ISMP STAFF

Executive Staff

Michael R. Cohen, RPh, MS, ScD (hon.), DPS (hon.), is president of The Institute for Safe Medication Practices, a non-profit healthcare organization that specializes in understanding the causes of medication errors and providing error-reduction strategies to the healthcare community, policy makers, and the public. He is editor of the textbook, Medication Errors (2007 American Pharmaceutical Association) and serves as co-editor of the ISMP Medication Safety Alert! publications that reach over 2 million health professionals and consumers in the US, as well as regulatory authorities and others in over 30 foreign countries. He is editor for the ISMP consumer website, www.consumermedsafety.org and writes a weekly blog for the Philadelphia Inquirer website, Philly.com (www.philly.com/philly/health_and_science/97905324.html), which also appears occasionally in the newspaper. Dr. Cohen currently serves as Vice Chair of the Patient Safety Advisory Group for the Joint Commission (which creates the National Patient Safety Goals). He also served recently as a member of the National Quality Forum’s Voluntary Consensus Standards Maintenance Committee (CSMC) on Safe Practices and serves as a consultant to the US Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Committee. In 2005 he was recognized as a MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Allen Vaida previously served as director of pharmacy, assistant vice president and director of pharmacy, vice president of clinical operations, and chief operating officer at Mercy Suburban Hospital in Norristown, PA. He has served on the boards of several healthcare organizations, including as a trustee for ISMP from its incorporation as a nonprofit organization in 1994 until his employment at ISMP in 2000. Dr. Vaida served on the United States Pharmacopeia's Safe Medication Use Expert Committee from 2000 through 2005 and is currently a member of the advisory board for the Maryland Patient Safety Center. He also is a clinical assistant professor at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, adjunct assistant professor at Temple University School of Pharmacy, adjunct associate professor for the Centers for Heath Policy and Primary Care and Outcomes Research at Stanford University and Stanford University School of Medicine, and adjunct faculty for the Executive Patient Safety Fellowship offered through Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Vaida received a BS in Biology from the University of Scranton, a BS in Pharmacy from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, and a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota.

Prior to joining ISMP, Judy Smetzer served as associate vice president at St. Luke's Quakertown Hospital in Quakertown, PA. During her 30-year career, Ms. Smetzer has advanced from a staff nurse to various management positions, increasingly focusing on quality improvement and risk management. She has served as a risk management consultant for a long-term and community-based healthcare organizations, published many articles on medication error prevention in peer-reviewed journals, and is a contributing author of the handbook Mosby’s Nursing PDQ for Medication Safety. Ms. Smetzer serves as an author and editor of ISMP’s four newsletters for acute care providers, nurses, ambulatory/community care providers, and consumers. She also is an adjunct assistant professor at Temple University School of Pharmacy, teaching a course on medication error surveillance and control planning. Ms. Smetzer received a BSN from Cedar Crest College.

Before joining ISMP, Susan spent over 20 years in the acute care setting, as the Director for Critical Care and Emergency Services then as the Director for Hospital-wide Quality Improvement, Risk Management, and Education. Since 2000, Susan has directed and performed onsite medication safety risk assessments and root cause analyses for hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout the US and Canada. She frequently participates in the investigation of medication safety issues specific to adult populations; specifically around oncology and critical care/emergency care practice. Susan serves as part-time faculty in the Temple University School of Pharmacy, and at Virginia Commonwealth University in their Executive Patient Safety Fellowship Program. She is the immediate past chairperson of the Emergency Nurses Association’s (ENA’s) Patient Safety Committee, and their LUNAR III research group. She also is the author and section editor of Danger Zone, which is a regular column on medication safety in the Journal of Emergency Nursing. Susan graduated with honors from Villanova University, is a member of the American Association of Hospital Risk Managers (ASHRM), Sigma Theta Tau International, and the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Russ Jenkins was previously director of respiratory therapy at St. Luke's Quakertown Hospital in Quakertown, PA, where he also served as chairman of the pharmacy and therapeutics committee. In addition, he was affiliated with Grand View Hospital in Sellersville, PA, and the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA. In the past, Dr. Jenkins has served as clinical professor of medicine at Hahnemann Hospital and Temple University School of Medicine, clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and clinical associate professor at St. Francis de Sales University. He was president and a founding member of Quaker Pointe PHO. Dr. Jenkins received a MD from Temple University and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Healthcare Professional Staff

