Alumni News
Kudos for Clinical Coogs
Alumni Crow, Cuéllar and Tan Earn Honors at TSHP 2018 Annual Seminar
UH College of Pharmacy alumni Denise Crow, R.Ph., B.S. ('82), BCPS, Lourdes M. Cuéllar, R.Ph., B.S. ('73), M.S. ('79), FASHP, and Christina Tan, Pharm.D. ('12), BCPS, have secured commendations from their peers at the Texas Society of Health System Pharmacists 2018 Annual Seminar April 6-8 in The Woodlands.
A clinical specialist at TIRR Memorial Hermann, Crow earned an Honorable Mention in the Practitioner-Clinical Category of the TSHP Research & Education Foundation's Research Poster Competition. Her project, "Review of Medications Used for Patients with Disorders of Consciousness and the Impact on the Level of Consciousness," was coauthored by UHCOP Pharm.D. candidate Devon El-Dana and fellow alumna Sarah Lake-Wallace, Pharm.D. ('00), M.S., pharmacy manager at TIRR Memorial Hermann.
Cuéllar, who serves as administrative director of Pharmacy, Clinical Support Services and Medical Outpatient Clinics at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital, was honored as a TSHP Fellow for her years of dedicated service to the organization, the TSHP Research & Education Foundation, and the pharmacy profession. Previously recognized as a Fellow of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), Cuéllar is a past president of TSHP, the TSHP Research & Education Foundation and the Gulf Coast Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
A preceptor, adjunct faculty member and Mading Society member of UHCOP, Cuéllar is a past recipient of TSHP's Distinguished Service Award and the UHCOP Dean's Special Recognition Award following her service as chair of the Dean's Advisory Council. She served as a Texas delegate to the ASHP House of Delegates more than a decade and recently completed several years of service on the Texas Statewide Health Coordinating Council.
A clinical specialist in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Kingwood Medical Center, Tan was honored with the 2018 Lewis S. Smith Pharmacy Practitioner Award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated active involvement in the education and professional growth of pharmacy technicians and support staff. UHCOP alumna Mallory Gessner-Wharton, Pharm.D. ('09), M.S. ('11), BCPS, director of Pharmacy at Kingwood Medical Center, credited Tan with initiating and developing the clinical pharmacist role in the NICU.
<p"She is seen as the drug resource in the NICU by the nursing staff, nurse practitioners and neonatologists," Gessner-Wharton said in nominating Tan for the award. "Christina assists with discharge medication education and outpatient prescription coordination for our NICU babies. Dr. Tan is always available to answer questions for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and nurses who are less familiar with pediatric medication dosing."She has created education materials for the NICU nursing staff on medications that are used frequently in the NICU. She was our first Clinical Pharmacist to attend Pediatric and Neonatal Codes to assist with medication administration and dosing."
Tan trains all new Clinical Pharmacists in the NICU and precepts UHCOP students on their Pediatric Pharmacy Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience rotation. Tan also covers our Antepartum, Labor and Delivery, Post-Partum and Pediatric units.
"I am honored and humbled to receive this award and am thankful for the support from and collaboration with the women’s services, pediatric, and neonatal intensive care departments at Kingwood Medical Center," Tan said. "I want to dedicate this award especially to my Kingwood pharmacy family!"