Reedsburg Area Medical Center pharmacist wins award

Tiaha McGettigan has received the 2021 Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year Award from the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin.

McGettigan works for Reedsburg Area Medical Center.

Nominees were evaluated for being professional role models, providing outstanding service, improving patient care, committing to community service and collaborating with others in the health care system.

In a statement, McGettigan said: “I am fortunate to work with great people who all are very deserving of this award. I joined RAMC because of the opportunities to expand pharmacy services, and because of the continual support, we have been able to accomplish quite a bit in a short period of time. I have great colleagues and mentors who have challenged my thinking and provided the right amount of encouragement when it is greatly needed.”

McGettigan has been part of the RAMC pharmacy team since 2018. She is also a faculty member in the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy.

Hannah Hansen, pharmacist doctor and hospital residence coordinator at RAMC, spoke highly of McGettigan.

“I have not only been impressed with her passion for advancing pharmacy practice from a local to statewide level but also with her commitment to kindness and support of her patients and fellow colleagues,” Hansen said in a statement. “At a local level, she has accomplished much in a short time as the former manager of RAMC’s Viking Pharmacy and now lead pharmacist of both of RAMC’s outpatient pharmacies – Viking and Community Pharmacy. At our outpatient pharmacies, she implemented medication management services, blood glucose and blood pressure screenings and immunization services.”

RAMC Pharmacy Doctor and Lead Inpatient Pharmacist Karlee Kamps added that McGettigan expanded pharmacy services for diabetic education at the primary care clinic. Her team sees diabetic patients on weekdays and she’s working to become a certified diabetic educator. As a teacher, she leads weekly communication lab classes where she helps students improve their counseling and interpersonal skills. She evaluates student performance and provides feedback. McGettigan is also a new mother, she added.

RAMC Pharmacy Director and Pharmacy Doctor Hannet Ambord also lauded McGettigan.

“She has gone above and beyond, and then some - from educating the next generation of pharmacists by precepting students and teaching at the UW School of pharmacy,” Ambord said. “Tiaha continues to serve our community and, for three consecutive years, she has taken a lead role in offering the flu vaccine to parents, students and teachers at the Reedsburg School District. I am honored to work beside somebody like Tiaha, who always puts patients, families and others before herself. She is a true professional and well deserving of this award.”