Paoli Center Pharmacy in Paoli, PA was named the 2001 Good Neighbor Pharmacy of the Year, while Sue Lake and Suzi Anthony of Fulton Pharmacy in Grand Rapids, MI received the Community Service Award.
Rounding out the slate of honorees, Charles Wagner of La Mesa, CA, and Alejandro Reyes of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, were named winners of the Program Implementation Award.
"Our honorees demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit, the commitment to patient care and community achievements that symbolize the GNP ideal," said David Neu, president, BBDC Retail. "These individuals are an asset to their profession because of their contributions and dedication for enriching people's lives. We are proud to have these exemplary role models for all independent pharmacies as part of the Bergen family."
Mike Rudolph has dedicated over 25 years to pharmacy practice. A graduate of the USC School of Pharmacy, he opened his first store in Los Angeles in 1977 and since then has grown his number of stores to eight, with locations ranging from Whittier to El Toro.
An active and respected resident of the city of Whittier, Rudolph is a member of the American Pharmacist's Association (APhA) and the California Pharmacists Association (CPHA). Rudolph also holds faculty positions at USC's School of Pharmacy and is a member of QSAD, USC's School of Pharmacy Alumni and Support Group.
Rudolph impacts a healthcare universe that reaches far beyond the pharmacies that he owns and operates. He is well known through his published articles in numerous regional and national journals, such as "How Pharmacists Are Innovating To Meet Real Needs" in the 1997 July/August issue of Computer Talk magazine, "Solving the Pharmaceutical Care Puzzle in the Management of the Diabetic Patient" for the CPHA and Bayer in 1997.
Rudolph also presents break-through pharmaceutical programs across the country and abroad, including "Operation and Management of Chain Operated Community Pharmacies in the USA," presented to a management program at Sookmyung University in Seoul, South Korea, and "Implementing a Pharmaceutical Care Practice in a Community Setting: Bringing the Pieces Together Beyond OBRA," presented at the 1998 United Drug Annual Conference.
Since the mid 1980s, Rudolph has been a trainer for CPHA and APhA Programs and lectures on a variety of topics, including "Cognitive Services for the Retail Pharmacy" and "Success Stories in Implementing and Getting Paid for Pharmaceutical Care."
Rudolph is an expert in pharmaceutical care for diabetes, asthma and gastrointestinal reflux disease and has designed and presented bi-monthly pharmaceutical care programs to Bergen Brunswig cluster groups, including disease state management protocols.
Paoli Center Pharmacy in Paoli, PA, winner of the GNP Pharmacy of the Year, has been a GNP member since 1997. Owners Henry Katra and Mark Szylagyi relocated their independent pharmacy to a 13,000 square foot store, a size typically found only in chain drug stores. Deemed a "one-stop-shop," Paoli Center Pharmacy is not only a traditional full service pharmacy, but it also features an extensive gift and greeting card section as well as a full line of private label and Today's HealthcareT products.
An exemplary community pharmacy, Paoli Center Pharmacy is a store where customers can seek health education and receive consultation on specific health problems such as diabetes or asthma and find real concern for their welfare. Katra and Szylagyi have also been very successful as a GNP pharmacy, doubling in some instances even tripling their sales over previous year's figures.
Community Service Award winners Sue Lake and Suzi Anthony of Fulton Pharmacy in Grand Rapids, MI, are well-known for meeting the changing needs of their neighborhood customers.
Lake and Anthony were recent recipients of the Westown Good Neighbor Festival's Business Good Neighbor Award, presented to candidates who have made a significant positive contribution to the betterment of the neighborhood. Nominations were received from area churches, neighborhood organizations and schools based on the candidate's determination to maintain the same kind of quality care and personal concern that has been cultivated in the business community for years.
One of many goals that Lake and Anthony aspire to in their everyday operation of the pharmacy is to have no one leave without their medication. They also work very closely with doctors and community resources to make sure that patients receive appropriate affordable medication. And when staff is needed at Fulton Pharmacy, Lake and Anthony hire from the neighborhood, including the developmentally disabled.
The Program Implementation Award was given to two pharmacists this year, Charles Wagner of Cal Med Healthcare Center in La Mesa, CA and Alejandro Reyes of Pharmacia Reyes in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Wagner, a GNP member since 1984, has successfully implemented many GNP programs. Today's Healthcare and PharmaHealth with Health Notes Online were both recently added. Direct specialty marketing, along with Pot-O-Gold, a popular Bergen program, has helped with new customers.
Along with the implementation of these various programs, Wagner displays the GNP logo proudly throughout this store, with both the exterior and interior donning GNP signage and even the soft drink machine and ice cream freezer displaying the GNP logo.
As the first GNP store in Puerto Rico, Reyes has always been very supportive of the GNP program; evident by exterior and interior lighted signs, window logos and aisle markers.
Reyes' strategy to effectively manage the GNP products is very successful. His store assigns an employee to each GNP department, which decreases inventory problems and incorrect merchandising.
As current users of myGNP.com and also national advisors for GNP, Wagner and Reyes are active members of GNP.
Good Neighbor Pharmacy is the nation's premier network of independently owned and operated community pharmacies served by Bergen Brunswig. There are more than 2,000 pharmacies nationwide operating under the Good Neighbor Pharmacy name. To locate the Good Neighbor Pharmacy nearest you, call 888-GNP-STOR, or access the Internet website at www.myGNP.com.
Bergen Brunswig Corporation, headquartered in Orange County, California, is a leading supplier of pharmaceuticals and specialty healthcare products, as well as information management solutions and consulting services. Bergen's customers include the nation's healthcare providers (hospitals, nursing homes and physicians), drug stores, manufacturers and patients. Through its subsidiaries, Bergen provides product distribution; logistics; pharmacy management programs; and Internet fulfillment strategies designed to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes across the entire healthcare spectrum.