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The Pinnacle Awards

Established in 1998, the Pinnacle Awards celebrate significant contributions to the medication use process leading to enhancements such as increasing patient adherence, reducing adverse drug events, promoting the use of national treatment guidelines, improving patient outcomes, and enhancing communication among the members of the health care team.

Nomination Criteria

  • Anyone can serve as the nominator for a Pinnacle Award.

  • The nominator is not required to be a pharmacist, APhA Foundation donor, or APhA member.

  • Self-nominations are allowed.

  • Former recipients in the individual award category may not be nominated for a second time in the same category.

  • Individuals on the APhA Board of Trustees and APhA Foundation Board of Directors are not eligible.

  • No individuals currently on the selection committee are eligible for nomination.

Category 1:  Individual Award for Career Achievement

Eligibility: Nominees in the Career Achievement category are individuals who by their actions have demonstrated exceptional leadership in enhancing quality in health care and medication use. The award recipient must have engaged in efforts to do the following:

  •  Promote quality health care and catalyze advances in the betterment of medication use.

  •  Cultivate, in professional and personal life, a commitment to quality in health care to increase the well-being of people.

  •  Lead in implementing improvements in medication use and overall health care quality, especially in the areas of improving medication adherence and/or developing or implementing national treatment guidelines or evidence-based medicine.

Category 2: Group Practices, Health Systems, Health Care Corporations

Eligibility: This category recognizes a significant scientific contribution and/or quality improvement project conducted in one or more of the following areas:

  •  Fostering the role of multidisciplinary health care teams in improving medication persistence and adherence.

  •  Adoption of, or adherence to, national treatment guidelines.

  •  Preventing and eliminating adverse drug events.

  •  Developing innovations and improvement techniques to enhance medication use.

  •  Innovation in the management of drug therapy while significantly improving patient outcomes.

Category 3: Voluntary Health Agencies, Nonprofit Organizations, Associations, Government Agencies, and Public/Private Partnerships

Eligibility: Special emphasis in this category is placed on submissions that assist patients and their caregivers in achieving better outcomes from their medications. Examples include:

  •  Patient education initiatives

  •  New health care delivery models in which the patient and/or caregiver figures prominently

  •  Programs that promote patient understanding, improve adherence to drug therapy, or prevent or eliminate adverse drug events

  •  Partnerships between public and private entities to improve patient outcomes.

Application Process

1) A completed nomination form

  • You will be asked to sign in with your APhA member credentials, or non-members can simply make an account by clicking "register" and will subsequently be permitted to access and submit the form

2) A nomination packet (PDF or Word document; not to exceed 10 pages) that includes the following:

  • A brief description of the organization and/or the curriculum vitae of key parties.

  • A narrative describing the efforts undertaken to enhance medication use quality, including a description of how the submission fulfills criteria for the award category. When applicable, nominations should present the work using the framework of continuous quality improvement to explain how the project has improved the medication use process.

  • Data and other information to document measurable improvements in the medication use process.

  • Letters of support, including letters from patients, pharmacists, and/or organizations that are affected by or familiar with the nominee’s efforts.

3) Optional: Up to 10 pages (combined into a single PDF or Word document) of supplemental materials such as letters, articles, and additional data/documents supporting the project’s/individual’s worthiness to receive the award

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Questions about the awards or application process can be sent to Cristian Rodriquez, Executive Fellow, crodriquez@aphanet.org

Timeline

Selection Process

Award selections are made by a Selection Committee appointed by the APhA Foundation Board of Directors on the basis of complete nominations and meeting the nomination criteria above. The Selection Committee is made up of one representative from the APhA Board of Trustees, one representative from the APhA Foundation Board of Directors (who serves as Chair), and three former Pinnacle Award recipients.

Nature of Award

Each Pinnacle Award is a Crystal Eagle atop a marble base with the recipient’s name, location, and year engraved. Depending on available funding, public health considerations, and other factors, the Pinnacle Awards Presentation may either be held in a live or virtual setting. A $1,000 travel stipend will be provided to one recipient or representative for each award when the ceremony is conducted live.

Pinnacle Awards Through the Years

2024 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

Michael E. Klepser, PharmD, FCCP, FIDP

Category 2 Winner: 

Omitted for the 2024 awards cycle

Category 3 Winner:

Dispensary of Hope

2023 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

Stephen F. Eckel, PharmD, MHA

Category 2 Winner: 

Correct Rx Pharmacy Services, Inc.

