Texas Pharmacy Today - Texas Pharmacy Association

In the News

2016 TPA Leadership Symposium a Success!
More than 160 pharmacists, student pharmacists and pharmacy technicians attended the 2016 TPA Annual Leadership Symposium on March 21, which also included the House of Delegates Meeting.

Opening Session: Healthcare and Politics in Texas
Evan Smith, CEO & Editor In Chief of the Texas Tribune (a non-partisan, non-profit media organization that promotes discourse on vital issues of statewide interest), kicked off the event with his Opening Session: Healthcare and Politics in Texas.

Moving quickly, Smith (at right) shed light on some specific areas of healthcare in Texas, touching on a number of major points concerning the challenges facing Texans. Evans referenced figures indicating that up to 1,400 people a day are moving to Texas, and they all need healthcare. He noted that by 2040, the Hispanic population—which tends to have a larger percentage of uninsured—will far surpass the Anglo population, and that will continue to put pressure on the healthcare system. So far, 20 million people nationwide are now insured through the Affordable Care Act. That raises the question, “What will happen to them if the Affordable Care Act is rolled back after the next presidential election?”

“One way or the other, this election is pivotal for healthcare,” said Smith.

Texas Pharmacy Law Update
Attorney Amanda Ellis (left) brought folks up to speed on pharmacy law changes, guiding them through a comprehensive review of new and pending regulations in Texas.

House of Delegates Meeting
Speaker-Elect Robert Mayes (right) directed the TPA House of Delegates meeting, which included a TPA Candidate Forum allowing the candidates to present their goals. Candidates included President-Elect- Mary Klein, Pharm.D., BCACP; Vice President- Michelle Beall, Pharm.D.; Mark Comfort, Pharm.D.; Treasurer-Elect-Michelle Farmer Driscoll, Pharm.D.; Director- Ballot Position 1, Jay Bueche, R.Ph.; Carolina Rodriguez, Pharm.D.; Director- Ballot Position 2, Nathan Pope, Pharm.D., BCACP, FACA; Pharmacy Technician-Ben Sims, BBA, CPhT; Theresa Day, CPhT, PhTR, and write-in candidate for treasurer-elect Nario Cantu, R.Ph.

TPA CEO Joe DaSilva looks on as Incoming TPA President Rene Garza presents
outgoing President Charlotte Weller with a ceremonial pin

TPA Recognizes Outgoing Directors; Welcomes New President
TPA CEO Joe DaSilva recognized the following outgoing Board directors for their service, stating that, “Their dedication to the Association through their service on the Association’s Board of Directors has been truly remarkable. They deserve our gratitude for being great stewards of our Association.”

Outgoing Board Directors: Charlotte Weller, outgoing President; Carole Hardin-Oliver, outgoing Immediate Past President; Mary Klein, outgoing Vice President; Nario Cantu, outgoing Treasurer; Sharon Rush, outgoing Director; David Spence, outgoing Director; Eric Ho, outgoing Speaker of the House; Kim Stengel, outgoing pharmacy technician representative; and Yasmine Alhasan, outgoing student pharmacist representative.

“On behalf of the Board, the membership and the staff, I thank President Charlotte Weller for her steady and wise leadership in guiding TPA through a maze of opportunities, challenges and successes during her term; and for giving of her time and expertise to protect and advance the profession of pharmacy,” added DaSilva.

DaSilva then welcomed Rene Garza of Stonegate Pharmacy (right), the incoming president of the Texas Pharmacy Association, as he took the oath of office. “I am honored to serve as TPA’s president, and look forward to the year ahead, as TPA continues to make strides in uniting pharmacy for the issues important to you,” said Garza.

What Makes a Leader?
The final session of the day was presented by Gary Keil (left) and Nancy Alvarez of the Pharmacy Leadership & Education Institute. The session focused on the meaning and nature of leadership, which included five “Leadership Themes” of Integrity, Vision, Responsibility, Grit, and Results Through Others. The presentation had a number of memorable quotes, including one by the famous management consultant, educator, and author Peter Drucker: “Management is doing things right; leadership is about doing the right things.”

View the photo album here!

Advocacy

University of Texas at Austin Snags the Lead in the PharmPAC 10-10-10 Campaign
The PharmPAC 10-10-10 Campaign is off to a great start in the first week of competition.

As this writing, The University of Texas has snagged the lead from the University of the Incarnate Word with a late-breaking contribution.

