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Really looking forward to giving the keynote address tomorrow morning with Eric Cropp, at the Northeastern Regional Hematology Oncology Pharmacists Symposium (NEHOPS). Right after Eric and I did an interview together in May of 2011, for a Discovery Channel patient safety documentary, we had the opportunity to give a number of CE accredited lectures & presentations, all over the United States, that were very well received. However, tomorrow’s keynote, will be the first time we will have had the opportunity to present together in the past five years.

I spent the day, yesterday, in Harrisburg, working with a stellar team of pharmacy experts from the Pennsylvania Society of Health System Pharmacists (PSHP). The primary focus of the day, was on educating the legislators on the vital importance of passing PA HB770 (Pharmacy Technicain Registration and Training) from an overall public safety standpoint.

Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is one of only four states, that currently have absolutely NO oversight of their pharmacy technicians, by their state board of pharmacy. This is an enormous public safety issue when you take into account the fact that pharmacy technicians, in all of our nation’s hospitals & medical facilities, are responsible for compounding VIRTUALLY ALL intravenous (IV) medications that go directly into patient’s circulatory systems!

You can learn more about the the Emily Jerry Foundation’s National Pharmacy Technician Initiative & Interactive Scorecard on the bottom of our homepage at emilyjerryfoundation.org.

The IV Automation Technology Coalition, that I have been a part of for the past 3 years, had yet another very productive trip to Washington D.C.! Yesterday, we met with the FDA, in Silver Springs, Maryland. Today, we spent the entire morning, meeting with legislators on Capitol Hill. Even though it was a great trip, and I’m very pleased to say that we accomplished a lot, I’m definitely looking forward to getting home…?

Heading to Washington D.C. for another round of meetings tomorrow afternoon with the FDA. For the past 3 years, I have had the great privilege of being a part of the IV Automation Technology Coalition, comprised of a diverse group of stakeholders (i.e. pharmacists, practitioners, innovators, patient safety advocates, etc.). We have all been on a journey together to improve patient and medication safety in the United States. We believe that technology has tremendous potential and will play a key role in stopping tragedies, like my daughter Emily’s, BEFORE they happen, and will ultimately save countless lives!!

My meeting at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County yesterday went extremely well! Unfortunately, due to weather, I didn’t get home until 3:00am this morning! Next week is another busy week. I’ll be heading to Washington D.C., for more meetings on Capitol Hill to discuss medication safety related legislation and preventable medical errors. In addition, while I’m there, I will also be attending and participating in IV automation coalition meetings with the FDA in Silver Springs, Maryland.

Hard to believe it has been exactly one year since I was able to spend a few days on a very enjoyable trip for the Emily Jerry Foundation to La Rochelle France ??! I had a chance to spend one full day with a new EJF medication safety technology partner, Eurekam. We had very productive meetings and presentations at their offices and then I had the great privilege of visiting the Hospital Center “Saint-Louis” De La Rochelle to see one of their very first clinical implementations of their Drugcam system for the sterile IV compounding of oncology preparations. Afterwards, we all shared an amazing dinner together. I must say, La Rochelle is definitely one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited in France!! I would absolutely love the opportunity to come back next time for an actual vacation here ?!

I have always been a big fan of TED talks, so when my friend Michael Kasey said he was organizing an independent TEDx talk in Chagrin Falls, about 6 months ago, and wanted to know if I would be interested in speaking about “the power of forgiveness,” of course I said yes!! So we spent the entire morning today, as well as, the first part of the afternoon, filming with a camera crew from NYC, at the Chagrin Valley Little Theater. Everything went really well. Hopefully, we will get everything back from editing in about a month, or so. All of the speakers were absolutely amazing and Michael did a great job producing and hosting his first TEDx event!!

This past week was very productive for the Emily Jerry Foundation! I was given the great privilege of being invited to Texas Children’s Hospital to give five CE & CME accredited presentations. All five talks were related to patient & medication safety, preventable medical error, and stopping tragedies BEFORE they happen, by focusing on the “inherent human error component of medicine,” and the modification of core systems, processes, and protocols in healthcare. I was extremely impressed with both the frontline clinician/caregiver team, as well as, the executive leadership at TCH, who all appeared to be clearly focused on putting patient safety first at their world renowned facility! Bottom line, Texas Children’s Hospital is truly an amazing place, providing exceptional care to what I feel is our nation’s most valuable asset, our babies and children! ?

I felt honored to be asked to give the keynote, this past week, for the 2nd Annual Baxter Medication Delivery User Group Meeting, in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Baxter has been a committed medication safety partner of the Emily Jerry Foundation for many years!

Even though I am still recovering from that horrible accident I was in on February 22nd, where I was literally hit by a Mack truck, it feels really good to be just starting to get back to doing the work that I am so passionate about with the Emily Jerry Foundation! This week I felt very privileged to be invited to speak at the University of Rochester Medical Center. I have already given two CE accredited lectures on patient and medication safety to the entire pharmacy staff. Today, I will be finishing up my visit to URMC by giving a special hospital-wide Grand Safety Rounds lecture to all of these amazing clinician/caregivers, who share my exact same passion for saving lives from preventable medical error!