Prior to joining ISMP, Matt was employed in the acute care setting for over 27 years, most recently as director of pharmacy and materials management and Institutional Review Board chairman.  In addition to performing onsite medication safety risk assessments and speaking about medication safety in hospitals throughout the United States, Matt has created program tools and content for the Regional Medication Safety Program for Hospitals, a collaborative program with the Health Care Improvement Foundation of the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council and ECRI Institute and has co-created the Rural Hospital Medication Safety Connections Program.  Matt serves as part-time faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University in their Executive Patient Safety Fellowship Program.  Matt received his BS in Pharmacy and MS in Hospital Pharmacy Administration from Temple University and has published numerous articles in the pharmacy and medical literature.

Michael J. Gaunt, PharmD
Medication Safety Analyst
Editor, ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Community/Ambulatory Care Edition

Michael Gaunt coordinates ISMP's role in the ISMP Medication Errors Reporting Program (MERP), a confidential national voluntary medication error reporting program. He also serves as the editor of the monthly ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Community/Ambulatory Care Edition newsletter. Dr. Gaunt is a Clinical Analyst for the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS), a statewide adverse event and near miss reporting system. He has authored and reviewed articles for the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory and has published articles in the pharmacy literature, including regular columns in Pharmacy Times and America’s Pharmacist. Dr. Gaunt represents ISMP on the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP). He is a preceptor for Doctor of Pharmacy candidates from Temple University School of Pharmacy. Dr. Gaunt has worked in patient care positions in outpatient and inpatient settings at Madison Center and Hospital, a community mental health center in South Bend, IN. His past pharmacy experience primarily consists of work in retail community pharmacy. Dr. Gaunt received a BA in History from the University of Notre Dame and a Doctor of Pharmacy with a Certificate in Drug Safety from Temple University.

Jennifer Lynn Gold, RN, MSN, OCN
Medication Safety Analyst 

Before coming to ISMP, Jennifer L. Gold practiced oncology nursing for 14 years at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania, a 671 bed teaching hospital in Philadelphia. Her area of specialization has been adult oncology with a primary focus on the care of patients requiring bone marrow transplantation. Ms. Gold is also an experienced educator, having served for three years as a clinical instructor at La Salle University School of Nursing in Philadelphia. Ms. Gold received her BSN from West Chester University in West Chester, PA and her MSN from La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA. She is a member of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) and maintains her Oncology Nurse Certification through the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC). At ISMP Ms. Gold is responsible for development and operation of the ISMP website for consumers, Consumermedsafety.org. She also oversees review of all consumer-generated medication error reports and analyzes all MedWatch reports received from the US Food and Drug Administration via a standing Freedom of Information Act request, under a cooperative agreement between ISMP and FDA.

Matthew Grissinger, RPh, FASCP
Director, Error Reporting Programs

Arounsavanh Khemdy
Pharmacy Technician Analyst and Research Assistant

Aroun Khemdy is the Pharmacy Technician Analyst and Research Assistant for ISMP. Ms. Khemdy works in the medication error reporting department and supports the ISMP Medication Errors Reporting Program (MERP), a confidential national voluntary medication error reporting program. She is also an analyst for the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS), a statewide adverse event and near miss reporting system. Prior to joining ISMP, Ms. Khemdy worked for PharMerica in Plymouth Meeting, PA, and has over eleven years of experience as a pharmacy technician and a coder in medical records in the long-term care and correctional pharmacy settings.

