Chris Patsiavos, RPh, (pictured above, right) works as the lead pharmacist at Mercy Health – Urbana Hospital. His coworker, Josh Walker, PharmD, MHA, (pictured above, left) recently recognized him for his forethought during a stressful situation.
“Chris took initiative to review a critical medication that was in short supply and the supply was going to expire on the same date,” Josh says.
“I keep a white board in the pharmacy with the crash cart expiration dates and look ahead to what is going to outdate in the future,” Chris further explains. “It was then I noticed the dextrose syringes were expiring in three to four months. At that time, I placed it on backorder with our wholesaler.
However, when the expiration date came near, the syringes were still not available. But Chris did not give up there. He initiated a plan of action to ensure his patients had access to the medication they needed.
“I discussed the available options with another staff pharmacist and Josh, our pharmacy director,” Chris says. “We agreed to use an adult dextrose 50 percent vial. I made a kit with specific directions and a small syringe to draw the specific amount of dextrose. I further did personal in-services to all emergency room nurses and as many emergency room physicians as I could communicate face to face with in the ER. These in-services were also documented for the emergency room nurse manager and quality department.”
For about two weeks, Chris was providing his pediatric patients with the alternative dextrose syringes, who otherwise would not have had access to their medication.
“Chris demonstrates our values inside and outside of work,” Josh adds. “Chris is one of the first people to volunteer to help at community events and is always willing to lend a helping hand. I’m happy that Chris is being recognized for this because it is something important that he and pharmacy in general do very often and likely will tell you was just part of doing the job.”
Chris recently received a Core Culture Award in the Called to Shine program, our ministry’s digital recognition program which allows employees to recognize anyone across the ministry at any time, with personalized messages. Our leaders can allocate points to recognitions they send, and employees can redeem these points for merchandise, experiences and much more.
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