Former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala to Deliver Keynote Address at NABP's 100th Annual Meeting

February 23, 2004 12:00 AM

From state pharmacy board regulators to patients, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) is considered a leading resource to the boards of pharmacy on the issue of importation of prescription drugs. Now NABP is providing an insider's perspective on this issue with Former Secretary of United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Donna Shalala delivering the Keynote Address at the Association's 100th Annual Meeting and Centennial Celebration, April 24-27, 2004, at The Fairmont Chicago, in Chicago, IL. Shalala will discuss why the department decided to disallow drug importation and her opinion on the future of the HHS importation policy, along with an overview of the responsibilities of HHS.

Appointed by President Clinton in 1993, she was the longest serving HHS secretary in US history, having served eight years. During her tenure, Shalala led major reforms of Food and Drug Administration's drug approval process, raised child immunization rates to the highest levels in history, revitalized the National Institutes of Health, made health insurance available to an estimated 3.3 million children through the approval of all State Children's Health Insurance Programs, and directed the welfare reform process.

Currently, Shalala is president of the University of Miami. Having extensive experience as a scholar, teacher, and administrator, Shalala is a professor of epidemiology and public health, political science, and education. She has held tenured professorships at Columbia University, the City University of New York, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Shalala has more than three dozen honorary degrees and a host of other honors, including the 2002 University of California San Francisco Medal, the 2002 Dick Enberg Award, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Person of the Year 2002, and the National Public Service Award.

For more information on the 100th Annual Meeting, please contact the NABP Meetings Desk at 847/698-6227. Information and registration forms may also be found on NABP's Web site at www.nabp.net.

Renee Renganathan