Congressman Hal Rogers (center) congratulates Kenneth B. Roberts, Ph.D., dean of the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy (right) and PharmacistCARE co-directors (from left) Dr. Amy Nicholas and Dr. Holly Divine on receiving the American Pharmacists Association's highest honor: the Pinnacle Award.

Congratulations from Governor Ernie Fletcher (center) to (from left): Donald Perrier, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science; Dr. Holly Divine and Dr. Amy Nicholas, co-directors of PharmcistCARE; and Kenneth B. Roberts, Ph.D., dean of the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. PharmacistCARE is a unit of the College.

On stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., after receiving the American Pharmacists Association Pinnacle Award for excellence in patient care for the PharmacistCARE Diabetes Education and Management Program.

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PHARMACIST@email.uky.edu

The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation honored the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy's PharmacistCare Medication Therapy Management Services as one of three national winners during the eighth annual Pinnacle Awards June 14 at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The Pinnacle Award recipients are recognized for pioneering innovative ways to improve the medication use process that increase medication adherence, reduce drug misadventures, improve patient outcomes, and increase communication between all members of the health care team.

The awards, administered by the APhA Foundation Quality Center and made possible through a grant from Wyeth, were created by APhA Foundation's Quality Center because the topic of medication use is extremely important and timely in today's health care environment.

Holly Divine, Pharm.D., and Amy Nicholas, Pharm.D., both clinical pharmacists and assistant professors of pharmacy, developed the program and accepted the award on behalf of the College and the University for the Group Practice/Health System/Corporation category. Clinical pharmacists Carrie Johnson, Pharm.D., and Mikael Jones, Pharm.D., also have recently been added as members of the medication therapy management services team.

The program currently offers a free program for all adult UK Health Plan members who have been diagnosed with diabetes. Group educational classes, individual follow-up sessions, a quarterly "Living Healthier with Diabetes" newsletter, and continually updated educational materials are geared toward helping individuals gain the best diabetes control.

The award-winning program stemmed from UK President Lee Todd's health literacy project implemented to assist with the University's growing health care crisis. Initially part of the REACH (Raising Energy, Awareness and Campus Health) program, the pharmacist-administered diabetes management service has helped employees, retirees and their families improve their health and reduce current and future health care costs for the members and the health care plans administered by the University.

Alan T. Male, Ph.D., a professor of mechanical engineering at the UK College of Engineering, is a diabetic and a strong supporter of the program. "Through this program and its educational classes, I have gained considerable understanding of diabetes and all of its potential long-term health implications," Male said. "I am convinced that this program has played a critical part of the health improvement that I have noted over the last couple of years."

Clyde Snapp, a grounds worker in UK's physical plant department, is also a patient and advocate of the program. "I still have a ways to go in reaching my goals, but they are helping me learn what I have to do to feel better and take less medicine," Snapp said.

It has been a tremendous achievement for the UK College of Pharmacy to plan, implement and administer this unique patient care program for University employees and their dependents, said UK College of Pharmacy Dean Kenneth B. Roberts, Ph.D. "This partnership between the College and the UK health plan has resulted in substantial improvements in patient care and quality care to UK and its beneficiaries.

Divine, a native of Dawson Springs, Ky., earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 1997 and a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree in 1998, both from the UK College of Pharmacy. She is a Certified Geriatric Pharmacist (CGP), Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), and coordinator of the UK Community Pharmacy Residency Program.

Nicholas, a native of Somerset, Ky., received her Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) from UK in 1997. She completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati in 1999 and completed a specialty residency in ambulatory care at UK in 2000. She also is a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE).

PharmacistCARE is a unit of the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy