Virginia Society of Health-System Pharmacists

The ASHP Task Force on Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion invite ASHP members to participate in an important member survey. The purpose of the survey is to collect feedback on the preliminary recommendations from the ASHP Task Force on Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Please review the following information and then use the link below to access the survey which should take 15-20 minutes of your time to complete.

Follow this link to the Survey:  Recommendations Feedback

Or copy and paste the URL into your internet browser: http://ashp.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cVlZG58aKizkpbn?Q_DL=N3VcqY8mZkgoXsl_cVlZG58aKizkpbn_MLRP_cNLs8KJjPiZECfH&Q_CHL=email

ASHP and its members have long been committed to eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare and recognize the need to further strengthen that commitment following the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and other Black Americans. ASHP further seeks to help eliminate racism, discrimination, and inequities that impact other minority and underrepresented populations and to help improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in healthcare and society more broadly.

While the Task Force developed the preliminary recommendations with a specific focus on Black Americans, the Task Force members believe that many of the recommendations should also support other communities of color. In order to reflect more inclusive language within its recommendations, the Task Force decided to use the term “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color,” also referred to as BIPOC throughout the recommendations. Mental Health America (MHA) considers the following communities as BIPOC: Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, Native and Indigenous, and Multiracial.

The deadline for this survey is December 10, 2020. Please be assured that your responses will be anonymous. The Task Force plans to review comments and prepare a final report and recommendations to the ASHP Board of Directors in January 2021.

Thank you in advance for your time and support.

Sincerely,


Paul C. Walker, Pharm.D., FASHP
Task Force Chair and ASHP Board Liaison

Congratulations to Kathy Koehl-VSHP 2020 Pharmacist of the Year

https://vimeo.com/478623070

https://vimeo.com/478623070

Congratulations to Tyler Sledge-VSHP 2020 Clinical Pharmacy Practice Achievement Award

https://vimeo.com/478619418

Congratulations to Khalida Amini-VSHP 2020 New Practitioner of the Year

https://vimeo.com/478613847

Congratulations to Jessica Franklin-2020 VSHP Technician of the Year

https://vimeo.com/478548559https://vimeo.com/478548559

https://www.ashp.org/News/2020/10/26/ASHP-Past-President-R-David-Anderson-Reflects-on-His-First-95-Years

Congratulations to Carrie Carter, Lark Dunton, Emily Hand and Sarah Wheeler winners of our 2020 Trivia Contest during Pharmacy Week

National Women Pharmacist Day

#WomenPharmacistDay (WPD) is today! Please join us as we celebrate women in pharmacy. VSHP honors, not just the current leaders and the trailblazers who have made such progress possible, but all women in pharmacy, including technicians, pharmacists and students. Their daily commitment to patient care and the advancement of pharmacy practices have set the foundation of pharmacy in our country and the world. Women pharmacists have been a cornerstone of VSHP and continue to comprise many of the leadership roles: Natalie Nguyen is Secretary; Tolu Akinbu is Board Member At Large; eight of 12 Region Presidents or Presidents-Elect; and nine of 12 committee chairs are women. VSHP has had 17 women Past Presidents, including 11 of the past 30, with Cindy Williams (Immediate Past President last year) being the most recent. Women have made, and continue to make, significant contributions every year to the progress of VSHP. ASHP, whose first CEO was Gloria Niemeyer Francke, is offering an opportunity to hear women about their professional journeys. Here is a snippet of the offerings, with more available on the ASHP web site: ASHP Official Podcasts Black History Month: African-American Women Pharmacy Leaders in History ASHP Women in Pharmacy Leadership: Optimizing Opportunities for a Successful Career Exploring a Pharmacy Leader’s Journey in Practice and Her Experiences as a Lesbian Woman: An Interview with Lindsey Kelley Intersections Can Pharmacists Have it All? Balancing a Dream Career with a Busy Family A Resident’s Perspective on Women in Pharmacy Leadership Student Pharmacist Sheds Light on Leadership Gender Disparity RADM Pam Schweitzer: Climbing Every Mountain Pharmacy Academia Star Urges Other Women to Follow Their Passions On behalf of VSHP, we are honored to recognize, and honestly in awe of, the contributions of women pharmacists! For more information: https://womenpharmacistday.com/

Effective October 1, 2020, Veklury (remdesivir) will no longer be allocated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and State Departments of Health. This change is possible given that there is now sufficient supply of Veklury (remdesivir) to meet demand, even if a surge of COVID-19 cases occurs.

See additional information:  AmerisourceBergen Remdesivir Distribution.pdf

DHP has recently been made aware of a scam that is being attempted on some DHP licensees.  You may wish to notify your members of the  below information. Please contact me if you have any questions, thank you. 

SCAM ALERT

 

The Department of Health Professions (DHP) has been made aware that some licensees have received fraudulent communications from individuals claiming to be from one of our licensing boards, such as the Board of Pharmacy, or another agency, such as the DEA. The communications, often by phone, may threaten arrest or license suspension, demand personal information, or require the payment of fines. 

Please note:

·       Phone calls may “spoof” DHP or a Board and appear to be from our number;

·       If you need to verify the identity of a DHP investigator or inspector, call (804) 367-4691 or email enfcomplaints@dhp.virginia.gov;

·       DHP will never demand that you provide personally identifying information, such as social security number, date of birth, bank or credit card account numbers over the phone;

·       These types of licensing scams are a problem nationwide.

 

If you believe you are the recipient of a fraudulent communication claiming to be from DHP:

 

·       Notify DHP at 804-367-4691, or email enfcomplaints@dhp.virginia.gov;

·       Report the communication to local law enforcement or the Virginia State Police;

·       The Federal Trade Commission also accepts reports about “Imposter Scams” through the FTC Complaint Assistant, or at 1-877-382-4357; these reports are used to aid ongoing investigations.

 

The Drug Enforcement Administration also has warned of imposters posing as DEA agents. Information and reporting of these scams can be found at this DEA website.  

-- 

David E. Brown, DC

Director

Virginia Department of Health Professions