MPA In Action

2022 President-Elect Candidates

HOPE M. BROXTERMAN

HOPE M. BROXTERMAN, a clinical pharmacist at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Ferris State University (FSU) in 2010. She attained Board of Pharmacy certification in pharmacotherapy in 2014 and board certification in cardiology in 2019. Broxterman was awarded MPA’s Distinguished New Pharmacist Practitioner Award in 2018. In 2019, Broxterman was recognized as the Residency Preceptor of the Year by Munson Medical Center. Broxterman has served as co-chair for the Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists (MSHP)/Michigan Pharmacists Association (MPA) Membership Committee, as a delegate to the MPA House of Delegates, and as a member of the Pharmacy Advocacy Response Team (PART). She has also served as treasurer of the MSHP Board of Directors, as a member of the MSHP Educational Affairs, MSHP Finance, MSHP Organizational Affairs, MSHP/MPA Membership and MSHP/MPA Public Affairs committees. In 2015, Broxterman completed the Michigan Pharmacy Foundation’s Health Professional Leadership Academy and Munson Medical Center’s Frontline Leadership program in 2016. Broxterman is a member of the Northern Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists (NMSHP), having served as the organization’s treasurer since 2014. She also serves as an active member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the American College of Cardiology. An active MPA member since 2008, Broxterman resides in Traverse City.

What will be your top priority as president of MPA? Why do you believe this issue is important?

Although this past year has proven to be challenging, our pharmacy profession demonstrated the ability to adapt to whatever a pandemic may throw at us. As a profession, despite many of our everyday activities needing to be adjusted this past year, we accomplished many important, valued, and exciting things such as: delivering thousands of vaccine doses, navigating drug shortages, performing a multitude of patient education visits virtually, and with focused effort passing legislation for PBM reform. While we have accomplished many milestones, there remain many challenges. For example, increased daily responsibilities and burnout, drug pricing and patient affordability, PBM transparency, telemedicine and remote verification, curbing the opioid epidemic and gaining provider status are just a few. Yet, as important as all these are to our profession, the pandemic exposed a bigger challenge that needs to be addressed, health equity. As pharmacists we are patient advocates. We are the most accessible healthcare professional. To me, harnessing our collective effort to address the disparity of healthcare access is an emerging issue that MPA members should tackle. I don’t have an answer to this. Yet our history as a professional association focused on patient care gives me encouragement that we can find ways to address this issue and create a new space for our profession to demonstrate our commitment to patient care.

Why do you think it is important for MPA members to be actively involved in the association?

While challenges will always loom, we have the perfect solution for all the trials we face, our members and the talented team at MPA. By collaborating and sharing ideas we can improve reimbursement and limit inappropriate DIR fees, expand upon health information technology to improve patient outcomes, and provide necessary tools to ensure the health of our communities is accessible to all in need. Having the opportunity to continue to work on your behalf and support MPA through the many transitions it faces as your next president would be a true honor.

SARAH E. HILL

SARAH E. HILL has worked for Ascension Michigan Retail Pharmacy in Lansing for the past 10 years. Prior to her time with Ascension (formerly St. John Providence), Hill practiced with CVS Pharmacy in Holt. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Wayne State University Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2010. Hill first joined the board of the Wayne County Pharmacists Association (WCPA) as a student pharmacist. She has since served as the secretary, president and chairman of WCPA. She spearheaded several projects for WCPA, including the production of a television public service announcement on the role of the pharmacist, and the creation of an annual law review to prepare graduating student pharmacists for the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (MPJE). After serving as chairman of WCPA, Hill decided to get involved with the association at the state level. She was first appointed as the co-editor of the Michigan Society of Community Pharmacists (MSCP) newsletter. She was then elected to two consecutive terms on the MSCP board, including serving as president and chairman of the board. Hill also chaired the MSCP Member Education and Communication Committee. She was a member of the MPA New Practitioner Committee and has been a delegate to the MPA House of Delegates for many years. Currently, Hill is serving as a member of the WCPA Board of Directors and is a director on the MPA Executive Board. Hill has been an MPA member for 14 years and currently resides in Fowlerville.

What will be your top priority as president of MPA? Why do you believe this issue is important?

The mission and vision of MPA involve uniting and empowering members to represent the profession of pharmacy with one voice. While MPA strives to be home to all Michigan pharmacy professionals, currently, many do not feel a sense of connection within the association. My top priority during my presidency would be to cultivate a culture of belonging at MPA. I want to initiate a shift from pharmacy professionals thinking about MPA as the pharmacy association in Michigan, to MPA being their pharmacy association. Those two additional letters make such a difference in recognizing the role of MPA in our individual lives.

This culture shift includes intentionally recruiting leaders from groups historically underrepresented at decision-making tables. For example, we need the voices of new practitioners and unfortunately, many feel excluded. As a mother of four young children, I see the need for family-friendly consideration

for activities (not being held during bedtime, having spaces for nursing/pumping, etc.). Millennial and Gen Z professionals will soon constitute the majority of the workforce, and while MPA has taken some steps to engage those voices, efforts must be expanded. Pharmacy technicians make up over half of the pharmacy workforce, yet they continue to be severely underrepresented in MPA’s leadership. We need to assure our technicians that MPA is their association too.

Another way to encourage members to find their home at MPA is to invest in growing and developing local associations. I have seen firsthand how important this grassroots level of MPA is in creating a sense of belonging. The desire to serve our local communities is a desire that unites us all. Belonging to a local association gives members opportunities to network with other local pharmacists, volunteer in their communities and more. As your president, I would like to hear how we can make MPA feel like home to you.

Why do you think it is important for MPA members to be actively involved in the association?

Active participation in MPA is vital for all pharmacy professionals in Michigan. MPA gives pharmacy a unified voice when advocating legislatively, and when educating the public on the role of the pharmacy team. Many battles we face in advancing the profession could be won if we had the public pulling with us. For this to happen, the public needs to be educated on all that the pharmacy team can provide. The pandemic has shed a whole new light on the importance, and accessibility, of pharmacy services and we need to work together to harness this momentum. Being an active member of MPA, means contributing to that movement. The best way for MPA to respond to your needs is for you to become actively involved, so that your perspective can be heard. Your time and unique talents will help MPA move forward to a future where all pharmacy professionals feel seen, understood and represented by the association.