2004 ASCP Leadership in Education Award Recipient: Sheldon Sones
During the Opening General Session of Geriatrics ’04, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists’ 26th Midyear Conference and Exhibition, held May 13–16 in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Society presented its 2004 ASCP to Sheldon Sones, RPh, FASCP, of Newington, Connecticut, in recognition of his innovative spirit and educational accomplishments.
Sones has been a practicing consultant pharmacist since 1970. He has been recognized as a committed visionary in the area of safe medication practices. He has developed medication safety methodologies and educational programs that have been presented to pharmacists, physicians, nurses, administrators, and many others.
He is president of the Centre for Medication Safety of Portland, vice president of Medicine Centre LTC, in Connecticut, and president of a practice serving ambulatory surgical centers and other health care settings. He is the former president of Omnicare’s Prometheus Pharmacy Unit in Connecticut, and regional vice president for Omnicare corporate affairs for New England.
Prior to developing his own firm, this year’s Leadership in Education award recipient was the CEO of Memorial Hospital in Meriden, Connecticut, served on the faculty at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy and at Yale University School of Nursing, as well as the Ona Wilcox College of Nursing.
Before that, he was director of pharmacy at Mount Sinai Hospital in Hartford, and has held many other positions in teaching and pharmacy. At the same time, he is active in pharmacy legislative affairs and pharmacy organizations on both the state and national levels, including recent service on the ASCP Board of Directors.
This year’s Leadership in Education Award recipient has developed medication safety methodologies and educational programs that have been presented to pharmacists, physicians, nurses, administrators, and many others.
In 2002 he received the Connecticut Pharmacists Association’s Practice Award for his medication safety education efforts, and in 1978 received the Pharmacist of the Year award from the Connecticut Society of Health Systems Pharmacists.
“His service to pharmacy and pharmacy education is a phenomenal record of dedication that we can only begin to describe here — reaching from major educational institutions and hospitals, to innovative long-term care practices, to a generous commitment of his time and energy to pharmacy organizations, to programs on health issues for consumers,” said ASCP President Ross Brickley.
sponsored the award by donating $15,500 to the ASCP Research and Education Foundation. “It is a privilege for Sanofi-Synthelabo to sponsor this prestigious award and we are pleased to join ASCP in recognizing Sheldon's accomplishments,” said Eric Racine, PharmD, senior director of pharmacy affairs of Sanofi-Synthelabo Inc.
Remarks of 2004 ASCP Leadership in Education Award Recipient Sheldon Sones
When you stand before your colleagues, friends, and family on this special day, you have a sense that you need to say in a short time a long message. It’s a little bit of a struggle therefore to say, in a cogent way, what I am feeling.
I feel appreciative to the fine folks at Sanofi-Synthelabo for their support of the Foundation through this award and their impressive track record of support for ASCP, and to the members of the Award Committee and the Foundation for deeming me worthy of this honor, when so many other deserving people could well be standing here in my place.
I also feel appreciative to some very significant people in my personal and professional life who have had a role in bringing me to the podium.
· Lou Annino, the first boss at my first hospital who said that the School of Nursing needed a Pharmacology instructor and it was he who put me out front and told me I could do it.
· Bob Bruner, president of Mount Sinai Hospital, who in 1972 took a 25 year old guy and made him Director of Pharmacy, and said through his support, “you can do it.”
· Mary Inguanti, who joins me here today, Director of Pharmacy and Vice President of St. Francis Hospital, who had the vision that there are three pillars of Pharmacy Services—Clinical, Distributive and Safety—and together we built a concept of Med Safety Officership and said, we can do it.
· Carole Grau, my high school best best teacher, who taught me about Public Speaking after initial failures and said “you will do it.”
And there are my personal supports…
· My wife Kathy and our children, who contend with my schedule and imperfections and we did and enable me in so many ways.
· My mother Florence, who was told in 1955 by my fifth grade teacher Mr. Romm that I would never have the capacity to be successful in high school, let along college, and a manual trade was my best option. And that night, which I will never forget, she explained how we were going to prove him wrong and we did, entering college at barely 16 years old.
She also told me on graduation from Brooklyn College of Pharmacy, that now that I knew about the good that drugs did, perhaps I should concentrate on the bad. Make sure, she said, that the cure isn’t worse than the disease! Circa 1966. It was that moment in time that framed my medication safety commitment.
I don’t know where Lou is today, or Bob, or even Mr. Romm, but I have a feeling where Mom is, and know that today she shares not only a part of this award, but also my strong belief that coaching the coaches—teaching those who care for patients—is in fact caring for the patients.
Casey Stengal , the former Yankee Manager once said, I have the best job…..I get paid for homeruns that others hit. I think that when the care givers are hitting home runs, and you are a part of that, you make a grand slam—no—actually you hit it out of the park.
