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I felt very honored and privileged to have given the keynote for the #NYSCHP Virtual Annual Assembly last week. It was truly a blessing to have the opportunity to show my sincere gratitude and thank their membership for “making good” on an important promise that was made.

In June of 2012, I attended an ASHP House of Delegates Meeting in Baltimore, where the Emily Jerry Foundation’s new National Pharmacy Technician Initiative and Interactive Scorecard was being introduced.  Back then, there were 6 states that had zero regulation of their Pharmacy Technicians, and unfortunately, New York was one of them.

On that same day, shortly after the announcement of our new initiative, some #NYSCHP members, led by Leigh Briscoe-Dwyer (NY House Delegate), introduced themselves and pledged to do everything they possibly could to get this vital legislation passed.  This is why I am so pleased to be able to say to everyone, that earlier this week, a new law went into effect in New York, recognizing Pharmacy Technicians as licensed professionals and their promise was kept!

So grateful!

We are so very pleased to be able to announce the exciting new Medication Safety Scholars Program, currently being offered to P2 & P3 Doctor of Pharmacy students, to enhance their knowledge and medication safety skills! This distance education and virtual engagement program has been developed, over the past year, through a close partnership and collaboration between the Emily Jerry Foundation, the ASHP Foundation, and the ASHP Student Forum.

We are now taking applications, so If you’re a P2 or P3 Doctor of Pharmacy student, who wants to become a true medication safety leader in your healthcare organization, I encourage you to please apply today!

Isn’t one tragic PREVENTABLE medication error too many?

Program Overview & Other Related Links:
Learn More about the Medication Safety Scholars Program

Application Deadline May 3rd:
Apply for the Medication Safety Scholars Program Today

Eight years ago, the Emily Jerry Foundation was able to launch its first large scale program, called the National Pharmacy Technician Initiative and Interactive Scorecard, to help assist organization like the New York Council for Health-System Pharmacists (NYSCHP). This program was initially created with the guidance of a wonderful team of people at ASHP, an on-going collaborative partnership that continues to this day!

Today, I would like to congratulate the members of NYSCHP on the passage of a new law in the state of New York that truly recognizes Pharmacy Technicians as a licensed part of the clinical team! Pharmacy Technicians play such a vital role in medication safety! This is precisely why I would like to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for being so tenacious in your pursuit of this important piece of legislation and never giving up!! God bless

The week before last, on March 31st, I was fortunate to be able to speak to more of our future leaders in healthcare, this time, to the students and faculty of Texas A&M’s School of Pharmacy.

I was really grateful to have this chance to honor Emily’s short life here on earth, in this very special way. I received feedback afterwards, that the students were really impacted by her powerful story, and the valuable lessons that had been learned from what had tragically happened in 2006 with the medication error.

As I have alluded to before, the month of March has always been a very poignant time of year for me, to say the least, it was when Emily left this earth and went to Heaven. This is why I feel so blessed and thankful, to have been given this opportunity, especially this year, to have been able to finish the month off on such a wonderful note!

A special thanks to Koren Dunn for organizing this event!

Most of my friends and colleagues know that typically February and March are usually such a bittersweet time of the year for me personally. These are the months that not only include the beautiful memories of Emily’s birth and infancy, but they also tragically contain a few of the absolute worst, like that horrible day the medication error actually occurred and her passing.

This year, I feel so blessed to be able to say, that these past few months were made far sweeter, than they were bitter, in previous years. On Emily’s birthday, February 24th, I was so grateful for the wonderful opportunity to speak to over 100 students and faculty from D’Youville College’s School of Health Professions via Zoom! Their support, on that special day, made it so much easier, and for that I am extremely thankful!

A special thanks to Emily Machlowski for organizing this event!

