Immunization Champions
APhA staff
The pharmacy profession’s dedication to protecting people from vaccine-preventable diseases is evident in the work of the innovative pharmacists, practices, and community leaders who are recipients of this year’s APhA Immunization Champion Awards. Established in 2008, these special awards recognize the value and extraordinary contributions pharmacists provide to improving the vaccination rates in their communities. APhA is proud to honor the following recipients, who demonstrated excellence in the areas of impact, collaboration, originality, and overcoming challenges, as well as in creating opportunities for pharmacists.
Individual Practitioner, National Winner
Heather Stewart (Saco, ME)
Heather Stewart, PharmD, has made significant and lasting contributions to pharmacist-delivered immunization services, immunization access, and emergency preparedness. After earning her pharmacy degree from the University of New England in 2014, Stewart has worked as a community pharmacy manager at Walgreens Pharmacy in Portland, ME, where she provides immunization services, blood pressure and diabetes screenings, and drug take-backs. Through her innovative collaborations with local, state, and federal partners, Stewart has expanded the pharmacist’s role as an immunizer and extended pharmacy services into new practice areas in southern Maine.
At off-site clinics, she has coordinated 32 immunization clinics, providing more than 1,800 flu shots and more than 700 nonflu shots—pneumococcal, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, MMR, zoster—in a variety of locations in Maine and New Hampshire in 2018. In 2019, she coordinated 37 immunization clinics, providing 50 to 150 immunizations at each event.
Stewart has also partnered with local and state agencies to coordinate emergency preparedness drills. She has created a partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, Sector Northern New England, to conduct point-of-dispensing exercises for emergency preparedness in 2017, 2018, and 2019. More than 100 immunizations are administered at each of these events for active-duty Coast Guard personnel.
Stewart is passionately committed to pharmacists’ role in community health. She also serves as the clinical rotation coordinator for Walgreens in southern Maine and precepted 33 student pharmacists at these community immunization events in 2018 and 2019.
Corporation/Institution, National Winner
Sand Run Pharmacy (Akron, OH)
When you hear the term “Immunization Neighborhood” in Akron, OH, what comes to mind is Sand Run Pharmacy. Established in the 1950s, the current pharmacist owners (Tom and Meg Lamb) have celebrated 30 years there this month. They began administering vaccines in 2001, and since then have administered over 100,000 vaccines. Just this past year, Sand Run Pharmacy increased the number of vaccines it administered by 59%.
It does not matter whether you are 8 or 88, the Sand Run Pharmacy staff is trained and ready to help you meet your vaccination needs. Their accessibility and willingness to go out into the community make Sand Run Pharmacy the top immunizer in the greater Akron area. They are in schools, community centers, and businesses to help protect neighbors from the flu. They work with many employer groups as a provider of not only influenza vaccines, but also hepatitis series, pneumonia, and even shingles vaccines for at-risk employees. Employer health benefit providers view Sand Run Pharmacy as the organization to recommend to local employers to help keep their staff healthy.
Senior luncheons and public health events, as well as fall prevention programs and Medicare education seminars, look to Sand Run Pharmacy to be ready and willing to provide vaccinations and education to the public. The staff answers questions and gives vaccine recommendations, along with warm smiles. Putting the medication and vaccination experts in the heart of the community is what an immunization neighborhood is all about.
“Have you had your flu shot?” These seemingly simple words can have a major impact. By working as a team and engaging with every patient they see, the staff can ensure the community is adequately protected against the flu and other diseases such as shingles or pneumonia. They reassure many patients with questions on the vaccines, letting them know they are safe and the benefit of the vaccine is well worth the pain of the needle. They also make sure that travelers are protected with the vaccines they need.
The community Sand Run Pharmacy serves provides vast opportunities to work with different cultures. The pharmacy provides necessary vaccines to many immigrants and international students living in the area. With these interactions, the pharmacy staff has formed cross-cultural bonds with patients that have strengthened their community.
Staff are not only trained on how to care for patients and their vaccine needs, but also pride themselves in supporting other independent pharmacies to improve their vaccination numbers. If a pharmacy does not know where to get started or has problems billing a claim, Sand Run Pharmacy is there to help. Sand Run’s staff want their fellow pharmacy friends to meet the needs of their own patients just as much as they want to meet the needs of theirs.
Corporation/Institution, National Winner
Walgreens Co. (Deerfield, IL)
The Community Outreach Program began in 2015 as a new way for Walgreens to foster and build relationships within communities and provide access to immunizations. This program allows Walgreens pharmacists to schedule immunization clinics with local businesses and provide immunizations at the client’s convenience.
Over time, the program has grown exponentially. A total of 149,830 immunization clinics have been conducted since its inception. Of the total number of immunizations administered via the Community Outreach Program, 16% were administered at charity clinics.
