2019 TSHP Award Recipients

During the TPA Summer Meeting in June 2019, the Tennessee Society of Health-System Pharmacists (TSHP), a Society of the Tennessee Pharmacists Association, honored the following individuals and entities for their accomplishments and commitment to excellence. Congratulations! We appreciate your dedication to health-system pharmacy and the patients you serve!

Please click on the names below to learn more about TSHP’s 2019 award winners!

JENNIFER R. BEAN, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP

Health-System Pharmacist of the Year

Jennifer R. Bean, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP, of Lebanon, Tennessee, was recognized by TSHP and TPA as the 2019 Health-System Pharmacist of the Year, an award presented annually to a pharmacist who has made significant contributions to the profession of pharmacy and health-system practice.  This award recognizes the development and implementation of advanced health-system pharmacy practice programs, research, and/or publications; personal enrichment endeavors through specialized training and advanced degrees; and demonstrated leadership qualities.

Dr. Bean graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in 2004 and is the Associate Chief of Pharmacy Service, Clinical and Educational Programs for the Veterans Administration (VA) in Nashville and Murfreesboro.  A Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency Program Director since 2013, Dr. Bean has been a clinical pharmacy specialist of mental health services for the VA in both long-term care and home-based primary care settings.  She holds academic appointments at five pharmacy schools and has spoken at the local, state and national levels on psychiatric issues.  She is an active member of TPA and TSHP and serves on committees with the College of Psychiatric and Neurological Pharmacists and American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

Dr. Bean and her husband, Kevin, live in Lebanon with their three sons, Grayson, Tucker and Emory, where she is a Youth Small Group Leader at The Bridge Fellowship church in Lebanon.

—RETURN TO LIST—

DENNIS ROBERTS, DPh

Health-System Distinguished Service Award

Dennis E. Roberts, DPh, of Memphis, Tennessee, was recognized by TSHP and TPA with the TSHP 2019 Health-Sytem Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Roberts graduated from the University of Tennessee School of Pharmacy in 1976 and is the Director of Pharmacy at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Collierville, and Tipton, Tennessee.  He has expanded the impact of his pharmacy within the Baptist system through increased clinical services, technology and education.  He decentralized the pharmacy staff and placed pharmacists in the emergency department.  Pharmacists now regularly participate in daily multi-disciplinary rounds.  Dr. Roberts restructured the pharmacy and brought advanced roles to technicians.  He has created a demand for more pharmacy staff by exposing their value to the hospital environment.

Dr. Roberts promotes professional and leadership development among both pharmacists and technicians.  His standards for resident research projects require physician involvement and a practice change goal, which have resulted in several pharmacist-driven protocols being implemented.  Dr. Roberts’ innovative approaches to practice include antimicrobial stewardship and opioid reduction.

The Health-System Distinguished Service award recognizes sustained service and accomplishment for a career of 20 or more years in the pharmacy profession.  It is presented to a pharmacist who has made significant contributions in health-system pharmacy practice, research, and/or publications; implemented innovative approaches to practice; and achieved professional standing in the community and health-system practice.

—RETURN TO LIST—

MEMPHIS VA MEDICAL CENTER
Residency Program Director:
Josh Sullivan, PharmD, BCACP, BCPS, BCGP

Health-System Pharmacy Residency Program of the Year

The Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center Pharmacy in Memphis, Tennessee, under the direction of Residency Program Director, Joshua Sullivan, PharmD, BCACP, BCPS, BCGP, was recognized by TSHP and TPA as the 2019 Tennessee Health-System Residency Program of the Year for its post-graduate residency program.  This award is given annually to a pharmacy residency program in Tennessee that has demonstrated sustained services and contributions to health-system pharmacy practice, such as changes in practice at the institution, innovative research, and/or residency project publications.

The VA Medical Center Memphis has experienced tremendous growth and success.  One of only 24 VA Medical Centers that offer spinal cord injury services, pharmacy residents at VA Medical Center Memphis have a rare opportunity to gain experience in that specialty.  In the last 10 years, almost 75% of its residents have become board certified.  Eleven residents have presented at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy in the last two years.  Numerous clinics and programs that are now in use at VA Medical Center Memphis were implemented by pharmacy residents.  The vast number of specialties, along with the leadership and educational facets of the program, produce pharmacists exceptionally equipped to step into a variety of clinical roles, including academia.

Over the last three years, three residency projects indirectly resulted in four rural health clinical pharmacy specialist positions being approved as part of the VA’s rural health initiative.  The study reflected the value of clinical pharmacists in both reducing A1c levels in patients and being an integral part of the delivery of healthcare.

—RETURN TO LIST—

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER SPECIALTY PHARMACY
Program Director: Autumn Zuckerman

Innovative Health-System Pharmacy Practice of the Year

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) Specialty Pharmacy, Nashville, Tennessee, led by Autumn D. Zuckerman, PharmD, BCPS, AAHIVP, CSP, Program Director, Health Outcomes and Research, was recently recognized by TSHP and TPA as the 2019 Tennessee Innovative Health System Pharmacy Practice of the Year. This award is given annually to a pharmacy staff whose efforts have raised the level of pharmacy services through development of clinical services, advanced drug distribution, and extended outpatient services, or have implemented pharmacy practice advancements in the last two years.

VUMC Specialty Pharmacy currently employs 25 pharmacists who specialize in managing drug options for chronic or rare conditions.  Dr. Zuckerman helped lead the 2019 Vanderbilt Health-Systems Specialty Pharmacy Outcomes Research Summit, the first of its kind.  Designed to educate attendees on building outcomes research initiatives and how to apply research findings to illustrate value, the Summit drew speakers from Johns Hopkins, Boston Medical Center, Eli Lilly, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and other industry leaders.  This comprehensive summit provided tools that can help other specialty pharmacies continually improve patient care and reduce facility healthcare expenses.

—RETURN TO LIST—