This podcast provides listeners with an overview of how professional policies are developed within ASHP. Members from ASHP’s councils, the primary bodies that initiate ASHP policies on professional issues, discuss their roles and share ways new practitioners can get involved in supporting professional policy development.
SPEAKERS
Kimberly Mehta, PharmD, MPH, MHA, FASHP, (she/her) serves as the director of value-based population health pharmacy and quality enablement for Highmark Health. Kim received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, Master of Public Health from Pitt, School of Public Health and her Master of Healthcare Administration from Walden University. She completed a combined PGY1/PGY2 Health System Pharmacy Administration Residency at Allegheny Health Network. Kim is an active member in local, state, and national organizations. She is the current president elect of the Pennsylvania Society of Health-System Pharmacists (PSHP) and chairs the PSHP Legislative Committee. Kim has previously collaborated with the Virginia Department of Health, Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Task Force, and other local organizations to increase the role and engagement of pharmacists and support public health and safety initiatives focused on both emergency preparedness and combating the opioid epidemic. At a national level, Kim is an active member of ASHP, having served on several section advisory groups. Kim is the previous Chair of the Section Advisory Group on Medication Safety and is serving as the Vice Chair on the 2023-24 ASHP Council on Public Policy. Kim leads the Medication Safety Section Advisory Group Team on Medication Safety Dashboard creation and implementation. Her professional interests include patient safety and quality, population health, technology solutions, and healthcare reform.
Aaron Steffenhagen, PharmD, BCPS, FASHP, (he/him) is a clinical pharmacy manager at the University of Wisconsin Health and a clinical instructor with the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy. Aaron completed a PGY1 Residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) after earning a PharmD degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His initial years of experience focused on establishing emergency medicine clinical pharmacy services which transitioned into his current role. At UWHealth he oversees pharmacy practice and services in critical care, emergency medicine, neurosciences, and the psychiatric hospital while maintaining his own clinical practice and precepting. Nationally within ASHP he has been active in the Section of Clinical Specialists and Scientists (SCSS) and is currently serving on the Council on Pharmacy Practice.
Josie Quick, CPhT-Adv, CSPT, (she/her) has been a pharmacy technician for nearly 19 years and has experienced many areas of practice in pharmacy. She has worked in retail, inpatient, long term care, and nuclear pharmacy which has grown her knowledge and love of pharmacy. As the inventory specialist at Sanford Health, she has the unique task of working in both retail and inpatient pharmacies. Pharmacy technician roles have advanced throughout the years and Quick is an advocate for national standardization.
Michelle Marie Estevez, PharmD, DPLA, BCPS, (she/her) is a pharmacy manager for Lee Pharmacy at Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL. She earned her PharmD from the University of Colorado, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and completed her PGY1 and PGY2 health system pharmacy administration and leadership residency with Lee Health. Michelle has been appointed to vice-chair for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Council for Education and Workforce Development.
Zach Gunter, PharmD, BCPS, (he/him) completed his Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Pharmacy. He then completed PGY1 pharmacy residency at Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City and a PGY2 health-system pharmacy administration and leadership residency with the Medical University of South Carolina. He is currently a pharmacy operations manager with Saint Luke’s East Hospital in Lees Summit, MO. He is currently serving on ASHP’s New Practitioner Forum in the Practice Advancement and Advocacy Advisory Group.
