Pitt Pharmacy was awarded multiple times from the Pennsylvania Pharmacist Association (PPA), with recipients including alumni, faculty and our Dean Patricia Kroboth!

The Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association (PPA) recently named Dean Patricia Kroboth, PhD, as the Mortar and Pestle Award winner during PPA’s 2019 Annual Conference held at Seven Springs Mountain Resort on September 2019 in Seven Springs, PA. This award is one of special recognition presented solely at the discretion of the PPA Board of Directors recognizing lifetime outstanding service to the pharmacy profession.  The award recognized her ongoing support and commitment to the future of pharmacy, her student and faculty support, and her commitment to professional organizations such as PPA. Kroboth was particularly recognized for her behind the scenes commitment and resources for the ongoing operations of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Care Network; a group highly trained pharmacists who deliver high quality patient care through expert comprehensive medication management.

Peter Kreckel, RPh,’ 81 was given the Preceptor of the Year Award. The Preceptor of the Year award is presented to a preceptor who demonstrates outstanding interaction, knowledge sharing, and who is an exceptional pharmacy role model for students. Only PPA student members may nominate individuals for this award.  He currently works at Thompson Pharmacy located in Blair County. He teaches pharmacology courses in the physician assistant science program at St. Francis University. He also frequently writes articles for Drug Topics, a news source on pharmacy related topics. Kreckel was also honored as the 2014 National Community Pharmacists Association’s National Preceptor of the Year.

Sandra Kane-Gill, PharmD, MS, FCCM, FCCP, was presented with the NASPA Excellence in Innovation Award sponsored by Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc. The Excellence in Innovation Award recognizes and honors a qualified pharmacist who has demonstrated significant innovation in their respective practice, method or service directly or indirectly resulting in improved patient care and / or advancement of the profession of pharmacy. Kane-Gill  is currently a Professor of Pharmacy and Therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. She has committed her career to medication error and adverse drug event prevention and used technology to advance the field of medication safety. She has deployed high-fidelity simulation to reduce medication administration errors by 25% in the intensive care unit and use of advanced clinical decision support to enhance alert performance and reduce alert fatigue. Kane-Gill is the first pharmacist in the country to use a new biomarker called Nephrocheck in clinical practice for the early identification of kidney stress to prevent drug associated acute kidney injury. In fact, as a result of her international reputation in safe medication use, she authored the first ever guidelines on safe medication use in the intensive care unit in Critical Care Medicine and are used to shape practice internationally.

PPA awarded PittPharmacy Alumnus Christopher Antypas, PharmD ’09 as the Pharmacist of the Year Award winner. This award is presented to the pharmacist who has demonstrated dedication to the profession of pharmacy, contributed time and effort to the various professional organizations, furthered the profession of pharmacy through community service and embodied those qualities of attitude and leadership which exemplify the profession.  Antypas is the Owner, President, and Chief Operation Officer of Asti’s South Hills Pharmacy in southwest Pennsylvania. He has been named a Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network (CPESN) Luminary and he serves on the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Care Network (PPCN) Board of Directors, Prescribe Wellness Board of Directors, and Scriptmed Advisory Board. He most recently has been appointed to serve on the following Pharmacy and Therapeutics committees: Pennsylvania Medicaid, PDMI, and Amerihealth Caritas. He is a champion for the independent community pharmacy through legislative efforts by drawing attention to rising PBM issues.

Sarah Dombrowski, PharmD ’12 was recognized as the Distinguished Young Pharmacist Awardee. The Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Companies “Distinguished Young Pharmacist” Award recognizes new pharmacists for their dedication to and participation in pharmacy organizations, commitment to the practice of pharmacy and involvement in community activities. After completing a community pharmacy practice residency and an ambulatory care residency she began her career as an assistant professor at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Pharmacy (LECOM). She has since transitioned to Geisinger Health System where she works as a Medication Therapy Disease Management pharmacist serving as the medication expert on an interdisciplinary health care team.

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