Alumni from Ohio Northern University’s Raabe College of Pharmacy received two awards and several appointments during the 135th Ohio Pharmacists Association (OPA) Annual Conference and Trade Show in Columbus, Ohio, from April 12-14.
Paul White, a 1966 ONU graduate, received the 2013 Pharmacist Public Relations Award, which is presented annually to honor a pharmacist for continuous service to the community in educating the public on pharmacy-related issues and safe medicine use. White is the owner of the Medicine Center Pharmacies in the Canton, Ohio, area.
White is committed to patient care and educating the public about the vital role pharmacists play in keeping them healthy. He hosts an hour-long, health-related talk show on a local radio station during which he welcomes health care professionals from different specialties as guest speakers.
The public is invited to submit questions in advance, or call in and talk with these professionals about their area of expertise.
Cathy Kuhn, a 2006 ONU graduate from Dublin, Ohio, received the 2013 Distinguished Young Pharmacist Award. Additionally, Kuhn was installed as executive committee member-at-large. Sponsored by Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company, the Distinguished Young Pharmacist Award recognizes a pharmacist who has graduated in the last 10 years and has made significant contributions to the profession of pharmacy.
Kuhn currently serves on the American Pharmacists Association’s (APhA) Editorial Advisory Board of the Pharmacy Today publication, and she is a new practitioner officer for APhA’s Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management, for which she is a member of the Education Committee.
In 2011, she was awarded the APhA Distinguished New Practitioner Award. As an assistant professor at the South Carolina College of Pharmacy, she implemented a community pharmacy residency program and a medication therapy management (MTM) elective course. Kuhn is the MTM coordinator for the Kroger Patient Care Center, Columbus Division.
Jeff Bartone, a 2008 ONU graduate from Oakwood, Ohio, was installed as OPA vice president. Bartone practices at Hock’s Pharmacy in Tipp City, Ohio. He also has practiced at Walgreens Pharmacy in Dayton and Hock’s Pharmacy in Vandalia, Ohio. An OPA member since 2007, Bartone has been an active member of the OPA Independent Special Interest Group for several years and has shown a keen interest in issues impacting independent pharmacy practice.
He also has volunteered on the OPA Finance Committee, Long Range Plan Committee, and Member Services & Development Committee. As a member of the OPA Executive Committee the last two years, Bartone worked to increase membership and increase communication between the board and the membership.
Craig Kimble, a 1998 ONU graduate, was installed as a trustee representing District 7 in southeast Ohio. Kimble is corporate director of pharmacy for Fruth Corporation, overseeing the pharmacy operations of 25 stores in southern Ohio and West Virginia. Kimble has been an active member of professional pharmacy organizations, including various committees of OPA.
Kevin Fuschetto, a 2007 ONU graduate from Canfield, Ohio, was installed as a trustee representing District 14. Fuschetto is clinical pharmacist for Giant Eagle Pharmacy in Salem, Ohio, coordinating medication therapy management services for patients. He is a member of OPA’s Disease State Management Task Force. In 2011, Fuschetto received OPA’s Upsher-Smith Innovative Pharmacy Practice Award.
Ben Holter, a 2008 ONU graduate from Athens, Ohio, was installed as a trustee representing District 8. Holter is the pharmacy manager/pharmacist in charge at The Drugstore at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens.
Established in 1879, OPA represents more than 4,000 pharmacists, pharmacy educators and pharmacy students throughout the state. OPA’s mission is to unite the profession of pharmacy and encourage interprofessional relations while promoting public health through education, discussion and legislation.
