Jon Horton, PharmD., and Karen Frock, PharmD., were recently honored by the Pennsylvania Society of Health System Pharmacists with state awards.

A statewide professional organization has honored two WellSpan pharmacists for their outstanding work. The Pennsylvania Society of Health System Pharmacists (PSHP) recently named Jon Horton, PharmD., its 2009 Pharmacist of the Year.  The group also awarded Karen Frock, PharmD., the Joe E. Smith Award for excellence in clinical practice.

Horton and Frock received their awards at PSHP’s Annual Assembly in Lancaster this past weekend.  PSHP rarely selects two members from the same health system for its prestigious annual awards.

“It’s highly unusual for that to happen,” acknowledged Tom Brenner, RPh., WellSpan’s director of pharmaceutical care.  “But certainly both of these individuals are worthy.  We’ve also had several other pharmacists on our staff receive these awards in prior years.”

Brenner credited Horton for much of the success of York Hospital’s Pharmacy Residency program, which began roughly a decade ago. He said that more recently Horton has played an important role in identifying best practices for patient care.

“Jon has been involved with many clinical initiatives,” Brenner said.  “He works closely with our clinical effectiveness teams, which take a look at different aspects of patient care.”

Rob Patti, PharmD., said he nominated Horton based on his “development of many innovative and collaborative practices…”

Horton first considered becoming a pharmacist as a teen, after a shadowing opportunity at a local hospital. The wide-ranging challenges of pharmaceutical care intrigued him.

Today, he enjoys collaborating with other professionals to develop best practices.  

“It’s more than taking care of a single patient,” Horton said.  “We’re looking at the entire disease-state management and coming up with recommendations on how to take care of every patient who comes through the door with that particular problem.”

Frock, meanwhile, thrives in the fast-paced environment of emergency medicine.  In working with the Trauma Program, she ensures proper drug dosing and interactions for York Hospital’s most critically ill patients.

“I chose critical care because a lot of the things you do impact the patient pretty quickly as opposed to, say, management of blood pressure on an outpatient basis, which can take months to get under control,” Frock said. Brenner described her as “a leader in pharmacy trauma ICU care.”

Keith Clancy, M.D., medical director of trauma and surgical critical care, said, “Dr. Frock is an invaluable member of our trauma program.”

Frock chose her career path while working at a Rite Aid store during her first year in college.  She came to York Hospital as a pharmacy practice resident in 2000.  In addition to her critical care duties, she now serves as director of the residency program.

“I enjoy being part of educating new pharmacists, giving them the same kind of help I received,” she said.