Alumni News Spring Interactions 2007

Don A. Myers Sr., PharmD’66, retired after 40 years with Brunswick Hospital in Brunswick, Ga. He started his career at Brunswick as an assistant administrator and was director of professional services when he left in 2000. Before joining Brunswick, he was the assistant administrator at Maury County Hospital in Columbia, Tenn. Prior to earning his PharmD at U-M, Myers earned a BSPharm from the University of Toledo (1956) and a master of science in hospital administration at Northwestern University (1958).

In 1989, Myers received a life fellow membership from the American College of Health Care Executives.

“At 78, I’m starting to slow down, but still enjoy lending a helping hand in the healthcare arena,” he states.

He hasn’t limited his altruistic efforts to health care, however. Myers is captain of Division 10 of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. The U.S.C.G. Auxiliary is a volunteer, civilian, non-military arm of the Coast Guard with over the 38,000 volunteers nationwide. It serves the general public through boating-safety classes, vessel safety checks, and safety patrols on the water and in the air. “I’m on the water a great deal of the time and my dock is not far from the Intercostal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean,” he writes.

Don and his wife, Dortha, have two children and three grandchildren. E-mail: drdmyers@dariental.net.

Franz Neubrecht, BSPharm’62, spoke on the topic, “Medicare Part D Audits: How Are They the Same or Different,” during the Michigan Pharmacists Association (MPA) Annual Convention and Exposition, held Feb. 23-25 in Dearborn. In 2006, Neubrecht retired from the MPA.

 

The Seventies

Collin K. Hennessey, BSPharm’77, PharmD’79, RE’79, manager, department of pharmacy, Sparrow Health System in Lansing, Mich., was one of three presenters who spoke on the topic, “Make Your Dispensing Machines Work for You,” at the MPA Annual Convention and Exposition. His presentation identified ways to prevent drug diversion using automated dispensing machines, strategies to ensure a successful dispensing machine installation, and comparisons of current health code rules to proposed revisions related to automated dispensing cabinets. E-mail: chenness@umich.edu.

Jacqueline B. Hoop-Sinicrope, PharmD’71, is president of JDJ Associates, Inc. in the U.S. Virgin Islands (V.I.), and project manager of the V.I. Governor’s Health Reform Initiative. The initiative, which is the culmination of three years of research and development, was designed with the goal of drastically reducing the number of uninsured people in the territory.

One-fourth of the V.I. population — about 26,000 residents — do not have adequate health coverage. Of those 26,000 people, approximately 15,000 are low-wage earners in the private sector. More than 80 percent of V.I. businesses hire 20 or fewer employees, and the cost of offering a health insurance package exceeds what the majority of them can afford.

By law, V.I. hospitals must provide care to anyone who needs it. As a result, uninsured patients have encumbered the territory’s hospitals with $40 million in annual uncompensated care costs.

One roadblock to providing basic health services for V.I. residents is that U.S. laws treat the territories differently. Thus, many of the territory’s low-income Medicare beneficiaries, who would be able to get extra help with drug costs if they lived on the mainland, will not qualify for Medicare assistance because they live in a territory rather than a state.

“These people have paid the same tax for Medicare and Social Security as anyone else in the program, and if they lived elsewhere — on the mainland — they would have access to the low-income subsidy,” Hoop-Sinicrope states.

As project manager of the V.I. Governor’s Health Reform Initiative, she is working with V.I. officials and business leaders to implement reforms necessary to provide basic health benefits to the territory’s most vulnerable residents.

“We have developed an affordable and comprehensive health solution that allows people to get the health care they need, and it allows our healthcare facilities and providers to receive compensation for the services they provide,” states Hoop-Sinicrope. “It’s a win-win for the community.”

The first benchmark of the Health Reform Initiative was to reduce the uninsured from 24 percent to 13 percent by the end of 2006.

Jesse C. Vivian, BSPharm’75, JD, spoke on the topic, “Prevention of Fraud Waste and Abuse in the Medicare Prescription Drug Program” at the MPA Annual Convention and Exposition in February. Vivian is a professor at Wayne State University’s Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. E-mail: jessviv@umich.edu.

