It was great to take part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony and officially open the NIH Clinical Center Pharmacy. The fully renovated, 10,000-square-foot facility, located on the first floor of the building’s southeast wing, consists of three parts: the outpatient pharmacy, which dispenses medications to patients who visit the clinical center for periodic checkups or treatment as part of a clinical study; the unit-dose pharmacy, which prepares medications in small doses for patients while staying at the Clinical Center; and the intravenous admixture unit (IVAU), which formulates sterile products, as needed, for patients at the Clinical Center. The Clinical Center Pharmacy will perform all of the above with the help of state-of-the-art automation, including a robotic medication management system.
I’m third from the left in the ribbon-cutting line. To my right, scissors in hand, (l-r) are Richard DeCederfelt, the Clinical Center’s Acting Pharmacy Chief, and James Gilman, CEO of the Clinical Center. Cutting the ribbon to my left (l-r) are Alfred Johnson, NIH’s Deputy Director for Management, and Marilyn Farinre, the Clinical Center’s Pharmacy Operations Chief. Looking on just behind them (l-r) are Tara Schwetz, NIH’s Acting Principal Deputy Director, and Michael Gottesman, NIH’s Deputy Director for Intramural Research. The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on May 18 in the Outpatient Pharmacy Waiting Room. Credit: NIH