This program does not demonstrate one single achievement for Walgreens, but rather continuous achievements that allow an increased protection in the communities Walgreens serves. The Community Outreach Program is another way that Walgreens as a company differentiates itself and strengthens relationships within communities. By bringing the vaccines to the patients, Walgreens is helping to stop the spread of preventable illness, fostering relationships, and making an impact where it counts—in communities.
In 2013, Walgreens and the United Nations (UN) Foundation launched the annual Get a Shot. Give a Shot.® campaign to help provide lifesaving vaccines to children in need. For every immunization administered at a Walgreens or Duane Reade pharmacy, Walgreens donates the value of a polio or measles vaccine for a child in a developing country. The Get a Shot. Give a Shot.® campaign has garnered significant support across the United States, which has bolstered the impact the program has made on the lives of children around the world while also protecting individuals here in the United States. Since 2013, Walgreens has donated over 50 million vaccine doses to countries in need of immunizations.
In addition to the Get a Shot. Give a Shot.® campaign, Walgreens offers free flu shot vouchers to patients in underinsured and underserved communities within the United States and Puerto Rico. The Walgreens Free Flu Shot Voucher program originally started in 2010 as a partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to protect underserved communities from the flu. Since then, Walgreens has fully funded this initiative, and more than 1.5 million vouchers have been redeemed by patients. This demonstrates originality and a commitment to prioritize protecting the communities Walgreens serves.
Coupled with the flu shot voucher is the Walgreens Flu Index® report, which compiles live flu activity data for public use. For six seasons, Walgreens has put out the Walgreens Flu Index® to help communities, health officials, media, and more get a grasp on flu activity in their area to remind them to take preventable measures such as vaccination. The Walgreens Flu Index is a weekly report ranking the top markets and states for flu activity in the United States, including Puerto Rico.
Community Outreach, National Winner
Zeshan Mahmood (Alexandria, VA)
Zeshan Mahmood, PharmD, has led the development and implementation of Providing Access to Vaccines for Everyone (PAVE), an interdisciplinary pediatric immunization program and clinic site in conjunction with George Mason University’s Mason and Partners Clinics and the Fairfax County Public School system.
Students registering for school are referred to the interdisciplinary clinic staffed with nurse practitioners, registered nurses, medical assistants, social workers, pharmacists, and students of every discipline in relevant programs from George Mason University, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy, and Shenandoah School of Pharmacy. Nurse practitioners conduct physical exams of the students, then the pharmacy team, working under a collaborative practice agreement, conducts an immunization assessment and reconciliation. The pharmacy team also provides all necessary vaccinations, education, and documentation to the students and families for free under the Virginia Vaccine for Children (VVFC) program; and utilizes the Virginia Immunization Information System (VIIS) to ensure up-to-date immunization records for all patients in the state registry.
In addition, Mahmood has created a training program and protocols for pharmacists to appropriately participate in PAVE and learn how to conduct immunization assessments, education, vaccine administration, and documentation in the practice’s electronic health record. Since PAVE’s launch, conditional enrollments of students without up-to-date immunizations have decreased in Fairfax County Public Schools by 30%.
Mahmood has worked extensively with other health care providers—primarily nurse practitioners, medical assistants, registered nurses, and social workers—in providing immunization services, ensuring immunization compliance and education, and improving community immunization rates.
Mahmood also conducts presentations in the community on immunization awareness and education, including to local student pharmacists and to a group of parent liaisons at Fairfax County Public Schools responsible for assisting immigrant parents in registering their children for school.
Under Mahmood’s leadership, PAVE has become an exemplary and innovative care model leveraging unique partnerships in the community and in the patient care setting to achieve increased vaccination rates, access, and education.
Travel Health, National Winner
Karl Hess (Irvine, CA)
In 2007, Karl Hess, PharmD, APh, CTH, FCPhA, FAPhA, AFTM RCPS, established a travel health clinic at an independent pharmacy. It was one of the first to be located in an independent community pharmacy in the United States, the outcomes of which have been published in Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. This clinic is also recognized by CDC as an official yellow fever vaccination center and is a part of the Global TravEpiNet (GTEN) network of travel health clinics in the United States.
This clinic has increased the public’s access to travel health services. Prior to its opening, the nearest travel health clinic in the community was over 30 miles away.
Hess has organized the Village Venture Health Fair for Hendricks Pharmacy since 2006, which sees approximately 20,000 to 30,000 people walk through each year and provides influenza vaccines and screening services to the public. Hess organized and ran interprofessional influenza vaccination clinics at Western University of Health Sciences, which provided vaccinations for approximately 800 people per year. In his role as APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice & Management Immunizing Pharmacist SIG coordinator, he worked with the National Vaccine Program Office as part of a partnership with APhA. In this initiative, he facilitated discussion on the APhA ENGAGE Platform to promote the use of vaccines, particularly HPV, as part of the Adult Immunization Standards. These efforts have helped pharmacists evolve as a valued and recognizable partner in immunization delivery and as part of the immunization neighborhood.
