99th Annual Meeting Awards Ceremony Recognizes NABP Leaders

May 19, 2003 12:00 am

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) is pleased to announce the winners of its annual awards. The recipients were honored during the Annual Awards Dinner at the Association's 99th Annual Meeting, held in Philadelphia, PA, May 3-7, 2003. The following individuals were recognized for their tireless efforts and dedication to NABP.

2002-2003 Honorary President Harold B. Sparr, who was named 2002-2003 Honorary President at last year's meeting, was honored this year. Mr Sparr has been actively involved in many NABP committees and task forces throughout the years, including the Advisory Committee on Examinations, Committee on Resolutions, Committee on Law Enforcement/Legislation, the Task Force on Pharmacy Technician Regulation, and the Bureau of Voluntary Compliance Advisory Committee. Serving 40 years as an educator and pharmacist in both hospital and community settings, Mr Sparr retired from practice in 2000. He has been a member of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy since 1992 and in the past has served as the Board's president. Mr Sparr has been recognized with several awards in the past, including the NABP Lester E. Hosto Distinguished Service Award and the Wyeth Pharmaceuticals' Bowl of Hygeia from the Massachusetts Pharmacists Association.

2002-2003 President's Award President John A. Fiacco was recognized for his achievements during his term as president of NABP with the 2002-2003 President's Award. With Mr Fiacco's vision and support, the Association has reached a realm of better understanding and support for and between NABP's member boards and continues its progression to becoming an international leader in the area of pharmacy law. During his presidency, VIPPS Canada™ was launched; the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination® and the Electronic Licensure Transfer Program™ saw expansion; and the Pre-NAPLEX™ (a practice examination for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination™) was launched. A member of the New York Board of Pharmacy, Mr Fiacco is also vice president of Central Fill Pharmacy at Cardinal Health in Dublin, OH.

2002-2003 Lester E. Hosto Distinguished Service Awards NABP's Lester E. Hosto Distinguished Service Award is presented to those individuals whose contributions to the protection of the public health have, in the opinion of the Executive Committee, significantly furthered the goals and objectives of the Association. This year, two recipients were named: Dyke F. Anderson and Timothy J. Benedict. An active member of the Nebraska Board of Pharmacy from 1989 to 2002, Mr Anderson also contributed an extraordinary amount of time and energy to NABP. In the past, Mr Anderson served as president, treasurer, and a member of NABP's Executive Committee and was awarded the Wyeth Pharmaceuticals' Bowl of Hygeia Award in 2000. In addition, he has played a role in many committees and task forces including the Committee on Law Enforcement/Legislation, the Bureau of Voluntary Compliance in 1998, and the Task Force on Workload Systems in 1997. While a Nebraska Board member, Mr Anderson was a member of the Board's Tripartite Pharmacy Internship Committee, the Pharmacy Practice Act Rewrite Task Force, and the Pharmacy Technician Task Force. In addition, he has given his time and talent to other professional associations like the Nebraska Pharmacists Association and the National Community Pharmacists Association.

Timothy J. Benedict, NABP's second Lester E. Hosto Award recipient, continues to demonstrate his dedication to the Association and his commitment to ensuring that pharmacy is practiced safely and professionally while serving as one of the original Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites™ inspectors. He has spent countless hours performing inspections of pharmacies that have applied for the prestigious award of VIPPS certification. As assistant executive director of the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy, Mr Benedict supervises the activities of field staff in inspections of drug distributors and investigations of illegal activities by health professionals dealing with drugs; he assists and coordinates the efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the diversion of drugs; and aids with the prosecution of health professionals and cases for action by licensing agencies. Beginning as a pharmacy consultant with the Ohio Board in 1980, Mr Benedict assumed the position of assistant executive director in 1998.

2003 Fred T. Mahaffey Award This year, NABP presented the California State Board of Pharmacy with the 2003 Fred T. Mahaffey Award for its dedication and commitment in sponsoring legislation that resulted in mandated quality assurance programs for pharmacies. In 2000, the Board sponsored a bill that required pharmacies to implement a quality assurance program to prevent prescription errors from recurring and exempted quality assurance documents from discovery. Since the bill's implementation in California, other states have begun similar programs. NABP also commended California for its aggressive enforcement against pharmacies for filling Internet prescriptions for patients without a "good-faith prior medical examination." In 2002, the Board issued the largest fines ever, totaling $87 million, to a Los Angeles pharmacy and two pharmacists for filling more than 3,500 illegal Internet prescriptions. John D. Jones, president of the California State Board of Pharmacy, accepted the award on the Board's behalf.

2003 Henry Cade Industry Awards NABP established the Henry Cade Award in memory of NABP's 1987-1988 president to honor those individuals within the pharmaceutical industry who have supported the goals and objectives of the Association and the state boards of pharmacy to protect the public health. This year NABP chose three recipients: Abbott Laboratories' director for Professional Affairs, Scotty Bowman, GlaxoSmithKline's director of US Pharmaceuticals, Christopher Viehbacher, and GlaxoSmithKline's director of Strategic Operations for State Government Affairs, Jeff Peterson. Abbott Laboratories has continually supported NABP and the district meetings in protecting the public health, and Mr Bowman recognizes the value of partnering with the boards of pharmacy given the many regulatory issues associated with products he has represented over the years. A 17-year pharmaceutical industry veteran, Mr Bowman's career includes the positions of sales representative, district manager, managed care executive, regional manager of government affairs, director of government affairs, and now the director of Professional Affairs focusing on regulatory and Medicaid issues. His interest in health care law prompted him to enroll in the Seton Hall Law School masters program, where, in 2001, he received his master's degree in science and jurisprudence.

The other two recipients of the Henry Cade award come from GlaxoSmithKline, a company committed to upholding the laws that protect the public health. In light of the recent drug importation issues that pharmacists, drug manufacturers, and the public are currently facing, GlaxoSmithKline's decision to support regulators and refuse to supply its medications to Canadian wholesalers and pharmacies that illegally export to US patients is an excellent illustration of GlaxoSmithKline's commitment to upholding the laws that protect the public health.

Mr Viehbacher, president of GlaxoSmithKline's US Pharmaceuticals division, has been with the company since 1988, when it was known as Glaxo Wellcome. He assumed his current role in January 2003. Prior to that time, Mr Viehbacher served as president of Pharmaceuticals Europe since 2001. Also a recipient of the 2003 Henry Cade Award, Mr Peterson has been the director of Strategic Operations of State Government Affairs since December 1998. In this position he is responsible for GlaxoSmithKline sales to state Medicaid programs, state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, and other state assistance programs. He has been with Glaxo since 1987, when he joined as a sales representative.

Courtney Karzen