Pharmacy Times and Parata Systems Announce the 2021 Next-Generation Pharmacist Finalists

In a joint effort between Pharmacy Times®, the leading media resource for pharmacists, and Parata Systems, the leading provider of pharmacy automation, 30 pharmacy professionals have been named finalists of the 2021 Next-Generation Pharmacist® awards. Ten category winners will be announced at the Next-Generation Pharmacist® of the Year gala, which will be held at 6pm on October 8, 2021, at Founder's Hall in Charlotte, N.C.

"Now in its 12th year, the Next-Generation Pharmacist® awards program is an opportunity to recognize and honor the outstanding finalists that are driving innovation in the pharmacy industry," said Mike Hennessy Jr., president and CEO of MJH Life Sciences™, parent company of Pharmacy Times®. "In collaboration with Parata, we look forward to celebrating all of the finalists and winners later this fall."

This peer-nominated awards program is designed to honor exceptional pharmacists, student pharmacists, technicians, and industry advocates across 10 specialized categories. A panel of renowned judges selected three finalists in each of the categories that are representative of the many roles within the pharmacy industry. The finalist's pharmacy practice settings range from large chain retailers to independent pharmacies, specialty pharmacies, military bases, health clinics, and educational institutions.

The 2021 Next-Generation Pharmacist® finalists are:

Civic Leader

• Angela D. Adams, PharmD, MPH, Central Florida Pharmacy Council
• Cortney Mospan, PharmD, BCACP, BGCP, CPP, Wingate University Levine College of Health Sciences
• Matthew Pruitt, PharmD, Walgreens

Entrepreneur

• Mayank A. Parikh, PharmD, Super Health Pharmacy
• Casey Villhauer, PharmD, BCGP, Vaxi Taxi
• Jason Wang, PharmD, Pevely Rx, Inc. DBA Medicine Shoppe

Future Pharmacist

• Courtney Jurgens, PharmD, South College School of Pharmacy 
• Raneem Pallotta, BHS, Northeast Ohio Medical University
• Isabelle Tharp, Drake University

Health System Pharmacist

• Shubha Bhat, PharmD, MS, BCACP, Cleveland Clinic
• Erica King, PharmD, West Tennessee Healthcare
• Kara Piechowski, PharmD, BCPS, BC-ADM, CTTS, WVU Medicine, Tobacco-Free Me

Lifetime Leadership

• Hannah Ariel, PharmD, Licensed Immunizing Pharmacist, Touro College of Pharmacy, Queens College and CUNY Research Foundation, CVS Pharmacy
• John A. Pieper, PharmD, FCCP, FAPhA, FFIP, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis
• Michael J. Schuh, BS, PharmD, MBA, FAPhA, Mayo Clinic Florida

Patient Care Provider

• Alicia B. Forinash, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS, BCACP, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy
• Kristen Hartzell, PharmD, Hartzell's Pharmacy
• Ed Hudon, RPh, The Medicine Shoppe – Boyertown

Rising Star

• Cody Clifton, PharmD, CPESN USA / Duvall Family Drugs
• Captain Stephen J. Sullivan, Jr., Pharm.D., United States Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson Element Chief, Inpatient Pharmacy
• Mary-Haston Vest, PharmD, MS, BCPS, UNC Health; UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy

Specialty Pharmacist

• Mailien Dinh, PharmD, Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy at Children's National Medical Center
• Joshua Farrell, PharmD, AAHIVP, Walgreens
• Chelsea Hustad, PharmD, CSP, Lumicera Health Services

Technician

• Kerri L. Marzolf (Surritt), CPhT, Ardon Health
• Jenny Peña, L-CPhT, Banner Health
• Amber Suthers, CPhT, MSAH, Surgoinsville Pharmacy

Technology Innovator

• Hugh Heldenbrand, PharmD, M.S., CPESN
• Dan Kistner, PharmD, Vizient, Inc.
• David Medvedeff, PharmD, MBA, Aspen RxHealth

"Pharmacies are performing exponentially more services than ever before, showcasing an overwhelming display of innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership across what has become an immensely interdisciplinary practice," said Rob Kill, Parata CEO. "We are honored to celebrate our nation's top pharmacists, both current and future - and congratulate all of those nominated in 2021."

Winners will be selected from each of the categories and one finalist will be named the 2021 Next-Generation Pharmacist® at the 12th annual awards program. All selected finalists will be featured in the September issue of Pharmacy Times® and on https://www.nextgenpharmacist.com/.

For more information on the Next-Generation Pharmacist® awards program or to register for the event, click here.

Pharmacy Times® and Parata Systems thank the following program sponsors: BD, CeraVe, National Healthcareer Association, Pharmacy Development Services, NCPA, and Americorp Financial LLC.

About Pharmacy Times®

Pharmacy Times ® is the industry-leading multimedia pharmacy network of community, health-system, oncology and specialty pharmacy platforms, providing practical clinical and professional information pharmacists can use in their everyday practices when counseling patients and interacting with other health care providers. Each issue and the website contain articles and features covering industry trends, medication errors, drug interactions, patient education, disease state management, patient counseling, product news, pharmacy law and more. Additionally, Pharmacy Times Continuing Education™ is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.

About Parata Systems

Parata provides pharmacy technology solutions to reduce costs, improve health outcomes and enhance the patient experience by offering the most comprehensive pharmacy automation portfolio with medication adherence packaging, high-speed robotic dispensing technologies and pharmacy workflow solutions. Discover how Parata powers pharmacies to help people lead healthier lives at parata.com.