Former two-term College of Pharmacy Alumni Society Board of Governors member and current MPA CEO, Larry D. Wagenknecht, BSPharm’79, spoke on the topic, “Making the Case for Quality— A Way to Improve Patient Safety,” during the 2007 MPA Annual Convention and Exposition. Wagenknecht discussed the importance of quality improvement in health care and the impact of medication errors on patient safety, defined elements of a Continuous Quality Improvement program in community pharmacy practice, and discussed current issues related to error reporting. E-mail: larry@michiganpharmacists.org.

The Nineties

Daryl D. DePestel, PharmD’99, wed Jill M. LaDronka in Ann Arbor on Oct. 14, 2006. Daryl is a clinical assistant professor of pharmacy at the U-M College of Pharmacy and a clinical pharmacist, infectious diseases, at University of Michigan Health System. Jill received a bachelor’s degree from the U-M School of Nursing in April 2002 and an acute care nurse practitioner master’s degree from the School of Nursing in 2005. She is currently a nurse practitioner at the Michigan Heart & Vascular Institute on the campus of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor. The wedding party included alumni Christian Teter, PharmD’99, PostDoc’99, Mike Kraft, PharmD’99, and Joseph Cerenzia, PharmD’99. Daryl and Jill honeymooned on Bora Bora. E-mail: daryldd@umich.edu.

Sahar Z. Swidan, PharmD’92, PostDoc’92, received MPA’s Good Government Award on Feb. 24 at the Association’s political action committee breakfast. The event was held in conjunction with MPA’s Annual Convention and Exposition. Swidan is a clinical associate professor of pharmacy at the U-M College of Pharmacy, and former vice chair on the College’s Alumni Society Board of Governors. She is also president and CEO of Pharmacy Solutions and executive vice president of SahaRx Diagnostics, both in Ann Arbor; CEO of NeuroPharmacology Consultants in Ypsilanti; and president of the Washtenaw County Pharmacist Society. Last summer, Swidan was elected to the Michigan Medicaid Drug Utilization Review Board.

“We need more pharmacists in the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate to advance meaningful, patient-oriented legislation, healthcare legislation,” Sahar told Interactions. “Pharmacists tend to be too modest for their own good. If we don’t fight for our own profession, no one will. Nurses, physicians, and physicians’ assistants are light-years ahead of us in terms of having and carrying out a political action plan.” E-mail: swidan@umich.edu.

The Aughts

Vito Graziano, PharmD’04, writes that he’s been a staff pharmacist at a Walgreens store in Clinton Township (Mich.) for about one year.

“It’s a high-volume store, which makes it difficult at times, especially when we get backed up, but that’s part of the challenge,” says Graziano. “I really enjoy the people I work with, so that makes it a little easier when things get stressful.”

The biggest challenges in his job: dealing with insurance companies and working with scores of physicians, each with highly individualized prescribing habits.

“In metro-Detroit, health plan administrators are determined to control costs, which often means multiple phone calls to the insurance companies, patients, and prescribers to try to find a common ground,” Graziano explains. “As to the practitioners, it’s a matter of building good working relationships, although some are easier to build than others. I got spoiled working for Al Knaak, BSPharm’73, at Village Pharmacy II [Ann Arbor] during my student years. With Al’s practice, many of the physicians had similar prescribing patterns, and Al had developed close working relationships with most of his prescribers.”

Graziano says the best part of his job is using his clinical skills to assist in drug therapy of his patients.

“I enjoy helping my patients find alternatives when their insurance company refuses to pay for a medication, or challenging health plan administrators to change a bad company policy,” Vito notes. “One time I argued with an insurance company rep because his employer wanted a prior authorization for a medication that was relatively inexpensive and was being prescribed correctly. After about 30 minutes and three telephone calls, I was able to get the plan administrator to change company policy.”

