For our April WMSHP meeting, pharmacy residents Alice Chen and Jessica Hirsch presented their yearlong research projects on fixed-dose 4-factor PCC for warfarin reversal and on the effect of postoperative ketamine on opioid consumption in abdominal surgery patients, respectively. Both residents did a fantastic job addressing innovative alterations to current medication therapy practices.

Our 50th Annual WMSHP Spring Seminar is also quickly approaching! It will be held on May 14th at the Prince Conference Center in Grand Rapids, with a pre-registration deadline of May 6th. This year we have excellent speakers presenting on a wide range of topics in pain management, infectious diseases, pharmacy law, critical care, and cardiology. Pharmacist and pharmacy technician attendees will be able to obtain up to five live continuing education credits and will be provided with a delicious lunch and a chance to win multiple prizes. If you haven’t registered yet, be sure to head over to wmshp.net/seminar to sign up!

Mark your calendars for our annual WMSHP Summer Outing on July 25th with West Michigan Whitecaps baseball at Fifth-Third Ballpark! Based on all of the positive feedback from last year’s game, we will again be offering the all-you-can-eat BBQ dinner on the Altogas Patio. The event will be free for WMSHP members, with an additional $15 per person cost for accompanying friends or family. Registration for the event will be available in May!

I think I speak for everyone who attended our March meeting when I say that the presentation was one of the best we’ve seen in WMSHP history.  Dr. Graham Carlos gave a remarkable, captivating presentation on evading healthcare burnout.  He spoke on the science behind burnout and offered valuable commentary and advice on managing the stressors encountered while working in healthcare.  WMSHP would like to thank Dr. Carlos for making the drive up from Indianapolis to deliver such an exceptional presentation!

On April 11th we will be meeting at the Downtown Market in Grand Rapids to support two pharmacy residents as they present their yearlong research projects.  Alice Chen, PharmD, from Bronson Methodist Hospital will be presenting her project entitled “Fixed-Dose Prothrombin Complex Concentrate for Warfarin Reversal” and Jessica Hirsch, PharmD from Spectrum Health will also be presenting her research project entitled “Postoperative Ketamine on Opioid Consumption in Abdominal Surgery Patients.” Both projects will address newer concepts in medication therapy, and I expect that the audience will be able to bring back valuable, emerging information to their institutions.

Each year WMSHP offers two scholarships to eligible P3 students who are native or current residents of West Michigan.  This year, there will be one $1,000 scholarship and one $500 scholarship up for grabs. The application deadline is April 5th, 2019, and the winners will be announced at the annual WMSHP Spring Seminar on May 14th in Grand Rapids.  For more information please visit our website at http://www.wmshp.net/scholarship.

I hope everyone has been staying warm during the stretch of frigid temps we’ve had recently in West Michigan.  Punxsutawney Phil says that winter will be over soon, so we’ll probably be in shorts and sandals in no time!

I want to thank everyone who came out to our February meeting in Grand Rapids.  Mark Wilson kept us laughing while educating us on the newest recommendations and up-and-coming treatment options for our heart failure patients.  I can confidently say that everyone in attendance came away from the presentation with new insight and ideas on how to best optimize care in patients with heart failure.

Our next meeting will be held on March 14th at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.  Graham Carlos, MD, MSCR will be talking to us about evading healthcare burnout in his presentation “A Prescription for Positivity.”  Dr. Carlos is the Chief of Medicine at Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis, as well as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.  Dr. Carlos has been widely recognized for his outstanding teaching and clinical care, so make sure to get your RSVPs in early to secure your spot at the meeting, as it’s one you won’t want to miss!

WMSHP kicked off the year with a fantastic, interactive presentation from Todd Walroth on facilitating pharmacy residents and technicians in applying project management skills.  Thank you to everyone who came out to Latitude 42 in Kalamazoo for the meeting.  I’m positive that all attendees came away from the presentation with some great insight and ideas for utilizing and empowering pharmacist extenders in project management roles.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 14th, and will feature Mark Wilson, PharmD, BCPS presenting “An Update on Current and Future Heart Failure Management.”  Hopefully everyone appreciates the “heart failure presentation on Valentine’s Day” humor.  The meeting will be held at the Wege Center at Mercy Health Saint Mary’s in Grand Rapids.  We hope to see you all there!

