A Look Forward to What's in Store for 2018 - Meet our Committee Chairs
Part Three


IACP Executive Vice President Cynthia Blankenship, Esq.
A Message from Your Executive Vice President Cynthia Blankenship, Esq.

IACP thanks you for the incredible energy and the messages we've received from you on about last week's articles:  Monday's first installment, Tuesday's second installment and Wednesday's third installment of "A Look Back on Accomplishments and New Programs in 2017, a Look Forward to What's in Store for 2018 and a Visual Look Forward to 2018."  We're are excited to share more about what our amazing and dedicated Committee Chairs have to say out their programs and committees! 

As IACP's Executive Vice President (EVP) my commitment to  return IACP to a member-driven organization and to increase transparency remains strong. It is still incredibly vital to me that IACP hear directly from IACP Members what you need to succeed. As an organization, it also is critical that IACP be transparent, communicating clearly with you what programs we would be creating and implementing per your feedback.  In that transparency we wanted you to hear it directly from our Committee Chairs what they are excited about, why they got involved and what they have accomplished.

As we continue to share our third in the series of conversations with you, here is the third of several Committee Chair testimonials on what I've discussed in our recent articles! As always, we want to continue receiving your feedback. Email us any time at [email protected], or call us at 281.933.8400.
IACP is so pleased and thankful for our IACP Committee Chairs and members.

They have answered the call to help lead this organization by driving the committee agendas pursuant to the IACP Strategic Plan.

Our Committee Chairs put their hearts and souls into making IACP a
member-driven organization.  They are creative, passionate and outright amazing! 

We are going to be sharing our conversations with our Committee Chairs with you this week so you can see the energy, the passion and the drive they have. 

We hope they inspire you as much as they inspire us!


A Conversation with Anthony Grzib, Chair of the Legislative & Regulatory Committee

What have you enjoyed most about being chair?  
It really has been a privilege to work with so many individuals that are extremely engaged and highly committed to leading IACP's efforts to ensure patient access to quality compounded medications. Each person on the committee brings unique perspectives and insightful thinking that, collectively, has produced some extraordinary outcomes.

What were your biggest accomplishments in 2017? (Committee accomplishments) 
At a federal level, the introduction of legislation (HR2871) to clarify and correct some of the problems with FDA's implementation of the DQSA and continued Congressional support of our position on FDA's interference with patient's access to compounds (Appropriations language, Congressional letters to FDA, E&C hearing) are the results of a lot of collaborative effort between IACP and other health care organizations. At a state level, IACP greatly increased its level of involvement and collaboration with state pharmacist associations in their efforts to ensure boards of pharmacy are introducing and enforcing regulations that maintain high compounding quality standards without jeopardizing patient access.

What are you most excited about for 2018?
I look forward to continuing the positive momentum we've got at the federal level, especially given FDA's acknowledgement that there is in fact a patient access issue that needs to be solved. At a state level, I'm extremely excited that IACP's newly created State Legislative Affairs subcommittee will continuing to establish strong relationships with state pharmacists associations and produce positive results. I also look forward to increasing IACP's focus on how best to support its 503B members and members that are involved in compounding for animal health.

How much input do you feel your IACP Committee has?
The Legislative Affairs committee and its members have constant input to IACP.

How valuable are the members of your IACP Committee?
The diversity, practical experience, and level of engagement of the members of the Legislative Affairs Committee is invaluable.

Why did you decide to get involved with IACP Committees?
When I saw the level of energy and commitment members of the committee had, and their overall drive to produce results that were truly in the best interest of the patients they serve, it was a pretty easy decision to get involved.

What advice do you have for your fellow IACP members to become more involved with their Academy?
I think there's a natural tendency for people to not want to get too involved, especially during times when there isn't a major crisis or obvious threat to the industry. But as pharmacists know from their daily practice, it takes some effort to make sure nothing bad happens, and a little more effort to create positive outcomes for patients. For me, being actively involved with IACP is just an extension of that same thinking - as more members become involved, the greater the collective effort of the Academy becomes, and the further we move away from the possibility of something bad happen toward more positive outcomes for our industry and, ultimately, our patients. Members who want to become more active can do so at whatever level of commitment they're comfortable with because to me, any involvement at any level is extremely valuable.


A Conversation with Kim Hansen, Chair of the Communications Committee

What were your biggest accomplishments in 2017? (Committee accomplishments) 
We provided input into building the new patient advocacy website (Partnership for Personalized Prescriptions - P3, www.p3rx.org), and getting patient stories heard / published.

