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August 25th live Webinar at 8:00 pm Eastern time.

Emily’s Act Revisited: The Pharmacist, The Family and the Medication Error That Changed Their Lives

Make sure to mark your calendar for this live webinar. This moving presentation spans the five years since Emily’s tragic death, and the changes that have resulted in the lives of the pharmacist, Eric Cropp and the father of Emily, Chris Jerry. Both Eric and Chris are co-presenting this webinar.

This presentation can be accessed on www.FreeCE.com and there is a $35 registration fee to non-members of the web site. All registration fees for this presentation are donated to the Emily Jerry Foundation. “Virtual” seats are limited, so go to www.FreeCE.com now and register. This presentation is also ACPE accredited for one live credit hour for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

I filled you in on this event earlier this month. Below are the details I’ve been waiting to announce…

Summa Health System
Grand Rounds Presentation

The Emily Jerry Story:
A Tragedy, a Trial, and a Triumph

Christopher Jerry
President & CEO, Emily Jerry Foundation

Eric Cropp
Former Pharmacist & “Second Victim”

Sponsored by the Department of Medicine and the Department of Pharmacy

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Date: August 17th, 2011

Time: Sign in will begin at 7:45am

Presentation is 8:00am – 9:30am

Seating is first come, first served

Location: Raymond C. Firestone Auditorium

Professional Center South

Summa Akron City Hospital

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Learning Objectives

– Discuss the events surrounding a medical mistake that resulted in
a patient death and a criminal prosecution.

– Identify the proposed 5 rights of the caregiver when a patient is
harmed during the process of care.

– Identify the qualities of a safety culture that enhance harm prevention.

– Describe Summa Health System’s “I’m 4 Safety” program elements.

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About the Presentation

Learn how the tragic story of two-year old Emily Jerry’s untimely death from a medication error in Ohio in 2006 has positively impacted the entire patient safety movement. Emily’s father, Christopher Jerry, turned tragedy into triumph through the establishment of The Emily Jerry Foundation and the passage of “Emily’s Law” in Ohio in 2009. His passion for patient safety has grown to advocate just as passionately for the caregiver.

Eric Cropp has sixteen years of pharmacy experience, the majority of that time in the oncology field. Cropp was a pharmacist on duty when a technician under his supervision made an error in preparing chemotherapy intended for Emily Jerry. Emily died three days after the medication was administered. Cropp was ultimately convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served jail time.

Hear the compelling story of how Cropp and Jerry have teamed up in Emily’s honor in an effort to improve patient safety.

For further information, please contact Maria Giannakos at 330-375-3164.

To download a pdf of the official flyer click here.

Summa Health System is accredited by the Ohio State Medical Association to sponsor continuing medical education for

physicians. Summa Health System designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1

Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This program is also eligible for 0.15 Ohio CEUs for continuing pharmacy education.

Yesterday morning I took part in the following Webinar offered by PharmCon at freece.com:
Emily’s Act Revisited: The Pharmacist, The Family and the Medication Error That Changed Their Lives -LAW-
Continuing Education Credits for Healthcare Professionals

Program Overview
This presentation reviews the effect of a tragic medication error on the lives of the two victims, patient Emily Jerry and pharmacist Eric Cropp. Over the span of four years since the incident, much has changed in the lives of the families involved and in the practice of pharmacy. This compelling and emotion presentation is presented by Eric Cropp and Chris Jerry. This is the sequel to “Emily’s Act: Impact on Public Safety and Medication Errors”, which many participants stated was the most moving continuing education program they have ever attended.

To learn more about the repeat presentation on Thursday, August 25th visit the freece site by clicking here.

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Here are some of the reviews we received from participants. I truly appreciate their candor and honesty. I am also ecstatic that I am making a difference in their education by relaying Emily’s story. Comments are below…

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Program Comments

Thank you for giving this story a forum – very needful.

Great program !!!!. Thank you !!!

Great program!

excellent presentation, so much to learn from it

Good work both Chris and Eric are doing.

n/a

Did not understand wording on how to answer questions 4 to 6 properly. Overall I feel that technicians have been empowered to such a level that THEY consider themselves above supervision and will often bypass the pharmacist if they can, with consent of management “to reduce costs” , but will STILL expect the pharmacist to assume ALL responsibility.

one of the best programs from FreeCe.com that I have participated in

Very moving presentation.

