About this Resource Center
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) developed this resource center – Stop the flu - it starts with you! – to inform, educate, and engage pharmacists as advocates in efforts to improve seasonal influenza immunization rates among health care workers. This resource center is supported by an educational grant from Merck.
Expert Panel
ASHP commissioned a panel of immunization experts to serve as advisors in the development of this resource center. Members of the panel are listed below.
Stephan L. Foster, Pharm.D., FAPhA
CAPT (Ret.), United States Public Health Service
Vice Chair for Community Practice
Department of Clinical Pharmacy
University of Tennessee Memphis
College of Pharmacy
Memphis, Tennessee
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Stephan L. Foster, Pharm.D., FAPhA, is Vice Chair for Community Practice in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Tennessee (UT) Memphis College of Pharmacy. He also has a clinical practice at the University of Tennessee Family Medicine Clinic, where he has a joint faculty appointment with the department of family medicine. Dr. Foster is also Vice Chair for community practice as well as Director of the UT Office of Community Health, which includes the community pharmacy residency program.
Dr. Foster is nationally recognized in the field of immunization. He is the liaison representing the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA) for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Foster also serves on the advisory panel and is a faculty member for the APhA Immunization Certificate program. He has lectured nationally on a variety of issues pertaining to pharmacist participation in immunization programs and activities.
Dr. Foster teaches in the following subject areas: immunization delivery, physical assessment, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, bioterrorism, and patient consultation.
Dr. Foster was with the United States Public Health Service for 20 years and retired on March 1, 1998. During this time, he was trained and certified as a pharmacist practitioner and was able to perform direct patient care. Dr. Foster is a licensed "pharmacist clinician" in the state of New Mexico.
Seena L. Haines, Pharm.D., BC-ADM, CDE
Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice
Palm Beach Atlantic University
Lloyd L. Gregor School of Pharmacy
West Palm Beach, Florida
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Seena L. Haines, Pharm.D., BC-ADM, CDE is Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and a founding faculty member at the Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBAU), Lloyd L. Gregor School of Pharmacy in West Palm Beach, Florida. Dr. Haines established the first pharmacy practice residency at PBAU and serves as the Residency Director. Her teaching focuses on disease prevention and health promotion, which includes immunization certificate training for students and residents through the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA). She also serves as a national trainer for the APhA Immunization Certificate program.
Dr. Haines serves as Director of Pharmacy Services at four community health centers. The four Integrated Pharmacotherapy Services™ clinics have received recognition by the Diabetes Self-Management Education American Diabetes Association as a single-provider, multisite program and have been awarded $750,000 in grant funding to provide pharmacist-directed primary care to the underserved.
Dr. Haines is the administrator of the Medication Data Services Prescription Assistance Program for Palm Beach County. She also serves on the Palm Beach County Immunization Coalition.
Dr. Haines was the founding chair and a member of the ASHP Section Advisory Group on Reimbursement for Cognitive Services, chair of the inaugural American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Self-Care Special Interest Group, and inaugural fellow of the AACP Academic Leadership Fellows program. Among her awards are Preceptor of Distinction (2009) and a Hero in Medicine award finalist (2008).
Dr. Haines received her Bachelor of Science degree from Florida International University in Miami and her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale. She completed a postgraduate residency in ambulatory care at Nova Southeastern University. She is a certified diabetes educator and is board-certified in advanced diabetes management.
Jill True Robke, Pharm.D., BCPS, FASHP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
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Jill True Robke, Pharm.D., BCPS, FASHP, is a clinical pharmacy specialist at St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City. Dr. Robke, who is the manager of St. Luke's inpatient immunization program, is an active immunization advocate. In 2003, she received an ASHP Best Practices in Health-System Pharmacy award for a program that resulted in improved immunization rates in at-risk patients. Dr. Robke was also the recipient of an Immunization Advocacy grant provided by the ASHP Research and Education Foundation.
Dr. Robke is also active in the area of pulmonary medicine. She serves as a preceptor for the internal medicine and pulmonary rotations for both pharmacy practice residents and students. Dr. Robke's research interests include improving the immunization rates in at-risk patients, managing pneumonia, and improving work-life balance in the workplace.
Dr. Robke has been an active ASHP member and has served on the ASHP Council on Therapeutics, ASHP Task Force on Changing Demographics, and the ASHP Research and Education Foundation Development committee. Dr. Robke was also on the review panel for the ASHP Foundation Literature Awards program, which recognizes important contributions to the pharmacy literature of pharmacy practice in health systems.
Among the awards Dr. Robke has received are the Missouri Health-System Pharmacist of the Year (2004), one of the Drug Topics Pharmacists of the Year (2002), and the Missouri Society of Health-System Pharmacists Research Award (1997 and 2001).
Dr. Robke received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Kansas in 1994.
Mary Andrawis, Pharm.D., M.P.H.
Director of Clinical Guidelines and Quality Improvement
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Bethesda, Maryland
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Mary Andrawis, Pharm.D., M.P.H., is Director of Clinical Guidelines and Quality Improvement for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) in Bethesda, Maryland. A member of the ASHP staff since August 2008, her responsibilities include advocacy to national quality improvement and patient safety organizations, policy analysis, clinical guideline development, and testimony before government agencies to promote the safe and effective use of medications.
Dr. Andrawis also has experience in emergency preparedness at both the department and facility levels. She has participated in state and national emergency preparedness activities.
Dr. Andrawis received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the South Dakota State University College of Pharmacy in 2006. She completed a pharmacy administration residency at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned a Masters of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in June of 2008.
Why is influenza immunization of health care workers important?
Seasonal influenza is a serious respiratory illness with considerable morbidity and mortality. An estimated 36,000 Americans die every year of influenza and its complications.
Viral shedding begins a day or two before symptoms appear, so health care workers can acquire influenza and unwittingly transmit the virus to their patients, co-workers, and family before even knowing they are ill.
Influenza immunization rates in health care workers are low (36% to 42%) despite evidence of the efficacy and safety of the vaccine in preventing illness in staff and patients and reducing employee absenteeism. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends annual influenza immunization for health care workers.
Why design this resource center for pharmacists?
Pharmacists, as experts and educators in safe and effective medication use, are uniquely qualified to lead efforts within health systems to encourage influenza immunization of their colleagues. One of the primary barriers in immunization of health care workers is misconceptions about the influenza virus and vaccines. As a respected and trusted source of drug information, pharmacists can both educate and motivate health care workers to get vaccinated against influenza each year.
About the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
ASHP is a 35,000-member national professional association that represents pharmacists who practice in hospitals, health maintenance organizations, long-term care facilities, home care, and other components of health care systems. ASHP is the only national organization of hospital and health-system pharmacists and has a long history of improving medication use and enhancing patient safety. ASHP believes that the mission of pharmacists is to help people make the best use of medications. The mission of ASHP is to advance and support the professional practice of pharmacists in hospitals and health systems and serve as their collective voice on issues related to medication use and public health.