What are you most excited about for 2018? 
It is really exciting about possibly having a meeting with the FDA Commissioner to work on issues together. I am also excited about working on the new IACP website revision.

How much input do you feel your IACP Committee has? 
I feel that our work as a committee is critical to keeping the membership connected to IACP.

How valuable are the members of your IACP Committee? 
We are so fortunate to have so many dedicated professionals on our committee that bring their varied experience to the table. We couldn't accomplish what we have without them.

Why did you decide to get involved with IACP Committees? 
I wanted to do my part to help protect my profession and patients' access to compounded medications.

What advice do you have for your fellow IACP members to become more involved with their Academy? 
Join a committee!!! We could always use help, fresh ideas, and enthusiasm...You will get to work with some amazing people and share their passion!



A Conversation with Dale Coker, Chair of the Search Committee

What have you enjoyed most about being chair?  
What I enjoyed most about being chair of a committee was that I got to choose the meeting dates, make the agenda, and I got a feeling of accomplishment for helping IACP meet its goals and objectives for the membership.

What were your biggest accomplishments in 2017? (Committee accomplishments) 
As chair of the EVP search committee, I feel that our committee accomplished our goal to get the best possible candidate, who has a knowledge of our industry and has a demonstrated passion for pharmacy compounding, and has an exceptional work ethic.

What are you most excited about for 2018?
I am most excited about helping to develop a new strategic plan for the membership of IACP that is relevant and dynamic.

How much input do you feel your IACP Committee has?
I feel like committees can have major input into the goals and objectives of IACP, but it takes commitment from committee members to make the meetings and provide valuable input.

How valuable are the members of your IACP Committee?
I had an awesome group of compounding pharmacists on my committee who did not always agree, sometimes agreed to disagree, but demonstrated the proper respect for each other's opinions.

Why did you decide to get involved with IACP Committees?
I have been on committees since I first got involved with IACP in 2005.  If a professional organization is functioning properly, there must be input from the membership, and committees are the best way to achieve that end.

What advice do you have for your fellow IACP members to become more involved with their Academy?
Don't wait to be asked to serve your professional organization.  Be proactive- seek out a committee in which you feel that you have a particular expertise or interest.



A Conversation with Gary McCrory, Chair of the Fundraising Committee

What have you enjoyed most about being chair? 
I am excited to be the Chair of the Fundraising Committee, because I know the potential of our organization and our members. "IACP Promotes, Protects and Advances our right to Compound." This statement does not come without a cost, and I know our members are aware of the challenges facing our prescriber and patients.  Annual dues only cover the cost of the daily operations of IACP, we need every member to commit to a monthly contribution to IACP.

What were your biggest accomplishments in 2017? (Committee accomplishments) 
 We planned and hosted the first annual President's Gala at the Educational Conference 2018. This was the first event at any of our meetings that all funds raised benefited IACP directly.

What are you most excited about for 2018? 
We have a record setting number of members who are aware of our challenges and want to be involved.

How much input do you feel your IACP Committee has?
Huge! IACP members are the foundation of IACP! Committees are made up of members from all areas of the compounding world. After serving three terms on the Board of Directors, I can assure you we need member input!

How valuable are the members of your IACP Committee?
Invaluable!!

Why did you decide to get involved with IACP Committees?
The old adage "Only so many hours in the day." is true in compounding also. Many of the IACP challenges are addressed by committees that recommend solutions to the Board.

What advice do you have for your fellow IACP members to become more involved with their Academy? 
The IACP mission is to "Protect, promote and advance the art and science of pharmacy compounding." This is an organization driven by our members.  We have always had challenges, and they continue as compounding pharmacy evolves in the new world of DQSA. You and your team members cannot afford not to be involved. It is important to be involved and have your patients and team members communicate with their state and federal representatives.  Remember, we have to be an advocate for our patients and tell their story.


We heard your requests to update IACP events and implement new programs! In 2018, we are going to debut new programming at all IACP events!
  • Debuting New Programs and Events to Recognize Members: Your Education Committee, led by IACP President-elect Jennifer Burch, has worked diligently to choose speakers who address your specific content requests, and has implemented new programs recognizing IACP Members and IACP Corporate Members. We hope you enjoyed our new programs at January's Educational Conference! We were so pleased to recognize several IACP Members and Corporate Members during the January 2018 Educational Conference held in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
  • Creating New Events: We also created the inaugural President's Gala as a festive way to install our Board of Directors, and to recognize Committee Chairs. The President's Gala along with IACP Board Chair Baylor Rice's monthly member articles have been provided to help clarify IACP's fundraising efforts, and how the Academy applies your dues to achieve the activities and goals you've indicated are important.
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