OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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Rick (‘71) graduated from OSU with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and then received his Certificate in Management/Supervision from Portland Community College in 1975. In 1987, he was a fellow of Executive Management Program for Directors of Hospital Pharmacy at the University of Pennsylvania Leonard Davis Institute of Home Economics.
He is currently the Regional Pharmacy Director for Portland’s Providence Health System, responsible for regional pharmacy operations, which oversees inpatient pharmacy services at three care hospitals and two retail pharmacies.
Rick is active in the professional community, serving as a member of the House of Delegates for ASHP four times and serving on the board of OSHP in positions from secretary to the president. He has been a part of many other committees and advisory boards, including the Essential Health Clinic Board of Directors and the Board of Pharmacy Medication Error Reduction Task Force. He is currently a Legal and Regulatory Affairs Council Member with OSHP and an adjunct faculty member with the OSU College of Pharmacy.
He received the McKesson Award from the College of Pharmacy in 1971 and was named Oregon Hospital Pharmacist of the Year in 1984. In both 1983 and 1988, he was awarded the OSHP President’s Award and in 1989 received the OSHP Board of Director’s Award.
Rick has been married for 38 years to his wife, Cindy, and has two sons, who he considers his personal heroes, and one and a half grandchildren. He is proud of his 37 years at Providence and seeing the expansion of the clinical role of the pharmacist at Providence.
Helen (’81) received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from OSU and went on to complete a Hospital/Clinical Pharmacy residency at Indiana University Hospitals. In 1983, she attended Purdue University, obtaining her Doctor of Pharmacy degree.
Helen has had many accomplishments during her 28 years in Pharmacy. Within her three-year time frame as OSHP president, she worked with other pharmacy leaders to establish the first statute in Oregon that recognized the roll of pharmacy technicians in pharmacy practice. During her eight-year tenure - two as president - on the Oregon Board of Pharmacy, the practice of “collaborative drug therapy management” became formalized and recognized as a legitimate practice administered by pharmacists via orders from physicians.
While working at Oregon Health & Science University as a Clinical Pharmacist Team Leader, she established ESRD, the Renal Transplant Unit, and Cardiac & Surgical ICU Clinical pharmacy services. As the Director of Drug Information & Clinical Pharmacy at Kaiser Permanente, Helen established the first clinical outpatient pharmacy services for KP Northwest to augment drug information and formulary management program.
Currently, Helen is the Pharmacy Director at Providence Health Plans for Portland. Her responsibilities include pharmacy benefit management with $150 million annualized outpatient prescription drug & injectable medication expenditures. Scope includes prescription benefit design, drug therapy initiatives, clinical pharmacy interventions, formulary development and all administrative aspects of managing pharmacy issues within an approximately 200,000 member-managed care health plan.
Helen has a wonderful and supportive family that includes her husband, Alan, and four children who are in the process of growing up. Helen says there is never a dull moment in her life!
George graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Drake University in Des Moines, IA, in 1955. He then joined the U.S. Army and served until 1957. In the army, he met a pharmacist from Portland who helped him get a job at a Portland pharmacy. He is currently “retired” but writing several newsletters for Prestige Care.
Named an Honorary Alumnus for the OSU College of Pharmacy, he also served as an instructor and was named a Preceptor of the Year. His past experience includes retail pharmacy, research, marketing and consultation. He even spent time learning television production in order to make better instructional videos for pharmacists. While working as a full-time pharmacist, he put together multi-image presentations and training tapes for his company to train trustees in rural hospitals.
He is involved with several professional organizations, including being a full fellow with the American College of Apothecaries and the American College of Consultant Pharmacists. He was past secretary and delegate of OSPA and past president of both OSCP and PSOP. He served on the board of directors for OSPA, Geriatric Dental Group and Oregon Drug Utilization Review. He is the current chairman of the Pharmacy Advisory Committee for the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy.
Throughout his career, he has accumulated many awards, including a Leadership Award as Region XI Director of the ACA and Pharmacist of the Year from the Portland Retail Druggists’ Association.
He is married to his wife, Mary, and has five children and four grandchildren. George says Mary has always supported him and is the one who should receive the Icons award.
Photos by Derrick Lepin - foh kus Photography