Ted Grabarczyk

Ted’s Story

Dr. Grabarczyk earned his Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2010. Subsequently, he completed PGY-1 and PGY-2 pharmacy residencies in Ambulatory Care at the William S. Middleton Memorial VA Hospital in Madison, WI. He earned BCACP certification in 2013. Currently his role entails managing the provision and expansion of clinical pharmacy services including ambulatory care, acute care, ambulatory/acute behavioral health, and long-term care/geriatrics. He also serves as the Residency Program Director (RPD) for the facility’s PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency Program. His current interests include clinical service management/development, outcomes of pharmacy clinical services, pharmacist credentialing, provision of ambulatory pharmacy services within new primary care models, residency program development/training.

For the past 2 years Dr. Grabarczyk has been a member of the SAG on Leadership Development for the Section of Pharmacy Practice Managers. He is also involved with the Kansas Council of Health-System Pharmacy (KCHP) as the Membership Committee Chair and a member of the PPMI committee.

Facility

The VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System (VAEKHCS) is a two-division health care system serving approximately 36,000 Veterans in eastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri. In addition to the two main campuses located in Topeka and Leavenworth, VAEKHCS operates ten Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).

VAEKHCS offers significant inpatient and outpatient services with a focus on primary care, psychiatric treatment, and extended care supported by nursing home care units and a domiciliary. The health care system provides primary through secondary treatment in general medicine and surgery, and primary through tertiary levels of care in psychiatry, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder treatment.

Significant Projects

Dr. Grabarczyk is continuing to expand the involvement of his ambulatory care pharmacists within primary care and specialty teams. He is also continuing to develop new clinical services in VAEKHCS’s mental health clinic, such as clozapine monitoring and new patient pharmacy intakes, and collaborative practice agreements for inpatient and outpatient behavioral health. Also, he recently developed an expanded pharmacist professional practice evaluation program for pharmacists with a scope-of-practice.

Advice for Someone New to Your Specialty Area

“As someone relatively new to pharmacy administration I have learned the importance of setting a clear vision for the value that pharmacy services should have for your patients. Then to prioritize potential initiatives that work towards achieving that vision so the team understands how their work fits into the larger picture. Also, that pharmacy leadership is not about the individual, but it is about setting the course for your team and helping facilitate the work your team performs on a daily basis to achieve that vision. It is also essential to be able to develop good personal relationships with staff and other leaders outside of the pharmacy department.”

Involvement in ASHP

“Initially during my Pharm.D. program, I was exposed to and encouraged towards professional organization involvement by faculty, preceptors, and more senior students. Through that involvement I was able to observe how the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW) advocated for the work and value of pharmacists. During residency training I gained a more in-depth perspective on the value of professional organizations, such as ASHP, in setting a vision for the overall profession, identifying trends in practice/forecasting, and networking which facilitates the sharing of ideas across the profession.”

ASHP’s Value to Members

“Organizations such as ASHP provide a forum for sharing of new ideas which breeds creativity that helps develop new ideas that enhance all of our practices. ASHP also serves as a unified voice for health-system pharmacists to the community at large to ultimately reduce barriers to the advancement of pharmacy practice. Personally, the connections I have made with those in ASHP have helped me reach my current position and continue to provide a national context for the work I do locally.”

“It also serves as a hub for the development, discussion, and dissemination of innovation in pharmacy practice within the profession. ASHP adds lasting value to the profession through their continued support and advancement of pharmacy residency training, preparing new graduates to rise to the future challenges and opportunities in pharmacy practice.”