Category 3 Winner:

St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy

2022 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

Brian L. Erstad, PharmD, MCCM, FCCP, FASHP, BCPS

Category 2 Winner: 

Houston Methodist

Category 3 Winner:

Daily Planet Health Services

2021 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

Jeanine P. Abrons, PharmD, MS, FAPhA

Category 2 Winner: 

University of Michigan Health

Category 3 Winner:

University of Pittsburgh, in collaboration with Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, Pennsylvania Pharmacists Care Network, and Value Drug

2020 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

David Nau RPh, PhD, FAPhA

Category 2 Winner: 

Ohio Health

Category 3 Winner:

ONU HealthWise

2019 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

Rosemary Gibson, MS

Category 2 Winner: 

Premise Health

Category 3 Winner:

Norton Sound Health Corporation

2018 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

Lisa Tonrey, MHA, R.Ph., Ph.C, FAPhA, CAPT, USPHS (retired)

Category 2 Winner: 

Balls Food Stores

Category 3 Winner:

Federal Bureau of Prisons

2017 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

John Sykora, BSPharm, MBA

Category 2 Winner: 

Health Partners

Category 3 Winner:

Community Pharmacy Foundation

2016 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

James M. Hoffman, PharmD, MS, BCPS, FASHP

Category 2 Winner: 

Kelley-Ross Pharmacy Group

Category 3 Winner:

United States Department of Health and Human Services

2015 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD, BCPS, CDE, FAPhA

Category 2 Winner: 

The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy and Division of General Internal Medicine

Category 3 Winner:

Duquesne University Mylan School of Pharmacy – Pharmacy Service Centers and Academic Partners Program

2014 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

Hae Mi Choe, PharmD

Category 2 Winner: 

The Kroger Company

Category 3 Winner:

El Rio Community Health Center

2013 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: 

Steven W. Chen, PharmD, FASHP, FCSHP

Category 2 Winner: 

Community Health Association of Spokane (CHAS)

Category 3 Winner:

The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy's Medication Management Center (MMC)

2012 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Jeff Jellin, PharmD

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Category 2 Winner: The Walgreen Company Immunization Services

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Category 3 Winner: The University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, the Connecticut Pharmacists Association and the Connecticut Department of Social Services 

2011 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Melvin F. Baron, PharmD, MPA, FACA, FCPHA, FAPhA

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Category 2 Winner: The Medication Assistance Program at the Ohio State University

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Category 3 Winner: The Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative (PSPC)

2010 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Dorothy Smith, PharmD

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Category 2 Winner: Maryland P3 Program

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Category 3 Winner: Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA)

2009 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Sylester Flowers, RPh

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Category 2 Winner: Novant Health

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Category 3 Winner: El Rio Community Health Center

2008 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Daniel E. Buffington, Pharm.D., MBA

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Category 2 Winner: Ukrop’s Pharmacy Immunization Program

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Category 3 Winner: National Diabetes Education Program

2007 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Dennis K. Helling, Pharm.D., DSc, FCCP, FASHP

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Category 2 Winner: University of Southern California (USC) School of Pharmacy, Community Pharmacy Group

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Category 3 Winner: National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP)

2006 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Henry I. Bussey Jr., Pharm.D.

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Category 2 Winner: Kerr Drug, Inc. Clinical Services (KDICS)

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Category 3 Winner: KatrinaHealth.org

2005 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Diane Cousins, R.Ph.

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Category 2 Winner: University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy

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Category 3 Winner: National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)

2004 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Bonnie Svarstad, Ph.D.

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Category 2 Winner: Fairview Pharmacy Services/University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy

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Category 3 Winner: US Air Force Pharmacy/Patrick Air Force Base Optimizing the Medication Dispensing

2003 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Eleanor Vogt, R.Ph., Ph.D.

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Category 2 Winner: Kaiser Permanente Colorado Region Pharmacy Department

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Category 3 Winner: Hope Hospice and Palliative Care

2002 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Andy Stergachis, Ph.D., R.Ph.

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Category 2 Winner: Department of Veterans Affairs Bar Code Medication Administration Project

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Category 3 Winner: City of Asheville, NC: The Asheville Project

2001 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Lucian L. Leape, M.D.

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Category 2 Winner: Eckerd PatientCARE™ Network

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Category 3 Winner: Sentara Healthcare

2000 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: James W. Cooper, Ph.D., R.Ph.

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Category 2 Winner: Coastal Medical, Inc.

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Category 3 Winner: FDA Office of Women’s Health Take Time To Care Campaign

1999 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: Susan Skledar, R.Ph., M.P.H.

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Category 2 Winner: University of Pennsylvania Health System

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Category 3 Winner: Iowa Center for Pharmaceutical Care

1998 Pinnacle Awards

Category 1 Winner: John Grabenstein, R.Ph., Ph.D.

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Category 2 Winner: Indian Health Service

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Category 3 Winner: Institute for Safe Medication Practices

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