Below you will find a short bio for each member running for a 2015 WMSHP Board position.  Ballots are open now, and will remain open until the beginning of our next General Meeting on November 13th.

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President-Elect 2015:
Rebecca Maynard, Pharm.D. is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Internal Medicine and Residency Program Director at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. She obtained her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Ferris State University and completed a PGY-1 Residency at Bronson Methodist Hospital. Becky has been a WMSHP Board Member since January 2011.

Treasurer 2015-16:
Kim Melgarejo, Pharm.D. (incumbent) is currently a Pharmacy Manager at Borgess Medical Center and Borgess Pipp Hospital. She graduated from West Virginia University with her pharmacy degree and then pursued a pharmacy practice residency at Riverside Methodist Hospital. Soon after her residency she moved to Michigan and has worked at BMC as a clinical pharmacy specialist, clinical pharmacy manager, and now a pharmacy manager. She has been a board member of WMSHP since 2005.

Secretary 2015-16:
Brad Miller, Pharm.D. (incumbent) is currently an Informatics Pharmacist at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids. He graduated from Ferris State University in 2002, and then completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Spectrum Health. Prior positions he has held include Pharmacy Director at Pennock Hospital in Hastings, and Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Emergency Medicine at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids. Brad has served as Secretary for WMSHP since 2004.

Board Members 2015-16:
Katie Axford, Pharm.D. (incumbent) is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Ferris State University College of Pharmacy and maintains a practice site in Inpatient Family Medicine at Mercy Health Saint Mary's. Katie has been an active member of WMSHP and has served on the Board for the last two years.

Charles Berklich, Pharm.D. graduated from the University of Michigan in 2013. He currently rotates as the Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Specialist at the Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion (LHCP). Additionally, he works in the outpatient chemotherapy infusion clinic at the LHCP as well as the emergency department at Butterworth Hospital. Charles is also an adjunct assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at Ferris State University and active in ASHP but eager to become more involved in WMSHP. In his spare time, Charles plays rugby for the Grand Rapids Gazelles and serves as community volunteer coordinator for the team.

Stacy Brousseau, Pharm.D. is a 2013 graduate of Ferris State University. She recently completed a PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, and she is currently practicing as a clinical pharmacist in the emergency department there. Stacy is actively involved in both the Education Task Force and the Educational Affairs Committee for MPA / MSHP, and she would like to become more involved in WMSHP as well.

Lisa Dumkow, Pharm.D. is a 2011 graduate of the University of Toledo. She currently works at Mercy Health St. Mary's in Grand Rapids as a Clinical Pharmacist as part of the Antimicrobial Stewardship program at that facility.

Kristen Felice, Pharm.D. received her degree from the University of Michigan, then completed an ASHP-accredited PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and an ASHP-accredited PGY-2 Emergency Medicine Specialty Residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her previous experiences include starting Emergency Medicine pharmacy services and expanding ICU clinical coverage at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD. She is currently a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Critical Care at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo.

Carrie Morrison, Pharm.D. (incumbent) is employed with Mercy Health Muskegon as an ambulatory care pharmacist. She is a current WMSHP board member, serving since 2013. She graduated from Ferris State University with her bachelors in pharmacy (1998) and later went back to school for her PharmD with Creighton University in Nebraksa (2009).

Julie Pardy, Pharm.D., BCPS graduated from Ferris State University. Julie completed her PGY1 residency at Spectrum Health which where she works as a clinical generalist. She has been a member of WMSHP since 2011 and would love the opportunity to expand her involvement as a board member.

Allison Rider, Pharm.D. is a Clinical Generalist at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, where she works primarily in the ICU. Allison graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Molecular Cell Biology and Chemistry from Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana in 2009, followed by her Pharm.D. from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 2013. After pharmacy school graduation and prior to starting at Spectrum Health, Allison completed a PGY1 pharmacy residency at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Allison has enjoyed being involved with pharmacy organizations such as APhA/ASHP, and has found being a part of WMSHP for the past year to be a great experience and would appreciate the opportunity to become more involved as a board member.

WMSHP kicked off with a great educational event at Uccello's last month. We learned a lot about the different roles dexmedetomidine can play in our acutely ill patients. Slides are available on our website, wmshp.net, if you missed it.

