on government affairs efforts at the national level, including MPA member and current interim CEO for APhA, Ilisa Bernstein. Joining Bernstein on the panel were Anne Cassity, senior vice president, federal and state government affairs, National Community Pharmacists Association; William Tighe, vice president, federal government affairs, National Association of Chain Drug Stores; and Tom Kraus, vice president government relations, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Anyone attending that panel discussion knows it could have continued for another hour!

ACE affords us the opportunity to honor members who distinguish themselves as recipients of MPA’s annual awards. Our list of award recipients is too long for this column, but I do want to call out Lisa Bade (Michigan Society of Community Pharmacists), who was recognized as our Pharmacist of the Year and Heidi Diez (Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists), who received the Bowl of Hygeia Award. Congratulations to all of our award recipients who are listed on pages 19-21 of this issue.

I do want to highlight one, additional honoree – Henry Yee, who was one of three 50-year members of MPA. I spoke and corresponded with Yee after ACE and he told me how honored he was to have mentored so many technicians during his 46-year career, including Rosalind Brewer, the current CEO of Walgreens. He had the opportunity to work with her at a Detroit-area Kmart when she would return home from her studies at Spelman College in Atlanta. What a great story!

Also, I can’t thank our 65 exhibitors and sponsors enough for their strong show of support at ACE. I want to especially recognize Walgreens and PSI Insurance Agency (Gold sponsors); CMP Pharma, CVS Health, Kroger Health, Lilly and Meijer (Silver sponsors); and Gvoke, Heron Therapeutics, Moderna and SpartanNash (Bronze sponsors). ACE is the premier pharmacy event in Michigan because of our corporate support!

Save the date now for the 2024 ACE Feb. 23-25 at the Marriott Renaissance Center in Detroit and the 2025 ACE April 11-13 at the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City!

Michigan in Spotlight at APhA

I couldn’t be more proud of our Michigan award recipients at the APhA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Phoenix. Karen Farris, from the University of Michigan, and MPA Director of Professional Development Farah Jalloul received national honors.

Farris was presented the Tyler Prize for Stimulation of Research, which is awarded every three years. The Tyler Prize "recognizes an individual(s) for encouraging research by peers, students, fellows, residents and others via publications or by directing research, serving as a preceptor, or mentoring in any discipline of the pharmaceutical sciences.”

Jalloul was given the Hubert H. Humphrey Award, which is named after the former United States vice president and senator, who also was a pharmacist and a longtime APhA member. The Humphrey Award was established in 1978 "to recognize APhA members who have made major contributions in government and legislative service."

Congratulations to both for representing Michigan and MPA so well!

We had more than 70 MPA members and guests join us for the Michigan Reception. I would especially like to thank Bernstein, who took time from her busy schedule to attend our event. I also want to thank our cohosts for the evening: Ferris State University College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan College of Pharmacy and Wayne State University

Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Representing MPA at the House of Delegates (HOD) were President Hope Broxterman, Past President Heather Rickle, Consultant and Specialty Pharmacists of Michigan (CSPM) President Matt McTaggart, MSCP Board member Brittany Stewart and Jalloul. There’s a tremendous amount of preparation that goes into serving as an APhA delegate, not counting the five-plus hours over two days of HOD sessions. I appreciate them representing Michigan and MPA as well!

If you’ve never had the opportunity to attend one of the national pharmacy associations’ annual meetings, I recommend doing so. It gives you a broad perspective of and appreciation for the pharmacy profession as a whole. Pick one that speaks to your professional needs and enjoy the experience. But don’t forget to attend ACE every year!