The following article just ran in a USA Today insert and was posted online yesterday. It has a few of my general thoughts on some of the most valuable lessons learned, from my daughter Emily’s tragic death in 2006. It was written for a new patient safety campaign that is a digital collection of relevant articles, from recognized safety leaders from around the globe, many of which, I am pleased to say, I’ve had the great privilege of working with over the past decade! Preventable medical errors are a vital issue that affect each and every one of us, because we ALL receive healthcare during the course of our lifetime…More importantly, so do our loved ones!!

Read the USA Today Article here: https://www.futureofpersonalhealth.com/patient-safety/after-his-daughters-death-one-man-starts-a-foundation-to-raise-awareness-of-medical-errors/

Happy Birthday my sweet Emily! The memories are so vivid, it almost seems like you were here with us just yesterday, and yet it’s hard to imagine that you left this world, to go and be with the Lord, in heaven, almost 15 years ago. As your daddy I’m thinking, here we are today, my baby girl would have actually been 17 years old. I truly look forward to that day when we are reunited in heaven, and I get to see you again!

I know I have said this before, but it’s so true, your legacy continues to live on, every single day, in the hearts and minds of so many people in healthcare and around the globe, who ALL know you by name! I’m so extremely proud to be your dad! Your short life here on earth has sparked such a tremendous amount of positive change, not only in patient and medication safety, but also in how the world views, and responds, to preventable medical error when it occurs. Tragedies are being prevented and lives are being saved because of your legacy!!

Love,
Dad

In September of 2019, I spent some time in the state capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, on behalf of the Emily Jerry Foundation. I was working with the Pennsylvania Society of Health System Pharmacists (PSHP) team of pharmacy experts, helping them to educate their state legislators on how vitally important it was, that the proposed House Bill 770, relating to pharmacy technicians in their state, get passed.

That’s why this past Monday, I was absolutely elated to hear the outstanding news that their Governor, Tom Wolf, had actually signed into law this essential piece of legislation! It provides requirements for pharmacy technician registration and covers various aspects of training and oversight by Pennsylvania’s state board of pharmacy.

Pharmacy technicians play such a crucial role in overall medication safety, and legislation like this will definitely help to elevate the practice throughout the state. I am very pleased to be able to say, that’s exactly what happened when Emily’s Law (Senate Bill 203) was passed, here in Ohio, in 2009!

I am so grateful to have opportunities like these! Yesterday’s virtual speaking engagement with the University of South Carolina’s College of Pharmacy went extremely well! We had over 200 students & faculty in attendance, including some who were from USC’s Medical School.

I have always felt blessed to have the ability, through the Emily Jerry Foundation, to get out and speak to the students before they actually begin their careers in healthcare about such vital issues as patient & medication safety. By having a positive impact on these “future leaders,” with my daughter Emily’s Legacy, and always remembering the valuable lessons that have been learned since her tragic death in 2006, I truly believe that countless lives will be saved going forward!

It was truly an honor and a privilege to be able to give the virtual Keynote for the “Revolutionizing Patient Safety: Securing the Medication Supply Line Conference”, hosted by the Axia Institute/MSU, yesterday.

A primary topic of conversation that was covered very well, throughout the day, in the panel discussions, was one that I am very familiar with, and speak often about, the utilization of technology as the “tools” to help eliminate “human error” from both the clinical and pharmacy workflow.

This event was a huge success in terms of conveying this fact, it was also extremely well organized, and highlighted exactly how technology, if adopted and implemented properly, can significantly improve medication safety overall. I really believe that this is how we can stop tragedies, like the one that occurred with my daughter Emily, and save countless lives from preventable medication errors together!

The following are a few of the very kind comments I feel very blessed to have received afterwards…

“Your touching story of loss, along with your equally powerful story of preserving your daughter’s legacy through the Emily Jerry Foundation was riveting.” ~Katherine F.

“You gave a truly amazing presentation…What a lesson you and Emily are teaching so many, God bless you!” ~Karol M.

“You did a fantastic job, as always! We appreciate all you do to continue advocating for patient safety while continually making Emily proud!” ~Miranda T.

“Thank you! We will all strive to be better because of Emily!” ~Jay W.