Hess was appointed to be APhA’s representative on CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Working Group for rabies vaccine. He is the only pharmacist on this working group and collaborates with physicians, nurses, public health experts, and representatives from the U.S. and Canadian governments to review current data on pre- and postexposure rabies vaccination schedules as well as data on alternate schedules and routes of administration (i.e., intradermal) to update and bring the United States’ rabies vaccine schedules in line with the rest of the world.
Hess also maintains an active presence in the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) where he serves on the Steering Council for the Pharmacists Professional Group (PPG) and was recently elected Chair-Elect of the group. In addition, he is working to develop student PPG chapters to help create an awareness of travel health issues among student pharmacists and to build a pipeline of new practitioners in the field of travel health.
Hess is currently working with faculty at Chapman University to help implement a travel health teleservice for Hendricks Pharmacy and his own pharmacy in Anaheim, CA.
Pharmacy Team Member, National Winner
Christine Ramos (Coachella, CA)
Christine Ramos, CPhT, has a passion for helping low-income and uninsured residents receive their free flu shots for the last 8 years. By leveraging a company-wide program Walgreens has with the United Nations, Ramos organizes and performs outreaches in her community to set up free flu shot clinics with the goal of enhancing the pharmacist’s role in preventive care and in elevating the immunization rate in the community she serves.
Through her strong networking with health care providers, charitable organizations, and churches, Ramos initiates and organizes free flu clinics every flu season. As a store manager and a nonpharmacist, she uses her leadership skills and collaborative attitude to influence others and get them to buy into her desire to help residents in need.
For the last 8 years, Ramos also has worked with and volunteered her time to the “Flying Doctor’s Event,” in which doctors from all over the country fly in to offer free services to residents that are uninsured or unable to afford medical care. The event provides care to about 2,000 residents annually. Through various collaborations, Ramos and her pharmacy team have provided over 700 free flu shots for this season alone.
As a Spanish speaker herself, she has volunteered at events to translate and help many non-English speakers communicate and learn the value of prevention. By reaching out to the Mexican Consulate, she assists a population that otherwise does not get the care they need. By collaborating with the priest at the church, Ramos extends her time and commitment to churchgoers on Sunday and makes it possible for them to get care as part of their church attendance.
Time and resources, including pharmacist labor, vaccines, and related supplies, are limited. To reach her goal, Ramos works diligently with her district manager and plans well in advance to secure what is needed.
Friend of Pharmacy, National Winner
Michelle Martinez (Whiteriver, AZ)
Michelle Martinez, FNPc, MPH, is a member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe and has been in her current role of Whiteriver Service Unit (WRSU) CEO since 2008. During her tenure, the pharmacy department staff has more than doubled to meet the demands of WRSU’s nationally recognized and awarded pharmacy program. Pharmacy-based vaccination services laid the foundation to propel WRSU’s advanced pharmacy practice.
Under Martinez’s leadership, WRSU has increased patient access by implementing the first pharmacy-based walk-in vaccination clinic. It has also increased childhood vaccination rates from 55% to 78% and above the national average for the first time since 2013; increased rates of fully immunized children younger than 1 year from 48% to 89%; increased annual flu vaccines administered from 5,000 to 8,000; and administered over 14,000 vaccinations in the community since outreach inception. Through the creation of WRSU’s Hospital Immunization Clinical Coordinator (HICC) position, staffed by a pharmacist, and community outreach program, WRSU increased community access to vaccination care.
From early on in her career as a nurse practitioner to her current role as WRSU CEO of the Phoenix Area Indian Health Service, Martinez has always been an advocate for advanced pharmacy practice. WRSU is located on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation that spans over 1.6 million acres in northeastern Arizona. The service unit employs over 600 staff members, including 40 pharmacists and 25 pharmacy technicians, who serve over 20,000 patients who account for 40,000 emergency department and 120,000 outpatient visits annually.
In 2017, WRSU expanded pharmacy outreach services to include vaccinating high-risk patients with decreased access to care due to transportation issues. Implementation of weekly vaccination efforts in the community included vaccination events at local schools, grocery stores, post offices, VFW, and government offices.
The success of the vaccination community outreach program has helped create a lasting partnership between WRSU and the White Mountain Apache Tribe, which has opened the door for other pharmacy opportunities.
APhA applauds all pharmacists who are working toward improving the health of the people in their communities. APhA also recognizes VaxServe and Pfizer for their support of this awards and recognition program.
Immunization Champions 2020, Honorable Mentions
Individual Practitioner
Erica Mahn, PharmD, BC-ADM
Corporation/Institution
Red Lake Indian Health Service Pharmacy (Tenstrike, MN)
Corporation/Institution
Rite Aid (Camp Hill, PA)
Community Outreach
Sara Fietsam, PharmD
Travel Health
UNC Campus Health Pharmacy (Chapel Hill, NC)