John E. Clark, PharmD, MS, FASHP, who joined AIHP’s Board of Directors in November, was awarded the ASHP Distinguished Leadership Award at the organization’s Midyear Clinical Meeting in December. The award is given annually to recognize contributions to excellence in pharmacy practice leadership in acute and ambulatory care settings.
Dr. Clark is an Assistant Professor in the department of pharmacotherapeutics and clinical research at the University of South Florida (USF) Health Taneja College of Pharmacy in Tampa. He is also a clinical pharmacist and faculty preceptor in ambulatory care at the USF Morsani Health Center Building Relationships and Initiatives Dedicated to Gaining Equality (BRIDGE) Healthcare Clinic. The BRIDGE Healthcare Clinic is a student-run, multidisciplinary, nonprofit clinic that services uninsured and underinsured patients in the Tampa area.
ASHP’s citation recognized Dr Clark as a “long-standing champion for racial equity in healthcare and a vocal advocate for the creation of culturally competent systems of care.” He was cited for his many contributions to ASHP and the pharmacy profession, including “identifying best practices to meet the unique needs of vulnerable patient groups, expanding healthcare access to the medically underserved, and enhancing ethnic and cultural diversity in the pharmacy workforce.”
Dr. Clark combines his clinical pharmacy practice with an avid interest in the history of pharmacy. His recently published book, Early Education of African American Pharmacists 1870-1975 (Bookstand Publishing 2021), traces the history of now-defunct African American pharmacy schools formed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the role they played bringing a significant number of African American pharmacists into the profession. His research has also explored the contributions of African American women in pharmacy.
Dr. Clark has been elected to a three-year term on the Institute’s Board of Directors. He was installed as a director at AIHP’s Annual Business Meeting on November 18.
(Posted: December 17, 2021)