This is by far the most emotional CE in which I have participated. This could have been me….

Difficult subject to discuss, but this presentation got the point across. Thank you!

I think that this presentation should be added to the curriculum of all accredited Pharmacy schools to implore new Pharmacists to be extra careful and that there is support for Second Victims if fatal/harmful errors are made. I saw both Emily’s Law CE’s and this should be a staple CE for years to come. It is such a Blessing to see that forgiveness and positive change can come from such tragedy. My heart and prayers go out to both families and I pray that God and time will heal all wounds and hearts. Please let me know if you are ever in the Orlando area on a speaking engagement, because I would love to come an support your efforts. My email is [email protected]. Extremely impactful and riveting…

unusual presentation – “enjoyed” is not the right word…..found the value in the topic, for sure. thanks

Thank you for including Mr Jerry. What a remarkable testimony for him and Eric. I hope they will continue to work together for the betterment of healthcare for a very long time.

THIS WAS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF A SYSTEM ERROR. RX’S WITHOUT A SOUND SYSTEM OF PRACTICE WILL HAVE SIMILAR ERRORS OCCUR AND DO HAVE THEM OCCUR BUT USUALLY NOT WITH TRAGIC RESULTS. I DO KNOW OF A VERY SIMILAR TRAGIC OCCURANCE THAT HAPPENED WHEN IN RX SCHOOL BACK AROUND 1980-81 AND OF COURSE THERE WAS NO CRIMINAL ELEMENT ATTACHED AT ALL!

Thank you for the great presentation!

Extremely emotional topic…tough to be objective both as a parent and a pharmacist

thank you for sharing this entire story in an unbiased and informative fashion…it’s an event that can happen to any medical professional or parent…the resources given are exceptional

best webinar or ce i have attended. thank you.

What an eye opening session! Yes it will change my practice!

This is the best presentation yet. Both men are to be commended and keep moving foward. This presentation should be shown to every medical person and revisited once a your or so. Thank you so much. My hats off to all. Sometime, when some pass away, others will be saved.

I have no healthcare practice.

WE NEED TO BE REMINDED OF TRAGEDIES SUCH AS THIS ONE SO THAT WHEN WE ARE FACED WITH A SIMILAR SITUATION WE REALIZE WHAT IS AT STAKE AND WE SLOW DOWN.

Every Pharnacist in every hospital should listen to this presentation annually as a reminder of how important their job is and how easily an error can be made. Thank you for providing this presentation.

great presentation, eye opening, makes me look at my pharmacy setting and evaluate how to decrease any chance for errors.

Excellent presentation. As a father with a young daughter who would be about Emily’s age and a pharmacist, I can relate to both sides of the story. This was a powerful motivator for increased vigilance against medication errors in practice. More Q&A time with Chris and Eric would have been appreciated.

Will this CE change my healthcare practice? ABSOLUTELY. The next time I feel rushed I will think of Emily, her family, and Eric and I will SLOW DOWN (regardless of who is rushing me!). Having both Eric and Chris participate in this CE made the story hit home that much harder. Well done.

Very emotional story

Everyone of us in the Pharmacy field at one time or another can make an error.We have to stay alert and watch and listen to everything at all times.We can loose concentration especially if there is too much confusion all around you. This happened to me and I just said it was not worth fighting the system,all requests fell on deaf ears and after 49 years in the profession, I retired before something like what happened to Emily and Kris. The system shall never be perfect.

great

Thanks

This was the best presentation you have ever given. I did not want it to end. I listened to all the comments/questions at the end, which I never do.

What a tragic story, yet one that seems to be taking a positive turn. All those involved deserve our prayers.

Thank you so much for this presentation. It was a truly eyeopening experience.

Great presentation!!! Having Chris and Eric live at the end of the presentation had a great impact on the lesson.

n/a

Thank you moderators- I know that must have been very difficult to get through. I think this will improve the practice of Pharmacy for all who listen.

