Pharmacy practice pioneer Paul Lofholm tapped for APhA’s Remington Honor Medal

WASHINGTON — The American Pharmacists Association on Wednesday announced the winners of its Remington Honor Medal and other professional awards.

Named the 2011 Remington recipient is Paul Lofholm, president of Ross Valley Pharmacy in Larkspur, Calif. Lofholm was tapped for APhA’s highest honor for his “lifelong work in continuing education, advancement of pharmacy practice and support of student pharmacist programs,” the organization said. APhA members who nominated Lofholm for the honor spoke of his “contagious” positive attitude toward the profession, his efforts to mentor younger pharmacists and his work on behalf of many pharmacy groups.

The Remington Honor Medal, named for community pharmacist, manufacturer and educator Joseph Remington, was established in 1918 to recognize distinguished service on behalf of American pharmacy. The Remington Medal and other APhA awards will be bestowed during the venerable pharmacy organization’s Annual Meeting and Exposition in Seattle this March.

A PharmD graduate from the University of California, Lofholm has more than 40 years' experience in the pharmacy profession and has served on numerous professional advisory committees and organizational boards. Besides running a community pharmacy business, he is clinical professor of pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco, and an adjunct clinical professor of pharmacy at the University of the Pacific and Touro University.

“Paul’s long history of dedicated service is outstanding by any measure, as are his unrelenting contributions to the advancement of our profession,” wrote one supporter. “He is a pioneer in continuing education, patient monitoring and clinical pharmacy, all of which he advocated and advanced. Furthermore, as one of the nation’s first PharmD clinical instructors, he has precepted hundreds of students, further contributing to the future of pharmacy.”

Among other pharmacists gaining recognition for their efforts, APhA announced that Thomas Temple, EVP of the Iowa Pharmacy Association, would receive this year’s Hugo H. Schaefer Award. “Temple was chosen for his leadership of a well-integrated state organization of community and institutional pharmacy practitioners and dedication to serving the profession,” the organization noted.

Temple also was cited for his commitment to payment reform, the implementation of broad-based pharmaceutical care and dedication to the mentoring and development of student pharmacists, according to APhA.

Tapped for APhA’s Hubert H. Humphrey Award is Wendall Gaston, a Safeway pharmacy manager in Sidney, Nebraska. Gaston was honored “in recognition of his lifelong dedication to the profession of pharmacy and passion for healthcare, politics, community and public service, as well as his commitment to make life better for the citizens of Sidney and state of Nebraska,” the APhA noted.

The award, named for Hubert H. Humphrey, a noted pharmacist and former VP of the United States, was established in 1978 to recognize APhA members who have made major contributions in government and legislative service at the local, state or national level.

Julie Johnson, EVP and CEO of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association, will be honored in March with the APhA Gloria Niemeyer Francke Leadership Mentor Award. Johnson’s recognition stems in part from her mentoring efforts among young pharmacists, said the organization, including “serving as an indispensable resource of professional advice for the 400-plus PharmD students on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota.”

APhA also announced that Jeff Poston, executive director of the Canadian Pharmacists Association, has been awarded honorary membership for 2011. Poston was recognized for advocating the growth of the CPhA and his work on activities that have expanded pharmacist-provided patient care services to community pharmacies.