Pharmacy Department Milestones at Miami Valley Hospital

Miami Valley Hospital’s Pharmacy Department celebrated Pharmacy Week October 15-21. This week-long celebration was dedicated to the many achievements of our 57 pharmacists and 61 pharmacy technicians who strive to provide the highest level of pharmaceutical care.

Pharmacists are drug experts and work closely with physicians and nurses to ensure all medication orders are safe and appropriate for patients. Pharmacy technicians prepare and deliver medications throughout our facilities. Technicians dedicated to purchasing inventory also manage drug shortages and optimize drug purchasing to support cost-effective care. Medications are used throughout the facility and out in the field by CareFlight Air and Mobile Services. The team distributes drugs in the safest way to have them available for operating rooms, emergency kits, automated dispensing cabinets, and patient floors. Intravenous products are made in isolator hoods and the centralized clean room in the hospital’s main pharmacy to have the safest product for patients.

Miami Valley Hospital’s pharmacy team has celebrated several milestones this year. The first was the accreditation of our Pharmacy Residency Program for six years by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in April 2018. The accreditation is the highest level achievable and shows the team’s commitment to providing the highest level of pharmacy care to our patients and advancing our profession. In June 2018, two new residents were welcomed for the third year of the program. These two pharmacists join our team in a year of month-long rotations dedicated to post-graduate experiential learning in our specialty areas.

The second milestone was the expansion of a new satellite pharmacy in the Berry building on September 19. This satellite is in addition to our critical care, surgical, SW6A, and SE7 satellites. Our team hopes to enhance pharmacy services for the neonatal and maternal medicine patients in this area.

The third milestone was the expansion of clinical services as pharmacist specialists transitioned from Good Samaritan Hospital. Miami Valley Hospital now has specialists in cardiology/cardiothoracic surgery, surgery/anesthesia, and emergency medicine. They joined the specialties of critical care, trauma, internal medicine, antimicrobial stewardship, oncology, neonatal intensive care, anticoagulation, and neurocritical care.

The growth of Miami Valley Hospital’s Pharmacy Department is a result of Premier Health’s mission and values, and would not be possible without every member of the team. These recent milestones demonstrate our team’s commitment to strive for excellence. Our team is proud of what has been accomplished and excited for the future.