One of the major advantages of living and working where he does now, Graziano says, is that he gets to spend more time with his parents and his sister’s family, all of whom live nearby. Thursdays, Vito’s day off, always include time with his infant niece, Stella.

In December 2005, Vito bought a new house.

“It was an awesome learning experience,” he explains. “After looking at 20 or so models, I found the right one. Last summer, my dad and I put in a patio and did the landscaping. My sister and mom helped me decorate and furnish the interior.”

Vito says he stays in touch with several of his classmates: Derrick Marasigan, PharmD’04, Greg Herman, PharmD’04, Regine Caruthers, PharmD’04, Heidi Diez, PharmD’04, Amy Skyles, PharmD’04, Jolene Bostwick, PharmD’04, and gets an occasional e-mail from others. E-mail: vitogoblue@yahoo.com.

On June 24, 2006, Bin Lee, PharmD’02, married David Kim at a ceremony in Orange County, Calif. Bin and David met during their freshman year at U-M and were friends for nine years before they started dating, Bin says. David received his degree from the University’s School of Public Health and currently works for the Orange County Environment Health Department. Bin started her new job as an ambulatory care pharmacist in the anticoagulation clinic at a Kaiser Permanente facility in Fontana, Calif. in May 2006. Prior to that, she was an ambulatory care pharmacist at the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

Following graduation, Lee completed two residencies: the first was a general pharmacy practice residency at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System; the second was an ambulatory care residency at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. Upon completion of her specialty residency, Lee remained at VA San Diego where she worked in the FIRM (primary care) clinic focusing on diabetes and lipids management therapies, and smoking cessation. She was also one of the coordinators for the pharmacy student program at VA San Diego.

“I took my first NAPLEX in Michigan and received my pharmacy license,” Lee states. “Since I was already working in the VA system when I moved to San Diego, my Michigan license was sufficient. Once California started requiring NAPLEX for licensing, I had to retake the exam because the initial NAPLEX result could not be grand-fathered in.”

One of Lee’s fellow employees is classmate Betty Tseng, PharmD’02, who works in the same anticoagulation clinic.

For fun, Bin and David like to hike, camp, jog, and watch every Michigan football game together, she says. “We even have a Michigan sign displayed on our front window: Go Blue!” E-mail: binlee77@gmail.com.

Xavier Tato, PharmD’02, is the independent owner of Stadium Pharmacy in Ann Arbor

“I worked for Rite-Aid for about 11 months right after graduation, but always with the intention of opening my own pharmacy when the right time and location arose,” he explains. “About four years ago, that opportunity presented itself in the West Stadium Shopping Center on Stadium Blvd. I seized the opportunity and launched my own business.”

Tato’s pharmacy is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. As sole proprietor, he is on duty every minute, including before and after hours.

“I anticipated it would be a lot of hard work in the beginning, and it’s been that, but I’m dedicated and determined to succeed,” Tato says. “I have a long-term goal and this is the first step in achieving that. I genuinely enjoy what I do day-to-day and I love being my own boss. I’m here to serve the community and improve patient care and outcomes.”

Tato says that his firm has been growing at a 20-25 percent annual clip, a fact he attributes to his focus on customer service. “I’m loyal to my customers and will do everything I can to earn and keep their trust,” he states. “I’m constantly looking for new and better ways of providing the services my patients want.”

His primary clients are families, with seniors accounting for about 25 percent of his revenue.

“We try to be price competitive although the reimbursement cuts implemented by pharmacy benefit managers make that increasingly difficult,” he adds.

One of the services he offers is free prescription delivery. Stadium Pharmacy also provides free audiology services including hearing exams. Tato’s also exploring the possibility of establishing a mini-clinic in the store.

He credits his uncles for passing their self-taught business knowledge on to him. (They operate a family-owned convenience store next door to Xavier’s pharmacy.)

“As a College student, I worked part-time at a CVS Pharmacy and part-time for my uncles,” remarks Tato. “You can pick up a lot of basic business concepts that way.” E-mail: xtato@juno.com.