Rebecca L. Lamis, PharmD
Medication Safety Analyst

Becky came to ISMP from Wesley Medical Center, a 760-bed, acute-care, teaching hospital, located in Wichita, Kansas.  Becky completed a pharmacy practice residency at Wesley Medical Center where she gained clinical experience in adult medicine, both adult and pediatric critical care, research/grantsmanship, and medication safety.  Becky received a BA in Biology and Spanish from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, and her PharmD from the University of Iowa in May of 2008.  She completed an ISMP Safe Medication Management Fellowship in 2010.

Stuart Levine, PharmD is the Informatics Specialist at ISMP.  Stuart’s primary role is promoting medication safety through the safe use of electronic technologies. Stuart also serves as an in-house resource for medication safety for pediatric and neonatal patients based on his 25 years as the director of pharmacy services at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. Finally he is part of the consulting service at ISMP assisting in reviewing the medication use process in hospitals around the country. Prior to joining ISMP Stuart was a member of the ISMP board of trustees, a member of the consulting staff and a national lecturer on medication safety.  He has served as both member and officer of local pharmacy organization as well as member and president of the Delaware State Board of Pharmacy.  Nationally Stuart has been a member of the board of the Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group as well as chief operating officer.  He received his bachelor of pharmacy degree from Temple University and his PharmD from the University of Kentucky.

Michelle Mandrack is the Director of Consulting Services at the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Prior to joining ISMP in 2001, Michelle spent over 20 years as a nurse in acute care settings in a variety of clinical and managerial roles. She was the Director of Maternal Child Health and subsequently, the Director of Nursing at Mercy Suburban Hospital in Norristown, PA. In her present position, Michelle manages ISMP’s consulting services as well as performs onsite medication risk-assessments and root-cause analyses for hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout the US. She has frequently participated in the analysis of medication safety issues specific to the pediatric and neonatal populations. Michelle also performs medication-related technology assessments including CPOE, pharmacy, and bar-code point-of-care systems. She has participated in several state-wide medication safety collaboratives, and co-created the Rural Hospital Medication Safety Connections Program. She regularly provides educational programming to healthcare professionals related to medication safety risk assessment and development of error reduction strategies. Michelle serves as part-time faculty at Temple University School of Pharmacy, and at Virginia Commonwealth University in their Executive Patient Safety Fellowship Program. She received her BSN from Thomas Jefferson University and her MSN from Drexel University and is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Christina Michalek, BSc Pharm, RPh, FASHP
Medication Safety Specialist

Christina Michalek has more than 20 years of acute care hospital pharmacy experience involving clinical practice and management.  Most recently she served as Director of Pharmacy at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown and Bethlehem, PA, where she advanced pharmaceutical care in a well-seasoned environment of computerized physician order entry, bar code medication verification, and robotic automation. During this period she served as a Consultant with the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Prior to that time she was Pharmacy Operations Manager and then Director of Pharmacy at Doylestown Hospital, Doylestown, PA. Chris has served on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Society of Health-System Pharmacists, as a presidential officer of the Bucks-Montgomery County chapter in PA, and volunteered on several advisory boards and educated a variety of community groups as a medication safety representative.  She has presented at national, local, and state meetings, as well as local radio on advancing hospital pharmacy practice and the use of technology for safe medication use. She is a graduate of the University of the Sciences’ Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, completed an ASHP accredited residency program at Suburban General Hospital in Norristown, PA, and is designated as a fellow of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Ann D. Shastay, RN, MSN, AOCN
Managing Editor

Ann Shastay joined the staff of ISMP in July 2008, bringing with her 20 years of oncology nursing experience in both the acute care and outpatient office/clinic settings.  Prior to joining ISMP, Ann worked for 10 years at Holy Redeemer Hospital in Meadowbrook, PA where she was the Director of the Bott Cancer Center and also managed their inpatient oncology unit.  Prior to attaining that position, she worked as an inpatient Clinical Nurse Specialist educating nurses, developing competency programs, writing and reviewing policies and procedures, serving on various committees, presenting community outreach programs and developing numerous patient education materials.  Through the Oncology Nursing Society, Ann is trained to present the two-day ONS Chemotherapy and Biotherapy Course which educates nurses on safe chemotherapy administration practices.  Ann received both her BSN and Masters of Science in Nursing from Widener University, Chester, PA.  Ann also maintains her Advanced Oncology Certification (AOCN) through the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC).

