Nov 15, 2021 | Newsletters
A record 22 natural disasters struck the United States last year and long-term care (LTC) communities cannot treat this threat lightly.
With natural disasters occurring year-round, it’s important that owners and operators of assisted living and skilled nursing facilities develop plans now so that you are prepared if an incident arises. Your LTC pharmacy should be an integral part of this planning process.
When faced with the possibility of evacuation, LTC staff must be ready to make quick decisions about where to house residents and how to contact their loved ones. Together with your LTC pharmacy, they need to be prepared to lead residents to safety without disrupting their medication regimen.
The below article outlines the necessary steps you should take before, during and after an evacuation to maintain medication access.
Click here to learn more.
Jun 2, 2017 | Newsletters
May/June 2017
In May we celebrate Nurses Week!
Each year from May 6th through May 12th, Nurses are honored across the nation for all that they do. Patience, integrity, quality care, compassion, dedication, accountability, sacrifice….these are some of the traits held by nurses, and during the month of May, we honor them!
To our nurses-thank you for all that you do. Thank you for feeding our family breakfast while you skipped yours…thank you for helping her toilet while you didn’t go, thank you for helping him look handsome getting dressed, while you wore two different colored socks. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
The Guardian team appreciates you and values all that you do.
Meet our Consultant Pharmacist, Dennis Van Dyke
Have you seen this man? Dennis not only works in our pharmacy; he works at some of our facilities as well, as a consultant pharmacist. His goal is to ensure that our customers are compliant with the State of Florida Statutes and Florida Administrative Code.
If you’ve ever called in, you have probably heard his smile through the phone. Customer Service is one of our top values at Guardian, and we take pride in serving you well!
Guardian Celebrates a Senior that joined the Century Club!
The Guardian team took cake, flowers, and balloons to greet one of their loyal customers at their ALF home to celebrate their 100th birthday. The Century Club, is an elite membership that honors customers who turn the big 1-0-0 .
Shawn Oneel, Andrea Schillinger, Ken Paulsen, Mike Chapman, and Assura Chauhan join in the fun to honor our newest Century Club Member!
Returns Box Service
Guardian offers a convenient way to destroy medications wthout doing any of the work! Expired medications, abandoned meds, and the like are eligible to send back to the pharmacy to be destroyed on your behalf. HIPAA labels are removed and secured, provided your staff SEALS the box prior to pick up.
(Controlled medications are not allowed due to Federal and State Requirements, per the Drug Enforcement Agency).
Feb 6, 2017 | Newsletters
September 2016
Communicating Changes in Census Increases Customer Satisfaction
Has anyone moved out? Gone to the hospital? Sadly passed away? Please be sure to communicate these types of changes in your Census/ Roster/ Resident lists to your pharmacy. This communication ensures that medications are not sent, which allows less work for your staff (no need to return), proper billing adjustments for your residents and families (avoids irate customers receiving erroneous bills) and a higher overall customer satisfaction.
Fax: 954.601.2400
One of the saddest phone calls to receive is from a family member whose loved one recently passed away. The last thing they’d like to receive is a bill for medications that reminds them of their loss. Please help us to prevent this grief by ensuring to update lists on a regular basis.
Med Techs Cannot Assist with Self-Administered Medication Administration if MAR is not Documented Accordingly
“If it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen.” This is a common statement in the healthcare world! Please ensure to get your Paper MARs updated timely by sending back the edits by the first week of the month. If a new medication is added or an old one is discontinued, both are of utmost importance to get updated asap. Let us help you! Send back your edits (the yellow copies of the MAR) as soon as possible to ensure it is preprinted on your MAR, for your convenience.
Meet our newest Pharmacist, Jenny Newland!
Jenny joined the Guardian Pharmacy South Florida family in August of this year. She comes with 23 years of experience as a pharmacist in the areas of retail, hospital and long term care!
Jenny is married for over 27 years, and is a, “baseball mom,” of with 3 amazing boys. During her free time, she enjoys staying at home and watching television.
We are proud to have such an accomplished individual join our team, and forward to huge successes together.
Guardian Attends Florida ALFA Conference in Fort Lauderdale
Guardian Pharmacy South Florida was proud to attend and be a part of the 2016 Florida ALFA conference. There were over 400 attendees and 60 vendors that came out to this annual conference, including the honored Gail Matillo, President and CEO of Florida Argentum.
Networking, Continuing Education Courses, Industry news, and a bit of fun in the sun were enjoyed at this grand event. Guardian SEFL looks forward to next year’s conference with enthusiasm.
DID YOU KNOW?
Clozaril (clozapine) is not included in Cycle Deliveries
Clozaril is an antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia and similar disorders. It is only available from certified pharmacies, and requires labs and special handling through the REMS program, as this medication may affect neutrophils (white blood cells) in a negative way, if not closely monitored. White blood cells help the body fight infections. The benefits of some medications outweigh risks, and can be managed through programs such as this.
Aug 8, 2016 | Newsletters
August 2016
Preventing Medication Errors is Always a Priority
Per the AHRQ, Clinicians have over 10,000 prescription meds they can choose from. Over 1/3 of American adults take 5 or more prescription medications. Adverse drug events result in over 700,000 Emergency Department visits, of which 100,000 patients are admitted.
Prevention of adverse drug events is of utmost importance to ensure the health and safety of your residents. This means that emphasis must beplaced on ordering, transcribing, dispensing and administration.
In our world, nurses must focus on taking the order accurately, pharmacists need to ensure they are dispensed accordingly, and nurses and med–techs must ensure administration follows the order!
https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primers/primer/23/medication-errors
What is Required of a Telephone Order?
Nurses and Pharmacists may take telephone orders. Contents required include: patient name, drug name, dosage, route, frequency, special directions, indication (for PRNs), doctor’s name, TORB, and nurses’ signature with their credentials. Neatness counts for preventing errors!
Meet our newest Pharmacist, Robert Forkosh!
Robert joined Guardian SEFL a month ago from Brooklyn, New York. Prior to working for us, he was a Pharmacist Entrepreneur with 3 pharmacies in the New York area.
Our new pharmacist moved down with his beautiful family which includes his wife and 8-year old daughter. During his free time, Robert’s hobby is to practice Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. His goal is to enjoy the warm weather, his new-construction home, and sparkling-blue new pool!
We are excited about our new addition and welcome Robert to Guardian Pharmacy with open arms.
