APhA honors Gary Kadlec with Schaefer Award

WASHINGTON —The American Pharmacists Association bestowed one of its highest honors, the 2010 Hugo H. Schaefer Award, on Gary Kadlec, president and CEO of Hospice Pharmacia and ExcelleRx Inc., at its annual meeting in mid-March. The Schaefer Award was established in 1964 in honor of the group’s longtime treasurer, and recognizes “outstanding voluntary contributions to the organization, the profession and society,” according to APhA.

Kadlec’s pharmacy career dates back to the early 1970s, when he was an intern and then pharmacist at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac, Mich. From 1976 to 1995, he was owner and president of Specialized Pharmacy Services Inc., purchased in 1995 by Omnicare, a top provider of pharmaceutical care for seniors.

senior regional VP before becoming the top executive at Hospice Pharmacia and ExcelleRx, an Omnicare division. “Under Kadlec’s leadership, ExcelleRx continues to develop into a state-of-the-art medication management service…providing cutting-edge pharmacy practice,” APhA reported.

Kadlec also has been active within the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. He also is a past president and past chairman of the Michigan Pharmacists Association, and has been tapped for numerous honors. Among them: MPA Pharmacist of the Year, Merck’s “Outstanding Achievement in the Profession of Pharmacy” and a Distinguished Achievement Award in Administrative Practice from APhA’s Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management.