HEALTHCARE SPOTLIGHT: Health First’s Norman Tomaka Named Pharmacist of the Year
By Space Coast Daily // October 7, 2017
Michael Sanchez, Pharm. D., ALSO honored
TWO HEALTH FIRST PHARMACISTS SCORE FLORIDA SOCIETY OF HEALTH-SYSTEM PHARMACISTS AWARDS
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA — Health First’s Norman P. Tomaka, B.S. Pharm., M.S., has been named Pharmacist of the Year by the Florida Society of Health System Pharmacists (FSHP), in addition to Health First’s Michael Sanchez, Pharm. D., who was honored as the FSHP Pharmacist Poster Winner.
The sub-organization of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists, the pharmacists’ national organization, announced the award at their meeting in Orlando in August.
Tomaka, a Clinical Consultant Pharmacist for Health First, has extensive experience as a hospital pharmacist and community pharmacy manager specializing in independent consultant and clinical pharmacy practice.
His focus is medication safety and risk management for ambulatory care. Certified as a Consultant Pharmacist and Licensed Healthcare Risk Manager, Tomaka is a graduate of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has a Master’s in Medication Safety and Risk Management from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy.
Actively involved in the leadership of state and national pharmacy organizations, Tomaka is passionate about drug abuse prevention and has a long, dedicated record of education and community support. He currently advocates for safe prescribing and management of addictive medications through many lectures and community events.
Currently serving as a volunteer Florida Media Advisory Consultant with the American Pharmacists Association, Tomaka has also held offices with the Florida Pharmacy Association as President and Chairman of the Board.
He recently completed his role as Chairman of the Florida Pharmacy Governmental Affairs Council for 2016-17. Tomaka also served on the Florida Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ Legal and Regulatory Council and Board of Directors.
For his Pharmacist Poster win, Sanchez competed against several Integrated Delivery Networks across the state. His topic, “Evaluation of pharmacist-driven MRSA nares screening in pneumonia patients and independently discontinuing vancomycin per protocol,” highlighted an innovative practice at Health First that reduces the length of hospital admission for patients.
Sanchez started his pharmacy career at Health First’s Cape Canaveral Hospital in 2010 after earning his Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Florida.
His interest in infectious disease originated while working on his 2006 Bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Microbiology at the University of Central Florida. Sanchez moved to Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center in 2014 as a Pharmacy Specialist and later became the Residency Program Director.
Founded in 1995, Health First is Brevard County’s not-for-profit, community healthcare system. The fully integrated delivery network (IDN) includes health insurance plans, hospitals, a multi-specialty medical group and outpatient and wellness services.
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