Last week in Fargo, on behalf of the Emily Jerry Foundation, I had the privilege of speaking at the Northland Association of Pharmacy Technicians (NAPT) 32nd Annual Fall Conference and was also honored to be invited to lecture again at the North Dakota State University‘s College of Health and Human Sciences. The auditorium was filled with interprofessional students, primarily future pharmacists and nurses, who listened with attentiveness and engaged with a real sense of purpose.
As was the case with this presentation, I’m always so grateful to be invited back to speak to the next generation of future leaders in healthcare and was deeply humbled and inspired by their overall energy. These young professionals will soon step into roles where every decision they make will directly affect patients’ lives. What makes moments like this so meaningful is my unwavering belief that their leadership, compassion, and dedication will be pivotal in preventing medication errors, advancing patient safety, and driving the lasting changes in healthcare that we are all striving for…changes that will ultimately end up saving countless lives!
As I often remind students during my lectures, the guardian angel logo of the Emily Jerry Foundation, modeled after my beautiful daughter, Emily, isn’t there solely because I believe she is my guardian angel (though I know she is). She is their guardian angel too, representing the human side of their future careers in healthcare. We are all patients at some point in our lives, as are our loved ones. Keeping this human side of healthcare at the center of everything they do on a day-to-day basis, always striving to provide the best possible care for every single one of their patients, will surely make all the difference throughout their entire careers.
For me, these experiences are deeply personal. I share Emily’s story not only to honor her memory but also to shed light on the human cost of medical error. Emily’s life was tragically cut short in 2006 by a preventable medication error, one instance of a far broader issue that unfortunately claims hundreds of thousands of lives every year in the U.S. These tragedies are not inevitable. They are preventable. And preventable means they simply do not have to happen.
A heartfelt thank you to Dr. Heidi Eukel, Professor of Pharmacy Practice at NDSU, for inviting me and making this event possible. I am profoundly grateful to their entire staff and students, for the warm welcome and for embracing the importance of this vital conversation.
Last Updated: October 22, 2025 by ejfadmin
Speaking Engagement at the Northland Association of Pharmacy Technicians (NAPT) 32nd Annual Fall Conference
Last week in Fargo, on behalf of the Emily Jerry Foundation, I had the privilege of speaking at the Northland Association of Pharmacy Technicians (NAPT) 32nd Annual Fall Conference and was also honored to be invited to lecture again at the North Dakota State University‘s College of Health and Human Sciences. The auditorium was filled with interprofessional students, primarily future pharmacists and nurses, who listened with attentiveness and engaged with a real sense of purpose.
As was the case with this presentation, I’m always so grateful to be invited back to speak to the next generation of future leaders in healthcare and was deeply humbled and inspired by their overall energy. These young professionals will soon step into roles where every decision they make will directly affect patients’ lives. What makes moments like this so meaningful is my unwavering belief that their leadership, compassion, and dedication will be pivotal in preventing medication errors, advancing patient safety, and driving the lasting changes in healthcare that we are all striving for…changes that will ultimately end up saving countless lives!
As I often remind students during my lectures, the guardian angel logo of the Emily Jerry Foundation, modeled after my beautiful daughter, Emily, isn’t there solely because I believe she is my guardian angel (though I know she is). She is their guardian angel too, representing the human side of their future careers in healthcare. We are all patients at some point in our lives, as are our loved ones. Keeping this human side of healthcare at the center of everything they do on a day-to-day basis, always striving to provide the best possible care for every single one of their patients, will surely make all the difference throughout their entire careers.
For me, these experiences are deeply personal. I share Emily’s story not only to honor her memory but also to shed light on the human cost of medical error. Emily’s life was tragically cut short in 2006 by a preventable medication error, one instance of a far broader issue that unfortunately claims hundreds of thousands of lives every year in the U.S. These tragedies are not inevitable. They are preventable. And preventable means they simply do not have to happen.
A heartfelt thank you to Dr. Heidi Eukel, Professor of Pharmacy Practice at NDSU, for inviting me and making this event possible. I am profoundly grateful to their entire staff and students, for the warm welcome and for embracing the importance of this vital conversation.
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Our Mission
The Emily Jerry Foundation is determined to help make our nation’s, world renowned, medical facilities safer for everyone, beginning with our babies and children. We are accomplishing this very important objective by focusing on increasing public awareness of key patient safety related issues and identifying technology and best practices that are proven to minimize the “human error” component of medicine. Through our ongoing efforts The Emily Jerry Foundation is working hard to save lives every day.
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