Hedy G. Cohen RN, MS
Clinical Consulting Nurse

Hedy Cohen has more than 18 years clinical nursing background in critical care and nursing management. She is a frequent speaker on current issues in medication safety and has authored numerous articles on improving the medication use process. She also has co-authored a handbook on high-alert drugs; and is on the national advisory boards for Nursing Advance and Davis's Drug Guide for Nurses. She is a part-time instructor at Jefferson University School of Pharmacy. Ms. Cohen received a BSN from LaSalle University, a MS in Health Systems Administration from the Rochester Institute for Technology, and has done doctoral work in health policy at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

ISMP Safe Medication Management Fellow

Stacy L. Carson, PharmD
2011-2012 ISMP Safe Medication Management Fellow
Stephen R. Lewis, MD Fellowship Program
Supported by CareFusion Foundation

Stacy joins ISMP from the University of Kansas Hospital (KUH), a 600-bed teaching hospital located in Kansas City, KS. Stacy received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University, Gregory School of Pharmacy in 2009. She completed a PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency in 2010 at KUH, where she gained clinical experience with a variety of patient populations and a focus in pediatrics and hematology/oncology. She stayed at KUH to complete a PGY-2 Drug Information Residency in 2011, where she received training and experience with medication safety, adverse drug reactions, drug utilization, hospital policies and procedures, research and publishing.

Melissa A. McAuley, PharmD
2011-2012 Safe Medication Management Fellow
Supported by Medco Foundation

Melissa joins ISMP from St. Mary Medical Center where she served as the Clinical Pharmacy Emergency Medicine Specialist and Manager of Emergency Department Pharmacy Services.  During the past year, she completed the ASHP Patient Care Impact Program 2010:  Introducing an Emergency Pharmacist into Your Institution. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Duquesne University Mylan School of Pharmacy and completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Christiana Care Health System. Dr. McAuley has had a wide range of hospital pharmacy experience including providing direct clinical pharmacy services to various patient populations ranging from pediatrics to geriatrics in the position of a clinical pharmacist as well as with clinical pharmacy program management in the position of Clinical Pharmacy Coordinator.  She currently serves as a board member-at-large for the Delaware Valley Society of Health-System Pharmacists and is an active member of both the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists as well as the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

Susan Liu, PharmD
2011-2012 FDA/ISMP Safe Medication Management Fellow

Susan received her Doctorate of Pharmacy from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy in New Jersey in 2009. Prior to joining the ISMP, she worked as a hospital staff pharmacist at Mercy Medical Center, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, part of the Sisters of Providence Healthcare Systems. During her experience at MMC, she developed an interest in safe medication use processes and medication error reporting and analysis, and is eager to explore the field at both the ISMP and FDA.

OTHER STAFF

Renee Brehio, MA
Public and Media Relations

Renee Brehio manages ISMP’s public relations, media and marketing activities, including the Institute’s online press room. Ms. Brehio has more than 12 years of experience in healthcare communications, including planning and implementing large-scale public education campaigns. She has worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, several healthcare nonprofit associations, and one of the world’s largest public relations agencies. Medical issues and conditions that she has helped promote better awareness of include AIDS/HIV, breast and cervical cancer, and medication errors. Ms. Brehio earned her BA and MA degrees in English and Communications from Georgetown University.

Rachel Cohen, MS, RD
Business Manager and Project Coordinator

Thomas J. Moore
Senior Scientist, Drug Safety and Policy