In October we will hear from Jessica Prociv, PharmD at Bronson on a topic surrounding transitions of care. WMSHP will also be hosting their annual pharmacy residency showcase on October 16th at Ferris State University. This is a great event for students to learn about residency programs in the area.

See you in October!

Hope everyone had a great summer. It is hard to believe that it is already September. Here is a quick update of WMSHP events.

WMSHP enjoyed another successful Spring Seminar in May. There were a variety of topics presented including cardiovascular disease, informatics, and the affordable care act. Thank you to Dana Staat and all of the WMSHP board members for making this event a success.

WMSHP also held two summer events this year. We enjoyed a night at the ballgame in June and happy hour in August. It was really fun to be able to meet and spend time with colleagues and friends outside of the workplace.

If you missed these events, WMSHP kicks off their monthly meetings at Uccello's on September 11th. Julie Belfer, PharmD from Spectrum Health will be presenting "Dexmedetomidine: Various Roles and Utilization Strategies."

Hope to see you in September!

We had a great time in March eating and learning about honey, garlic, and elderberry and their place in treating infectious diseases. Thank you to Tracey for her interesting presentation.

April is the month where we hear from two pharmacy residents about their residency project. Kayla Uganski from Mercy Health St. Mary's will present "Do criteria-based urine cultures contribute to unnecessary antibiotic use in a community teaching hospital?" and Emily Chan from Mercy Health Muskegon will present "A joint collaboration between nursing and pharmacy to improve medication-related HCAHPS score".

WMSHP is offering a scholarship to a west Michigan native P3 student. If you are looking for more details, click on the scholarship tab. Application deadline is April 4th.

Also look forward to our 45th annual Spring Seminar on May 6th 2014 including topics on cardiovascular pharmacotherapy, pain management, and the affordable care act. More details to follow on our website.

See you in April.

Again we had great attendance at our meeting in February. Heather Draper presented current topics in toxicology including treatment options for overdoses and new and upcoming drugs of abuse. It was informative and thought provoking. Thank you to Heather for a great presentation.

In March, Tracey Mersfelder, PharmD, BCPS, professor at Ferris State University will be presenting "Health on the Homestead" a look at natural products and their place in medicine.

Congratulations to residents Kayla Uganski of Mercy Health Saint Mary's and Emily Chan of Mercy Health Muskegon for being selected to present their residency projects at April's meeting.

Thank you to all our WMSHP members for their attendance and helping to make these programs successful. Hope to see you all at the March meeting.

We had a great January meeting.  Thank you to everyone for braving the weather and attending to hear Mike Schrimer speak on Pulmonary Hypertension.  In case you missed it, Mike's slides are on our website.

Heather Draper, PharmD, is a pharmacist practicing in emergency medicine at Mercy Health Saint Mary's.  She will be presenting a topic in February on toxicology.

Just a friendly reminder that if you RSVP for a meeting and cannot attend, please contact the board member that is organizing the event, even if it is the day of the event.  Many times we have a waiting list or know of someone who would like to attend and could allow for them to come to the meeting if we are aware of a cancellation.  We would appreciate your help with this. 

Hope to see you at February's meeting.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday season and have been able to spend time with family and friends. We have had great attendance during our fall meetings and have great topics planned for the winter and spring.

In October, Peggy de Voest, PharmD and Mike Schirmer, PharmD presented patient cases to help the audience learn heart failure guidelines. It was a great mix of inpatient and outpatient concepts and it was a fun way to learn.

Mike Shirmer, PharmD returns in January to present “Pulmonary Hypertension Updates.” I can’t wait to see what Mike has in store for us.

We also welcome 3 new board members and 1 returning member in January. New members include Katie Wenzel, Ryan Bickel, and Tara Holt. Kasey Bucher returns for a second term as a board member and Kari Vavra transitions to President-elect. Thank you to Abby Sturm and Kristina Rak as they completed their board member term in December.

Again, Happy Holidays and hope to see you at the January meeting.

Ballots for the 2014 WMSHP Board Elections are in the mail to all of our current members.  Please complete your ballot and follow the enclosed directions to ensure that your vote is counted.  Below are short bios for each of this year's nominees.