This competition is bringing a little fun, excitement and attention to the importance of PharmPAC, as we work to raise critical funds that help to protect and promote the profession of pharmacy.

This competition still has a long way to go as the schools battle it out for the all-important “Bragging Rights” and their name on the PharmPAC 10-10-10 trophy to be displayed at the new headquarters of TPA. Make sure to check back at least once a week to see how your school of choice is fairing as it competes to be #1.

Contributions as of March 24, 2016

Details and donate here!

Around Texas

Texas ASCP Chapter Spring CE Program- April 9
Texas Tech School of Pharmacy-Dallas, Texas- CLICK HERE for details

Association News

Important Upcoming Dates to Remember

The TPA Board Elections will continue through April 6. CLICK HERE FOR BIOS/STATEMENTS AND TO ACCESS TO THE BALLOT (if you are a member).

In Memoriam
TPA was saddened to learn that longtime member and Texas Pharmacy Foundation

leader, James P. Yeates, 74, of Lufkin, has passed away.

Yeates was born April 4, 1941 in Lufkin, Texas, and died Sunday, March 20, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A graduate of The University of Texas Pharmacy School (1964), he began practicing pharmacy at the Spivey and Thames Clinic in Lufkin, then opened Medical Discount Pharmacy in 1966. He retired to travel in his Airstream trailer with his wife, Marietta "Cookie" Yeates. They were married 52 years and traveled in their Airstream for 14 years. Funeral services will be held Monday, March 28, 2016 at 1 p.m. at Lufkin's First United Methodist Church

Member Spotlight: Todd Hulet, Express Meds Pharmacy (Irving)
TPA member Todd Hulet did not take a conventional path to pharmacy. Instead, he found his calling later, as he sought to help folks with HIV.

“In the 90’s, I was managing convenience stores in Phoenix, AZ, and did volunteer work for non-profits,” says Hulet, now a Dallas resident. “I helped people with HIV. Seeing all the medications they had to take without a lot of supervision made me want to make a difference.”

Today’s medications are far superior, but HIV still requires a lot of monitoring. A lot of patients are still on poly-pharmacy regimens, so you want to make sure that any other medications the patients are taking are not going to cause any negative effects.”

Becoming a Pharmacist
At the age of 33, Hulet went back to school at the University of Arizona, and took care of his prerequisites, and then went on to pharmacy school.

“I was fortunate enough to be accepted in University of Arizona College of Pharmacy in 1995,” he says. “I graduated in 1999. We were the third class out of Arizona to receive Pharm.D.s.”

One of Hulet’s professors was a long-term care consultant, specializing in geriatrics and consultant pharmacy. Remembering all the folks he had wanted to help back in his convenience store days, Hulet sought work in a long-term care and HIV specialty pharmacy.

“I was lucky enough to be hired by PharMerica, a long-term care pharmacy in Grand Prairie,” says Hulet. “I worked there for 11 years as a long-term care consultant. I traveled all around North Texas, monitoring therapy for drug/drug disease, and monitoring lab results for medications that required it. I interacted primarily with nurses and staff, and made recommendations to doctors—I loved it. A very important aspect of the job was to make sure that the facilities were in compliance with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations.”

Hulet later moved on to Complete Pharmacy Care, where he traveled to Mental Health Mental Retardation and group homes to review and make recommendations concerning medication therapies and monitored compliance to state and federal regulations.

“The focus was on intermediate care facilities—folks who are not sick enough to require 24-hour monitoring in a skilled nursing facility (long-term care facility) or whose conditions are not considered to be chronic and/or unchanging,” says Hulet.

Ultimately, Hulet took a job with First Choice Pharmacy as pharmacist in charge.

“It was a pain management clinic, and we evolved into Express Meds Pharmacy and are now a non-sterile compounding pharmacy,” says Hulet.

Express Meds Pharmacy is located in Irving, and offers delivery service to patients and clinics. The primary target base is various clinics such as OBGYN, Dermatology, Dentistry, Pain Management, and Sports Medicine. In addition to compounding, they dispense stock medications as well.

“It’s a brand new challenge,” says Hulet. “I’ve had the opportunity to build a compounding lab from scratch. I’m really enjoying it. I was lucky enough to find a pharmacy technician who has nine years of compounding experience."

“It’s an ongoing education,” adds Hulet, who has been a TPA member for about 10 years. “Speaking of education, I like TPA’s live CE programs. And by attending the annual conferences, I’m able to get most of my CE requirements taken care of. The annual TPA conference in July is already on my calendar.”

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