2024 Incentive Grant Recipient: Megan Ditzman, PharmD
Project Proposal: Implementation and Evaluation of a Long-Term Care at Home Service in a Rural Community Pharmacy Setting
Megan Ditzman is a PGY-1 Community Resident at Osterhaus Pharmacy in Maquoketa, IA. She graduated from Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
“As community pharmacies continue to grow and evolve to provide patient-centered care, a big part of that is creating healthcare access for those in rural communities. The aging population is a patient group that tends to be left behind due to limited mobility/transportation, so the Long-Term Care at Home model is designed for those individuals. Long term care and community pharmacy have been my primary practice interests since I started pharmacy school, so being able to practice both is so rewarding.”
"Long-Term Care at Home can close many gaps in rural communities like mine. Allowing the aging population to stay in their homes for longer can improve quality of life and relieve potential financial burden that can arise from being in an LTC facility. My community, like many others, has a large aging population and they deserve to be taken care of at the top of a pharmacists’ training."
"I am honored to receive an Incentive Grant this year and am excited for the opportunity to initiate a valuable population health service encompassing interventions designed specifically to identify and target patients with gaps in our healthcare system. I look forward to seeing my project unfold in my community this year, and I’m excited to see the positive outcomes that it creates."