Sean Jeffery ’95 (Pharm), Pharm.D., BCGP, FASCP, AGSF, Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services at Integrated Care Partners and Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the UConn School of Pharmacy, has been elected to a three-year term on the Board of Trustees of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). His term begins in March, 2019.
Founded in 1852, the APhA is the largest association of pharmacists in the United States, with more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians as members. Margherita Giuliano, CEO of the Connecticut Pharmacists Association, says that to the best of her knowledge, Jeffery is the first pharmacist from Connecticut to be elected to the APhA Board of Trustees.
Jeffery will be joining the APhA Board at a pivotal time in healthcare. He says, “Our nation is grappling with how to ensure healthcare is affordable and accessible to everyone. As the voice of pharmacy, APhA Trustees help expand opportunities for pharmacists.” He adds that APhA leaders support innovations that enable the organization’s members to take advantage of the evolving healthcare landscape.
“Our nation is grappling with how to ensure healthcare is affordable and accessible to everyone. As the voice of pharmacy, APhA Trustees help expand opportunities for pharmacists.” — Sean Jeffery
Jeffery will bring his years of experience in the VA system, association management, and now executive leadership within a clinically integrated network, to the boardroom. All of this experience, whether as an academician, researcher, clinician, or administrator is colored by his passion for the care of older adults.
During his career, he has focused on implementing innovative patient care services that promote the value of pharmacists in care coordination. At Integrated Care Partners, a physician-led, clinically integrated organization that is part of Hartford Healthcare, he oversees pharmacy development and strategy and population health management, as well as providing clinical support to the care-management team.
Jeffery’s commitment to his profession has included serving on the APhA’s Policy Committee, chairing the American Geriatrics Society Polypharmacy Special Interest Group, and Chairing the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Geriatrics Special Interest Group.
In addition, he has served as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) and he has co-founded several community coalitions to raise awareness among seniors about medication. In 2013, he was named a distinguished alumnus of Ohio State University, where he earned his Pharm.D. in 1997, and in 2016 he was named a fellow of the American Geriatrics Society.
As to why he took on this particular challenge, Jeffery says his time in leadership at ASCP inspired him to run for a place on the APhA Board of Trustees. In serving at the national level, he participated in profession-wide advocacy and policy efforts that taught him the value of professional service. “It is humbling to watch an idea you have become championed by volunteers who give it life and purpose,” he said. Adding, “Friendships are the side-effects of serving. They can occur frequently and unexpectedly and can have lasting consequences.”
As he transitioned into his role at Integrated Care Partners, Jeffery says he was exposed to a new range of possibilities for pharmacists. Seeing where the profession is heading, he was eager to help guide practice transformation activities nationally. He believes that, “A healthcare system that doesn’t integrate pharmacists within the continuum of care is a prescription for failure.”
“A healthcare system that doesn’t integrate pharmacists within the continuum of care is a prescription for failure.” — Sean Jeffery
In an announcement of election results, the APhA said that volunteer leaders, such as Jeffery, are instrumental in moving the organization’s initiatives forward in pursuit of pharmacist provider status recognition, full integration into the health care team, and patient access to the cost-effective and life-saving care pharmacists can provide. Through information, education, and advocacy, APhA empowers its members to improve medication use and advance patient care.
Residents of Branford, Jeffery and his family are also involved in local charities and non-profit work centered on increasing access to performing arts for children. He and his wife, Teresa Seo, serve on Tabor Arts Branford, a not-for-profit arts program specializing in theatre, music, and choral programs.
Jeffery says that this involvement has required him to develop a new set of skills. “As a pharmacist I’m comfortable thinking about process, workflow, resources, safety, etc. Working with artistic professionals at Tabor Arts Branford has helped me appreciate their creative process and I hope that a little of creativity will wear off on me so that I can bring some innovative problem-solving to the APhA Board.”