All the CEs I have participated in through your organization have been outstanding. This one stands out in particular in terms of its impact on pharmacy practice going forward. I definitely feel that everyone who participated in this webinar will look at their practices differently. This presentation should be mandatory for the leadership of health care organizations since ultimately we need to address the root of the problem, overwork, understaffing, cluttered environments, etc., to impact the grim statistics in medical errors that were first brought to bear by the IOM report of 1999, ‘To Err is Human’. 12 years later, it appears like too many organizations are too lackadaisical about addressing the source of the issue and simply opt for the scapegoat approach, which was Eric in this case. My kudos both to Eric and Mr. Jerry for turning this heart wrenching story into a positive and productive momentum. OUTSTANDING PRESENTATION!

Extremely informative

Great speaker. Great topic. I really enjoyed this.

i will learn to say no in high presure situations

Excellent presentation. Thanks.

GOOD PROGRAM

Thank you for the follow-up ce on this tragic event.

Kevin, you are a great presenter. I also want to take the time to say that I am so glad I came across this program. Pharcon is an asset to and a useful tool for pharmacists everywhere. I wish that there were a comparable site for physicians and physical therapists. My daughter is a physical therapist and it would be great if you know of a comparable site so that I can tell her. Thanks again for a great and powerful presentation

This was an excellent presentation. I can only pray for those involved in this tragedy and hope it happens to no one else

A tragic situation that will forever impact everyone in our field. Medical errors should not be criminally liable.

EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.

na

wow!!!

Excellent presentation

Excellent hits close to home with all practitioners we do our jobs despite the fact the odds ofNOT making an error are not on our side

Thank you so much for sharing this story with us.

Resolved to finish course on iPhone with in and out sound but could read slides for course content and deductions ..

thanks for a very moving presentation

Best webinar to date. Really puts things into perspective. We all can only pray we are never in a situation like this. All big corporations should watch this before cutting our help!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS IS THE FIRST CE THAT COMPELLED ME TO MAKE A COMMENT. HEARTBREAKING AND A SCARY REALITY OF THIS PRACTICE. I CANNOT BELIEVE THE PHARMACIST WAS SENT TO PRISON FOR THIS. ERIC IS NOT A MURDERER. HE IS HUMAN AND A RESULT OF A HEALTH CARE SYSTEM THAT WAS TRYING TO SAVE MONEY. THIS IS TRUE OF HOSPITAL AND RETAIL PHARMACY ALIKE.

The Emily Jerry Foundation and eBroselow LLC are pleased to announce a
partnership to promote pediatric dosing safety and standardization.

Over two decades ago, Dr. James Broselow invented the Broselow Tape to
make pediatric treatments faster and safer. The Broselow Tape, now
used in virtually every emergency room and EMS unit in the US, is
considered the gold standard for pediatric dosing. More recently, Dr.
Broselow and his partner Dr. Bob Luten, a nationally-recognized ER
doctor and author of resuscitation-related courseware, broadly expanded
the concepts of the Broselow Tape in their Artemis emergency pediatric
care software.

Artemis addresses the problem that in EMS and emergency room settings,
code situations requiring acute dosing with children are error-prone.
They are particularly stressful and challenging due to the sensitivity
of children to drugs and due to the complex calculations required.

Contributing to the problem, there is no national standard for acute
pediatric dosing. In 2010, eBroselow and the nonprofit Pediatric
Pharmacy Advocacy group, the worlds largest organization for pediatric
pharmacists, launched the Artemis initiative to address this lack of a
standard.

eBroselow is based in Blacksburg, VA and has a shared vision of saving
children’s lives. eBroselow donated the Artemis system to the Haiti
earthquake rescue efforts, with great success. Artemis is available for
hospitals through contacting eBroselow.com. Its companion app, SafeDose,
is available on the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry app stores.

It’s always exciting for a speaker to hear how his/her presentation was received by the audience. Below are some examples of feedback Pharmacy OneSource obtained from attendees after the free webinar:

“Very insightful. I highly appreciate both sides of the story and how you both have come through the pain to help others not have this occur. God bless you both. Thank you.”

“Excellent work. Continue to stress the systems aspect of patient safety.”

“Great topic to bring awareness… Stories are the best way to get people thinking and changing with regards to patient safety.”

“Great. Have heard Chris and Eric before but more details available today, which was very helpful.”

“This was the best webinar I have every attended. I would love for the foundation to sponsor support groups both external and internal to organizations that experience harmful or fatal errors.”

