Rich Palombo, RPh, Assumes Chair of NABP 2009-2010 Executive Committee, Receives President's Award

May 20, 2009 12:00 AM

Rich Palombo, RPh, immediate past president of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®), assumed the office of chairperson of the Association’s 2009-2010 Executive Committee during the Final Business Session of the NABP 105th Annual Meeting held May 16-19, 2009, in Miami, FL. Mr Palombo served one-year terms as the Association’s president and president-elect, and a three-year member term as an Executive Committee member representing District 2.

During his presidency, Mr Palombo took the initiative to develop an accreditation program for community pharmacies that assists the boards of pharmacy in overseeing continuous quality improvement and patient safety. For his service, NABP bestowed its President’s Award upon Mr Palombo during the Awards Dinner at the Annual Meeting.

Mr Palombo was reappointed as a member to the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy in 2007; he also served on the Board from 1996 to 2005. During that time he was president of the Board from 1998 to 2001 and was the liaison to both the New Jersey State Legislature and the Enforcement and Inspections Bureau and the committee chair for Continuous Quality Improvement.

Mr Palombo, who is senior director of regulatory affairs for Medco Health Solutions, Inc, also serves as mayor of Upper Township, NJ. Before becoming mayor in 1999, he served as councilman of Upper Township from 1997 to 1999.

Mr Palombo has been an integral member of NABP since 2000, serving as chair of the Committee on Law Enforcement/Legislation and Executive Committee liaison of the Task Force on Continuous Quality Improvement, Peer Review, and Inspecting for Patient Safety and the Task Force on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and the US Drug Distribution System. He has also been a member of such task forces as the Task Force on Privacy, the Task Force on Model Regulations for Long-Term Care, and the Task Force on Importation Enforcement. In addition, he is a member of many professional organizations including the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the American Society for Pharmacy Law, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, and the New Jersey Pharmacists Association.

Dedicated to the practice of pharmacy and aiding patients, Mr Palombo served as an emergency response team member in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, opening and directing operations of an emergency mobile pharmacy to supply patients with prescription medications.

Mr Palombo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from Temple University School of Pharmacy in Philadelphia, PA. The school of pharmacy honored him as the 2009 recipient of Joseph Sprowl Distinguished Lecturer Award. The award was presented in recognition for his outstanding contributions to the profession of pharmacy.

Larissa Doucette