Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia Announces 2014 Award Winners

Dartmouth, NS – The Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia recently presented awards to twelve very deserving individuals at its Annual Conference held in Halifax on Saturday.

 Halifax’s Dr. Susan Bowles was PANS Member of the Year.

 Susan Bowles – Member of the Year
In the years leading up to pharmacists in Nova Scotia being granted the authority to immunize, Dr. Susan Bowles was an active passionate and vocal advocate for pharmacists being granted this authority.  She never wastes an opportunity to promote the value of pharmacists. She trained pharmacists to immunize and remained a valuable resource as flu season progressed. Her students at Dalhousie University tell stories of Dr. Bowles’ passion for pharmacists as immunizers and the importance of immunizations.  If you weren’t convinced about the value of getting the flu shot before speaking with Dr. Bowles, you certainly would be afterwards.   In her own clinical practice, working with geriatric patients at Capital Health, immunizations play an important role.  She is devoted to her patients. She is devoted to the profession.  She currently serves as a Chair of Immunize Canada and is the first pharmacist to hold that position. She serves on countless committees including Nova Scotia’s Pharmacists as Immunizers Committee.  If you were to find one fault with Dr. Bowles, it is her inability to say “no”  to requests for her expertise and help. Dr. Bowles is currently Associate Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy at Dalhousie University and a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Geriatrics in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, Capital District Health Authority. She also works with a number of pharmacy residents as part of the Capital Health Residency Program. Dr.  Susan Bowles stands out as exhibiting exemplary qualities as a pharmacist, mentor, educator, and advocate for her profession. It is for these reasons that she is this year’s Member of the Year.

Rita Caldwell -  Distinguished Service Award
This year Rita Caldwell retired from Dalhousie University College of Pharmacy after serving the College for sixteen years.  Ms. Caldwell   tirelessly lead the College which has educated well over a thousand pharmacists during her term. She steered the College through the initiation of a unique hybrid-Problem Based Learning curriculum. She leaves the school well placed to continue the development of a new entry-to-practice pharmacy degree, the PharmD ,that will  give future pharmacists a chance to be prepared to operationalize an expanded scope of pharmacy practice. Prior to working for the College, Ms. Caldwell worked in several Halifax area hospitals, including holding the position of Director of Pharmacy Services at the IWK Health Centre for  Children, Women & Families. She has been active in many pharmacy associations, including the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP), the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada, and the Association of Deans of Pharmacy of Canada.  For her many years of service in the profession of pharmacy, Rita Caldwell is a recipient of this year’s Distinguished Service Award.

 Brian Dillman -  Distinguished Service Award
Nova Scotians are truly fortunate to live in a part of the world where health care is often taken for granted. Getting medical aid is considered a “given.”  People in other parts of the world are not so lucky. Brian Dillman is working to change that.  In 2010, when he heard students from the Halifax Christian Academy were travelling to Guatemala, he provided immunizations to all the students travelling at cost. The following year he provided medical supplies for a group from the Faith Baptist Church that were travelling to Ecuador.  Then in 2013, Mr. Dillman travelled to an orphanage in Baja Mexico where he served on a medical team that provided much needed medical care to the orphans and well as people in the surrounding area.  He has also donated medical supplies and medications for  a number of groups who travelled to Honduras as part of the Global Brigades Medical and Dental Team.  On one trip, the team treated 1,200 people.  Closer to home, Mr. Dillman’s Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy is a Community Outreach Pharmacy for the Canadian Diabetes Association and he fundraises for Mental Health organizations.  Mr. Dillman is a patient-focused pharmacist who cares about his community and the patients he serves, either close to home or abroad.    For his exceptional contributions to his community and beyond, Brian Dillman is a recipient of this year’s Distinguished Service Award.

Bill Redden -  Distinguished Service Award

In the mid-90s, long before the current expanded roles of pharmacists, Bill Redden was initiating conversations about how community pharmacists and pharmacies could develop innovative new programs and approaches .  As a visionary , it is not surprising that  he has been placed in leadership roles, including serving as a Pharmacy Manager and Director of Pharmacy.  He has been a pharmacist for almost 25 years, and despite  the management roles he has held, he has always considered himself a pharmacist first.  The relationship between the pharmacist and patient  is the most important thing about his profession and he has always encouraged leaders  to work with  frontline pharmacy teams on a regular basis. He believes that to evolve as a profession, pharmacists must be able to identify with their patients.  He has been a constant support to his fellow pharmacists as their roles expand. He has served on many professional boards and committees of organizations, including the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores (CACDS),  Pharmacy Advisory Committee on Private Payors (PACPP), PANS, and Rx Canada. He is also active in his community. For his many years of leadership and commitment to the profession, Bill Redden is a recipient of this year’s Distinguished Service Award.