“Both presentations were very compelling and clearly delineated that there are hidden victims in such tragedies. It was helpful to learn the speakers’ advice on what can be learned/improved from this incident and also helpful to learn what the hospital has changed as a result. Excellent.”

“I am non-clinical and this story was very inspiring and informative. Thank you.”

“This was excellent and definitely sheds light on both perspectives. Thank you!”

“Thank you so much for sharing you stories. It motivates me to pay attention to every detail and do what I can to make things better for the patients I care for.”

“Hello this is Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS Chemistry Pharmacy Technician Educator here with my Class of students in Signal Hill California. Students are required to do a research paper on Little Emily and discuss medication errors and prevention of med errors. Passing a test in which one has read/studied a book instead of didactics in a classroom and practicing mock labs and an externship is not the SAME! Education must be standardized adn made MANDATORY across the USA! Been a national advocate for techs for over 20 yrs saying the SAME thing. Please continue to advocate for this too! Thank you! Feel free to contact me if I can help in any way in the persuit for pharm tech national standards. 714-269-5031 [email protected]”

“Thank you so much for sharing you stories. It motivates me to pay attention to every detail and do what I can to make things better for the patients I care for.”

I was honored to be a guest lecturer to Sanford-Browns students on the Cleveland Clinic campus a little under a month ago. It is therapeutic for me to tell my story and know that I am taking action, and helping the cause so other parents never have to go through the struggle my family has.

Pharmacy Technology Program Director Kristen Kay Malacos and Christine Koch, President of Sanford-Brown were kind enough to write a recommendation letter on my behalf. I have posted it below:

Sanford-Brown College
July 20, 2011

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a letter expressing my personal recommendation for
Mr. Chris Jerry. Mr. Jerry has been an extremely beneficial
resource for my students, and has provided them with vital
information for preparing for a career in pharmacy technology.

On June 30th, 2011, my students were given the opportunity
to hear Mr. Jerry speak at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in
Cleveland, OH. My students and I were amazed with his story,
and impressed with his motivation, courage, and strong desire
to advocate for patient safety and patient caregivers. Since
his speech, I have noticed a huge difference in the determination
and focus of my students. Mr. Jerry’s compelling message has
inspired them to become better students, so eventually they can
become even better pharmacy technicians. Sanford-Brown College
is grateful for having been given the opportunity
to hear his powerful message.

I would highly recommend Mr. Jerry for a speaking engagement.
He gives an inspiring talk about forgiveness, compassion, and how
to turn a tragedy into an opportunity for change. Through his relentless
work on the Emily Jerry Foundation, he is also providing an outlet
for both caregivers and patients, who are victims of medication errors,
to tell their story and get support from the pharmacy community.
Mr. Jerry has been a huge benefit for future pharmacy technicians
from Sanford-Brown College, and I hope other pharmacy workers,
both future and current, can have this same opportunity.

Sincerely,

Kristen Kay Malacos, Pharmacy Technology Program Director

Christine Koch, President

17535 Rosbough Drive, Suite 100 I Middleburg Heights, OH 44130
p: 440.239.9640 I f: 440.239.9648

To download a pdf of the recommendation letter click here.

My patient safety lecture went extremely well last week at the Cleveland Clinic. There were over 350 people in attendance including pharmacists & pharmacy technicians from the Cleveland Clinic and pharmacy technician students from Sanford-Brown College, which sponsored the event. We took a low budget video on my iphone and will be uploading edited clips shortly! The Emily Jerry Foundation is currently planning other talks at the Cleveland Clinic in the near future as well, so watch for announcements on this site.

I am humbled by all the special people that helped make this speech a reality. I’d especially like to convey a special thank you to Sanford Brown College for sponsoring this event, and to the Cleveland Clinic for graciously hosting us.

The following individuals were instrumental in the success and implementation of this worthwhile endeavor:

–Kristen Malacos, Pharmacy Technology Program Director, for Sanford Brown College

–Dr. Morton P. Goldman, System Director, Academic Affairs and International Business Development, Assistant Professor Department of Medicine CCLCM, Cleveland Clinic

–Erin M. Ortiz Blanco, Pharmacy Technician Training Coordinator, Cleveland Clinic

–Dr. Shannon Connor Phillips, Quality Officer, Cleveland Clinic

A sincere Thank You to those listed above and to everyone else involved in the event! May this be the first of many more to come.