There have been a few important changes in the Michigan pharmacy law rules this month.  I’m sure by now everyone knows that gabapentin was newly categorized as a Schedule V controlled substance a few weeks ago.  This has rocked a lot of worlds on both the prescribing and dispensing sides.  Another law update that was overshadowed by the gabapentin news was that any individual seeking a controlled substance license must now complete a training in opioids and controlled substances awareness.  This new rule applies to all pharmacists, starting with those who are up for re-licensure this upcoming June.  The training must include integration of treatments, alternative pain management treatments, counseling patients on the effects and risks associated with using controlled substances, stigma of addiction, proper disposal requirements for prescriptions, utilizing the Michigan Automated Prescription System (MAPS), and state and federal controlled substance dispensing laws.  More to come on this in the coming months!

Reminder to Pharmacy Residents: Submit your research abstract for an opportunity to share your residency project with our members at the April WMSHP meeting!­­­  Abstracts are due to Sarah Klingenberg (sarah.joy93@yahoo.com) by January 31st.  Don’t miss out on this chance to practice your presentation before the Great Lakes conference!

With 2018 winding down, the holiday season provides us with a time for reflection and anticipation for 2019.  This past year we have had exceptional offerings for programming, with speakers who provided our membership with relevant, up-to-date information on an abundance of topics.  We ended the year on a high note with an excellent, forward-thinking presentation on multiple sclerosis from Jim Curtis.

We will kick off the new year with a restaurant meeting at Latitude 42 in Kalamazoo on Thursday, January 10th.  Todd Walroth, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP will be presenting on "Facilitating Pharmacy Residents and Technicians in Applying Project Management Skills in Clinical and Administrative Settings."  Todd is a burn/critical care clinical pharmacy specialist and the clinical pharmacy manager at Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis. This will be an extremely informative and engaging presentation for those who work with pharmacy residents and technicians, so we hope to see everyone there!

In the spirit of giving, WMSHP would like to start giving back more to the communities in the region.  We will begin by asking those attending the January meeting to please bring 1-2 non-perishable food items to Latitude 42 to be donated to a local pantry.

The new year is also bringing us a batch of newly-elected WMSHP board members.  Your elected board members for 2019 are:

President-Elect 2019: Kyle Schmidt, PharmD, BCCCP

Secretary 2019-2020: Brad Miller, PharmD

Board Members 2019-2020:

• Sarah Hoerner, PharmD (incumbent)

• Mitchell Stein, PharmD (incumbent)

• Shelby Kelsh, PharmD

• Derek Vander Horst, PharmD

• Andrea Borst, PharmD

Resident-at-Large 2019: Danielle Murphy, PharmD (Spectrum Health PGY1)

If you would like more information about WMSHP, please visit our website at www.wmshp.net.  We hope everyone has a great holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you in 2019!

Congratulations to our new and returning board members, and thank you to all that ran for a board position.  Our newly elected board members are:

President-Elect 2019: Kyle Schmidt, PharmD, BCCCP

Secretary 2019-2020: Brad Miller, PharmD

Board Members 2019-2020:

• Sarah Hoerner, PharmD (incumbent)
• Mitchell Stein, PharmD (incumbent)
• Shelby Kelsh, PharmD
• Derek Vander Horst, PharmD
• Andrea Borst, PharmD

Resident-at-Large 2019: Danielle Murphy, PharmD (Spectrum Health PGY1)

Please see the list of nominees for this year's annual board elections below.  Members: please vote at wmshp.net/vote.  Voting deadline is November 30th.

President-Elect 2019:

Kyle Schmidt received his Doctorate in Pharmacy from Ferris State University in 2013. After graduation, he accepted and successfully completed a PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston, West Virginia, followed by a PGY-2 Specialty Residency in Critical Care at Beaumont Health in Royal Oak, Michigan. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Ferris State University and has been an active WMSHP Executive Board Member since January of 2016. 

Secretary 2019-20:

Brad Miller (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 the Secretary for WMSHP since 2004.

Board Members 2019-20:

Andrea Borst, born and raised in Denver, Colorado, attended Hope College from 2008-2012 where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry.  From 2012-2016, she attended Ferris State University and earned her PharmD.  Following pharmacy school, Andrea successfully completed a PGY-1 residency at Spectrum Health and a PGY-2 pediatric residency at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.  Andrea currently splits her time between Adult Internal Medicine at Spectrum and Pediatrics at Helen Devos.  In her free time, Andrea enjoys running, reading romance novels, and photography.  Andrea has been a member of WMSHP since 2017 and is excited to expand her role in the organization by serving on the board.

Abby Dalman is a clinical pharmacist at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital and Zeeland Community Hospital.  She splits time working with the internal medicine and Investigational Drug Service teams.  A native of West Michigan, Abby attended Hope College before earning her PharmD at Ferris State University.  Outside of pharmacy, she enjoys visiting local breweries with friends, going to the symphony, spending time with family, and catching up on Netflix.       

