Coogs Flourish in Frisco

TSHP Seminar Brings Mentorship and Research Awards, Officer Installations and New Namesake Lecture for UHCOP Alumni

April 19 — Several UH College of Pharmacy alumni were honored for their leadership, service and research activities during the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2019 Annual Seminar April 12-14 in Frisco, Texas.

The Houston Program alumna Phuoc Anne Nguyen, Pharm.D., M.S. ('15), BCPS, pharmacy manager at Houston Methodist West Hospital, was recognized with the Pharmacy Mentor Award. Nguyen is part of the THSP Mentor Program and hosts a YouTube-based video blog called "Coaching Coins" in which she and guest pharmacists provide professional development and other guidance to pharmacy students, residents and early career practitioners.

In addition, alumna Joyce A. Tipton, R.Ph. (B.S. '79), MBA, FASHP, delivered the inaugural Joyce A. Tipton Leadership Lecture, entitled "LIFE, Tennis Balls, and Electric Cars — What is your path, your mission, and your legacy?," during the conference. A longtime member of the UHCOP Dean's Advisory Council and a founding member of The Houston Program, Tipton recently retired after a distinguished career in pharmacy that included leadership positions at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital (now CHI Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center) as well as appointment to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy.

Alumni highlights from the Research Poster Competition sponsored by the TSHP Research & Education Foundation included:

Alumna Elizabeth M. Villanueva, Pharm.D. ('17), a Harris Health System PGY2 health-system pharmacy administration resident and UHCOP M.S. Pharmacy Leadership & Administration candidate in The Houston Program, was recognized twice for her projects in the Resident/Fellow/Post-Graduate – PGY2 category.

Villanueva won first place for the project, "The Use of Lean, Six Sigma Methodology to Optimize Expiration Dating in the Automated Dispensing Cabinet," which was coauthored by her Harris Health team members Ana Couriel, Pharm.D., BCPS; Shaji Varghese, R.Ph. (B.S. '94), MBA; Ogechi O. Eshleman, Pharm.D., BCPS; David E. Wilson, Pharm.D., MBA, BCPS; Tracy Huerta, B.S.; Estevan Barrera; and Ogbevoen Oriakhi, Pharm.D., MBA. In addition, Villanueva received an Honorable Mention for her project, "The Impact of Board-Certified Pharmacists on the Reduction of Hemoglobin A1C in Uncontrolled Diabetic Patients," which was coauthored by Couriel and Cesar Munoz, Pharm.D., BCPS.

Rebecca Kessinger, Pharm.D. ('18), a PGY1 resident at CHI Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, won the Resident/Fellow/Post-Graduate – PGY1 category for her project, "Heparin Requirements in Patients with Impella® and TandemHeart® Support Devices." Kessinger's coauthors were Mariam C. Mousavi, Pharm.D., amd Ellen Yin, Pharm.D., BCCP, BCPS.

Alumna Carolyn M. Schardt, Pharm.D. ('18), a PGY1 pharmacy practice resident at CHI St. Luke’s Health Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, received an Honorable Mention in the Resident/Fellow/Post-Graduate-PGY1 category for her project, "Medication Use Evaluation of Sugammadex at a Large Academic Medical Center." Fellow UHCOP alumna Kimberly Putney, Pharm.D. ('00), MPH, and Steven E. Michaud, Pharm.D., BCCCP, were coauthors on the project.

Three Houston Program alumni were among the coauthors of the winning poster in the Technician category. authored by Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center technician Steven Cooper, CPhT. The project, "A Journey Towards Zero Pyxis Stock Outs: A Patient Centered Approach," was coauthored by Daniel Nyakundi, CPhT; Shreya Parekh, Pharm.D., M.S. ('13), BCPS; Martha Ouma, Msc, PMP; Thomas Roduta, Pharm.D., M.S. ('18); and Rodney Cox, R.Ph., M.S. ('11).

In addition, among those sworn into officer positions during the meeting were Sarah Lake-Wallace, Pharm.D. ('00), FTSHP, who took the oath as 2019-20 TSHP president-elect, and Todd K. Connor, Pharm.D., M.S., who transitioned into his leadership role as president of the Metroplex Society of Health-System Pharmacists.