Friends:
The inspiration for today's post comes from Jessica Skelley, PharmD, Pharmacy Practice Resident at the Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) . Our faculty (Drs. Lander and Dugan) and residents (currently Drs. Skelley and Monroe) who practice at the JCDH provide a such a valued service to our immediate and surrounding community. Recently, one of the JCDH patients, with whom our faculty and residents have regular interaction, wrote a letter of support to assist them an effort to apply for a practice-based award of recognition. Below is the letter this patient wrote the awards selection committee about our transformative pharmacy team at JCDH:
"Dear Award Selection Committee,
My name is Name Withheld, and I am a 55 year old Caucasian woman with Type 2 diabetes. I have had diabetes for several years, but have always had trouble controlling my diabetes and my blood sugar. My physician at the health department, Dr. Name Withheld, referred me to the Diabetes Clinic to help me have better control over my diabetes. When I first began seeing the Diabetes Clinic pharmacists in September 2010, my A1C was 11.7%. They explained to me what my goal A1C was, and how to better take care of myself. They helped teach me how to test and log my blood sugars, and how my medications help to treat my diabetes and the importance of taking them. We discussed diet, exercise, and setting attainable goals for myself. With all of my medical complications and my age, my physician relied on the pharmacists heavily for medication choices and dosage adjustments. They also called me regularly to check in on me and see how my blood sugar was doing- it was encouraging and helpful for me to be able to touch base with them so frequently, and helped keep me on track with managing my diabetes. When I came to clinic to see them they took time to talk with me and listen to the whole picture. With their (the pharmacist's) help and encouragement, I was able to reach an A1C of 7.2% by December 2010!
I am not the only person impressed with my progress. An endocrinologist that I saw at Cooper Green Mercy Hospital checked my A1C the last time that I saw her, and she was so amazed at the change in my diabetes control that she asked what I was doing differently. I told her about the pharmacist team that runs the Diabetes Clinic at the health department, and she asked me to put her in touch with them so she could learn more about what they are doing and how they are so effective with patients like me. It encourages me that my medical team is reaching out to each other simply because they want to help other patients like me, and learn from each other the best way to do it. Without the help of the Diabetes Clinic, I don’t know where I would be. They have helped me take control of my own health and better understand how to manage my diabetes. They have even helped me successfully quit smoking, and I have been smoke-free for 4 years. I am so grateful for everything they have done to help me and all the other patients that they see.
Sincerely,
Name Withheld "
We will be sure to let you know how the awards selection process works out!
This is a great example of MSOP PREPARING PHARMACISTS WHO TRANSFORM LIVES. Thanks to Jessica Skelley PharmD, Pharmacy Practice Resident at the Jefferson County Health Department (JCHD) and her colleagues for working with this patient and literally "transforming" her life. Thanks also to Michael Fleenor MD, Chief Medical Officer, JCHD, for working with MSOP to make this collaborative practice involving the provision of clinical pharmacy services for the improvement of the health of the people of Jefferson County.
ReplyDeleteThis is an exciting example of how deeper collaborations between pharmacists and physicians lead to remarkable improvements of markers for health in the patients we both serve. There is a great deal of ongoing debate during this legislative session in Montgomery about the expanded roles that pharmacists can play for patients. Models like this at Jefferson County Department of Health that use an integrated practice involving pharmacy residents from McWhorter School of Pharmacy should help inform this ongoing debate, particularly in areas that have virtually no consistent ongoing health care except what can be obtained in the community pharmacy. In an historically medically underserved state like Alabama, what makes these programs work so effectively should be studied carefully and replicated elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteMichael Fleenor, MD, Chief Medical Officer and CEO, Jefferson County Health Department
Jessica Skelley had this to say following a note of thanks to her for her contribution to the blog.
ReplyDelete-----------------------------------------------
Dr. Sands,
Thank you so much for your e-mail. I am glad that I could help to contribute to our story through the blog; it is a small way to give back to the school responsible for making me into the pharmacist that I am today. I am so thankful for the unique perspective of MSOP on Christ's love and how it translates to the way that we care for our patients, because it is something that plays in important role in my everyday practice. To me, caring for the whole person- not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually is truly how you transform a life, and I believe we see that evidence every day with our patients at the health department. Have a blessed week!