Sarah Hoerner (incumbent) is a clinical pharmacist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, with interests in hematology/oncology and general pediatric medicine. She is a Michigan native who grew up in the Metro Detroit area. After graduating from Concordia University Wisconsin with her PharmD, Sarah successfully completed a PGY-1 residency at Spectrum Health. Following residency, she stayed on at the children’s hospital. In her free time she enjoys figure skating, spending time outdoors, knitting, and trying new restaurants and breweries.

Shelby Kelsh is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Ferris State University in Grand Rapids. In 2016, she received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from SUNY-Buffalo in Buffalo, NY. Upon graduation, Kelsh completed her PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency with Spectrum Health. Currently, she is developing a new ambulatory care practice site at Spectrum Health Internal Medicine Residency Academic Medicine Practice where she hopes to develop a transitions of care program. She has been a key planner for Ferris State University's Spring Seminar and the 2018 District IV meeting. Finally, Kelsh has been a member of WMSHP since moving to Michigan in 2016 and currently resides in Sparta, MI.

Mitchell Stein (incumbent) is currently a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Emergency Medicine/Critical Care and the Pharmacy Residency Program Director at Ascension Borgess. He has stayed in Michigan throughout his education and career and is dedicated to serving the West Michigan region. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Western Michigan University, went to the University of Michigan for pharmacy school, and came back to West Michigan to complete the PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency at Borgess. He has worked at Borgess since completing residency in 2015. Mitchell is currently serving as a board member, a position he has held since 2016.

Derek Vander Horst has been a resident of western Michigan the entirety of his life; often jokingly stating that he “lives on US 131”.  He obtained his PharmD from Ferris State University in 2015; and then completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and a PGY2 Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Residency at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. After completion of his residency training, he relocated to Grand Rapids to continue his career at Spectrum Health as one of their pharmacists working in antimicrobial stewardship and adult infectious diseases. He is an active member of the Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists (MSHP), serving on the Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee for several years; and he also served as the secretary of the Northern Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists (NMSHP) in 2016.

As always, October was a busy month! Our annual Residency Showcase at Ferris State University College of Pharmacy in Grand Rapids was very successful, with 22 programs and over 80 students attending. We also want to extend a big thank you to Tracy Mersfelder, PharmD, BCPS, for her excellent and engaging presentation about pain management.

We hope you will join us at our November meeting, where we will learn about multiple sclerosis from Jim Curtis, PharmD, BCPS.

Board elections are just around the corner, so if you are interested in running for a board position, please contact any current board member to submit your bio. The deadline for submission is October 22nd.

November is our last meeting of the season. We will be taking December off and returning in January. We hope everyone has a happy holiday season!

If you would like more information about WMSHP, please visit our website at www.wmshp.net.

Thank you to all of the members who joined us in Grand Rapids for our first meeting of the 2018-2019 year, and a big thank you to Tiffany Jenkins, PharmD, BCACP, and Rachel Walters, PharmD, for their illuminating discussion about the pharmacist’s role in population health.

We are looking forward to our annual Residency Showcase, held in conjunction with the Ferris State University College of Pharmacy, on October 4th in Grand Rapids.  Our next monthly meeting will be on October 11th at Borgess Medical Center, with Tracy Mersfelder, PharmD, BCPS, discussing "A Painful Decision."  We hope to see you there!

Board elections are coming up, so if you are interested in becoming more involved in WMSHP by running for a board position, please submit your bio to any board member by October 22nd. Election results will be announced at our November meeting.

If you would like more information about WMSHP, please visit our website at www.wmshp.net

The weather might not be getting cooler, but fall is just around the corner. It’s time for another great year of programming for WMSHP!  The Board had their summer planning meeting in June to start to organize activities for the upcoming year.  This year, we are excited to announce the formation of the Community Outreach Committee.  If you have any interest in joining the Community Outreach Committee or the Membership Committee, please contact any board member for more information.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who came out for the Whitecaps game on July 26th.  Although the Whitecaps didn’t get a win that day, everyone enjoyed the all-you-can-eat BBQ, and spending some time outside!

We hope you will join us on Thursday, September 6th for our first live CE event of the year.  The meeting will be held at Uccello’s in Grand Rapids.  Our speakers will be discussing “The Role of the Pharmacist in Population Health.”  One live hour of CE credit will be offered to pharmacists and technicians.

If you would like more information about WMSHP, please visit our website at www.wmshp.net