Tami Crosby – Pfizer Bowl of Hygeia
If you live in the town of Shelburne, you probably know Tami Crosby. The former owner of TLC Pharmasave and current pharmacist is known for being the go-to person in the community if you need a volunteer. Whether working as part of the Ladies Auxiliary at the Roseway Hospital, working with her church, working on the Physician Recruitment Committee, or driving a person from the community who doesn’t have a way into Halifax for a specialist appointment, she is there.  Ms. Crosby may have three children and a family of her own, but her extended family includes the community.  Know for her outstanding culinary abilities, if there is an illness or a death in the family,  Tami Crosby will show up with a meal to ease your burden. When she noticed a need in a local nursing home and hospital, Ms. Crosby created the program Teens Lending Care (TLC), which pairs high school students with the elderly receiving care in those facilities. The program has been immensely successful.   There are few organizations in her community in which Ms. Crosby is not involved in, in some manner.  It seems fitting that Tami Lynn Crosby’s initials are TLC, because everyone who meets Ms. Crosby is met with tender loving care. The Pfizer Bowl of Hygeia is presented to a pharmacist who has established an outstanding record of community service. Tami Crosby’s  record is exceptional.

Reham Eldadah -  Craig Ennett Award
The Craig Ennett award was established to recognize those pharmacists who work towards removing barriers for international pharmacy graduates (IPGs) in establishing a practice and life in Nova Scotia.  Beyond the challenges of moving to a new place,  IPGs face language and culture differences. They face different ways of practicing the profession. It can be very overwhelming. Nobody knows this better that this year’s recipient of the Craig Ennett Award. Reham Eldadah was an IPG herself.  Instead of moving on after going through the ISIS IPG bridging program and earning her Nova Scotia pharmacy license, she made the decision to contribute to the program.  Despite having her hands full with a career and young twins, Ms. Eldadah works to help IPGs on their journey to licensure. She has gone above and beyond in her contributions to the Communications Skills Labs  (CSL) and has written more than 30 cases for the CSL. She is an active member of the IPG Multi-Stakeholder Working Group.  Like the award`s namesake,  no matter how difficult things get in her life, Reham Eldadah always comes out to help IPGs. It is for these reasons that Rehama Eldadah is this year`s recipient of the Craig Ennett Award.

Lawtons Drugs, New Glasgow – Pharmacy Team Award
In a time when many pharmacy teams are struggling with finding their identity in the new landscape of pharmacy practice, the team  at Lawtons Drugs, New Glasgow continues to look for ways to push their boundaries in order to expand the role of pharmacists in Nova Scotia. They are leaders in providing medication reviews, minor ailment assessments and immunizations. They are able to achieve  this because every member of the team recognizes the importance of the individual and the role each member of the pharmacy team plays.  Although the team  may struggle at times to find the time to for all the things they wish to do, they manage to do it because they know it`s  “what the patient needs.“  They set goals together and they meet those goals. The pharmacy team at Lawtons Drugs, New Glasgow, has been recognized as a valuable community resource that not only provides excellent health care but caring health care.  The team at Lawtons Drugs, New Glasgow is truly exceptional and is this year’s recipient of the Pharmacy Team Award.

Takeda Magnum Opus – Deborah Ellis
Deborah Ellis obtained her Certificate in Diabetes Education 2010. Since then, she has counselled numerous patients, modified their pharmacologic care, started them on insulin, and monitored and adjusted their doses as part of the Circle of Care between patient, physician, and pharmacist. She has consulted with many diabetes meter companies and insulin manufacturers. Physicians routinely refer patients to her for assistance in managing their condition.  She has run pilot projects within her pharmacy and has truly shown an advanced level of practice. Her compassion, communication skills and her patience, combined with her training and expertise, has greatly benefited her patients and her pharmacy.

 

The full list of 2014 Award Winners is as follows:

Member of the Year

Susan Bowles, Halifax

Distinguished Service Awards

Bill Redden, Upper Stewiake

Brian Dillman, Halifax

Rita Caldwell, Halifax

Appreciation Award

Susan Beresford, Lunenburg

Jane Gillis, Halifax

Stacey Smith, Fall River

Craig Ennett Award

Reham Eldadah, Halifax

Takeda Magnum Opus Award

Deborah Ellis, Truro

Pfizer Bowl of Hygeia

Tami Crosby, Shelburne

Past President’s Award

Andrew Buffett, Bedford

 

More information on each of these awards is available on the PANS website at https://pans.ns.ca/about-pans/awards/.

 

-30-

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Amy Wagg, Director of Communications
Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia

Phone: (902) 422-9583, ext 4

Email: amy@pans.ns.ca