Charles Berklich was born and raised in a suburb of Flint where he kept to his humble beginnings on the east side of the state and attended the University of Michigan. He studied neuroscience for three years before being accepted to the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy. Throughout his 7 years of school he was employed as a certified student hardware technician for UM. He also had the opportunity to complete a PharmD project that had implications for compliance with meaningful use criteria. He has a unique background focused on technology and he hopes to leverage his background to apply it to the practice of pharmacy. Specifically, he is interested in working with drug knowledge vendors for technology optimization. He currently works as a pharmacist at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids. He also lives in Grand Rapids.  In his free time, he plays rugby. He played every year of college and was voted the captain of the UM team two years in a row. He currently plays for the Grand Rapids Gazelles. He is also an avid fisherman, enjoys hitting the firearm range occasionally, and is currently in talks with a Michigan brewery website to work as an intern. He is also active with ASHP, having attended last year's midyear and presented a poster.

Ryan J. Bickel, Pharm.D., BCPS, is the pharmacy manager at Borgess Pipp Hospital in Plainwell, MI.  Ryan earned is pharmacy degree from Ferris State University and completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Spectrum Health.  He is a graduate of ASHP’s Pharmacy Leadership Academy and is currently pursuing a MHA degree from Simmons College.  He is a Fellow of the Michigan Pharmacists Association and has been actively involved in ASHP, MSHP, and WMSHP.  His professional areas of interest include infectious diseases, pain management, medication safety, and quality improvement.

Kasey Bucher (Incumbent Board Member) graduated from the Ferris State University College of Pharmacy in 2008 and then went on to complete a PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency and a PGY-2 Specialty Residency in Critical Care. Kasey currently works on the clinical pharmacy team at Mercy Health St. Mary's Health Care in Grand Rapids, Michigan as an Emergency Medicine Clinical Specialist.

Adam Drzewicki graduated with his Pharm.D. from the University of Michigan in 2000.  After graduation, he completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  He then accepted a clinical pharmacist position in cardiology at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo.

Tara Holt graduated with her Pharm.D. from Purdue University in 2010. Upon graduation she went on to complete a PGY1 and PGY2 critical care residency at Grady Health System in Atlanta, GA. She currently works as a clinical pharmacist in the neuro and medical intensive care units at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, MI. She is also an adjunct faculty with Ferris State University working with pharmacy students and residents at BMH. Professional involvement includes membership with WMSHP and she is an active member of the Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology section of SCCM.

Julie Pardy graduated with her Pharm.D. from Ferris State University in 2011. She then completed a PGY1 residency at Spectrum Health. Julie now works at Spectrum Health United Memorial. She has been a member of WMSHP since 2011 and she would love the opportunity to become more involved as a board member.

Katie Wenzel received her Pharm.D. degree from Ferris State University in 2011.  She then completed a PGY-1 residency at Bronson Methodist Hospital.  Katie is currently practicing as one of the Adult Medical Unit and Extended Medical Care Unit pharmacists at Bronson.  She is also Assistant Residency Director and helps to coordinate the orientation experiences for new residents, as well as the clinical pharmacy rotation at the end of the residency year.

The first two months of WMSHP continuing education programs have gone very well. We have had exceptional attendance at each meeting, both in Grand Rapids and in Kalamazoo. To meet the needs of our membership, we have tried to expand the meeting limit to the highest number possible, while still meeting our monthly budget. We often have a meeting waiting list. If you do sign up for a meeting and are later unable to attend, please contact the meeting organizer as soon as possible (listed on the website). We can then open up the meeting to members on the waiting list.

Peggy de Voest, PharmD and Mike Schirmer, PharmD will both be speaking at our November meeting. The will be discussing “Pharmacy and the Failing Heart”. The talk will be interactive and informative, so please try to attend.

Keep an eye out for our yearly ballot and remember to vote!

Now that fall is in full force, I hope you have a chance to attend one of our fall continuing education programs. As in years past, we will continue to alternate program sites between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.

Our October meeting features a practitioner who is new to our area, Lisa Dumkow PharmD, the clinical pharmacist in antimicrobial stewardship at the St. Mary's Campus of Mercy Health. Lisa will discuss pharmacists at the transitions of care and opportunities for antimicrobial stewardship.

October is a busy month for WMSHP with our monthly meeting and our residency showcase. The WMSHP residency showcase will occur in Grand Rapids at the Ferris State University College of Pharmacy classrooms. We usually have a great turnout of interested students and residency programs.

Our November meeting is back in Grand Rapids and will feature Peggy de Voest and Mike Schirmer who will be talking about heart failure. Please try to attend!