Ochsner Health is a system that delivers health to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate.
Preceptors - Medication Use, Safety and Policy - Pharmacy Residency Programs
Spencer Blohowiak, PharmD, MS, BCPS
Manager – Pharmacy Operations & Perioperative/ED Clinical Services
Education: PharmD - Shenandoah University – Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy in Winchester, VA. Masters – University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC
Training: PGY-1/2 Health System Pharmacy Administration at Wake Forest Baptist Health, Winston-Salem, NC
Spencer joined Ochsner in 2019 after completing a 2-year Health-System Pharmacy Administration residency at Wake Forest Baptist Health. His first-year research project, “Implementation of a project management tool for drug shortage management in a large academic medical center,” centered on an institutional need for improved processes around managing drug shortages. Being operationally focused, he completed his second-year research project and Master's Thesis around the standardization and optimization of Anesthesia Automated Dispensing Cabinets (ADCs). He received a Master's Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences with an emphasis in Pharmacy Healthcare Administration from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill in 2019, as well as Board Certification as a Pharmacotherapy Specialist. His professional interests include: clinical pharmacy management, leadership development, pharmacoeconomics, and inpatient operations.
Spencer’s current responsibilities include management of daily operations within central pharmacy with a focus on automation, controlled substances and inventory management. He also is responsible for clinical pharmacy services within the emergency department and perioperative space, along with the management of Ochsner’s Skilled Nursing Facility, Elmwood Orthopedic Hospital and Covington Surgery Center.
Jason Chou, PharmD, MS
VP-Pharmacy Services, System Pharmacy Service Line
jason.chou@ochsner.org
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University
Training: PGY-1&2 Health System Pharmacy Administration Residency, Wake Forest Baptist Health with MS from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Practice Interests: Leadership, pharmacy practice models, operations
Jason has been with Ochsner for about 8 years, and was the previous AVP for OMC – Jeff Hwy, a tertiary care academic center in New Orleans. Jason recently served on the LSHP Board and is a faculty member with the ASHP Pharmacy Leadership Academy. Jason presently serves on the Board of Directors for the End Drug Shortages alliance.
Nicole Fabre’-LaCoste, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, DPLA
Director – Medication-Use Safety and Education, System Pharmacy Service Line
nlacoste@ochsner.org
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy, Xavier University
Training: PGY-1 University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; ASHP Pharmacy Leadership Academy program graduate; Formulary Drug Evaluation Process Certification.
Nicole began her career at Ochsner Health as a Clinical Pharmacy specialist in ambulatory care managing a pharmacist-run clinic for treatment of hypertension, cholesterol, and diabetes patients. From there, she transitioned to clinical practice in acute care medicine and later transitions of care. In 2016, Nicole moved into the assistant director role over Medication-Use, Safety and Education and transitioned to system director in January of 2021. Nicole leads the formulary management and medication utilization initiatives ensuring improvement of medication use quality across the organization. She is also the residency program director for the Ochsner Health PGY-1/2 Medication Use Safety and Policy residency program. Additionally, she serves as an ASHP Residency Program Practitioner Surveyor for MUSP residency programs and on the Vizient Professional Development and Workforce Committee.
Phillip Hutchinson
Pharmacy Education Coordinator System Pharmacy
Phillip.hutchinson@ochsner.org
Education: Wofford College Bachelor of Science in Biology, Bachelor of Arts in Spanish
Phillip provides oversight of system change management processes as the chair of the Change Management Advisory Committee. He is also responsible for pharmacy communication, education, and training for the system. Additionally, Phillip is responsible for working directly with the MUSE director to manage the educational training programs for both pharmacy students and pharmacy residents as well as overall pharmacy workforce development.
Neil Hunter, Pharm.D., MBA, BCSCP
System Director – Sterile Drug Compounding Operations
Neil.hunter@ochsner.org
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy - Union University College of Pharmacy, Jackson, TN; Master of Business Administration - Louisiana State University Shreveport, Shreveport, LA; Bachelor of Science in Medicine Chemistry - University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Training: Ochsner Administrative Fellowship- Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans, LA; Health-System Pharmacy Administration Residency, ASHP Accredited - Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans, LA; Pharmacy Practice Residency, ASHP Accredited - Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans, LA
Neil began with Ochsner Health in 2014 as a PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice resident. As the System-Director of Sterile Drug Compounding Operations, he works to drive standardization in the areas of sterile compounding and health-system automation, always keeping medication safety in the fore-front.
Neil also serves as the President-Elect for the Louisiana Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the President of the Southeast Louisiana Society Health-System Pharmacists.
Kyle Kalanta
Director – Pharmacy Finance, System Pharmacy Service Line
Kyle.kalanta@ochsner.org
Kyle supports financial operations for all Clinic, Hospital, Infusion, and Mixed-Use areas from a Pharmacy perspective.
Mathew Malachowski, PharmD, MHA, BCPS
Director – Population Health and Ambulatory Care; System Pharmacy Service Line
Matthew.malachowski@ochsner.org
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy – The University of Rhode Island PGY-1– UAB Health System; MHA- UAB School of Health Professionals
Paul Menasco, PharmD
System Accreditation and Regulatory Compliance Pharmacist
pmenasco@ochsner.org
Education: BS, Pharmacy, Xavier University; Doctor of Pharmacy, Xavier University
Paul is responsible for providing an organized approach to the development and revision of clear, executable, and measurable policies and procedures as they relate to Accreditation standards. He is responsible for routine reevaluating of survey readiness via mock audits and pharmacy inspections. Paul supports staff and training related to Accreditation in order to create cohesiveness between hospital staff and established policies and procedures.
Anh Nguyen, PharmD
Formulary Management Pharmacist, System Pharmacy
Anh.Nguyen@ochsner.org
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy - Xavier University College of Pharmacy
Training: PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency, Ochsner Medical Center - Jefferson Highway - New Orleans, and PGY-2 Medication Use, Safety and Policies Pharmacy Residency at Ochsner Health - New Orleans
Formulary management is an integrated patient care process which enables physicians, pharmacists, and other health care professionals to work together to promote clinically sound, cost-effective medication therapy and positive therapeutic outcomes.
As the Formulary management pharmacist, Anh is another member of Formulary Team, responsible for formulary management processes across the system including inpatient and outpatient care areas, infusion centers and clinics.
Johlee S. Odinet, PharmD, BCPS, CPPS
System Medication Safety Manager
Johlee.odinet@ochsner.org
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy, Xavier University of Louisiana
Training: PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and PGY-2 Health System Medication Use Management Residency at the University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Practice Interests: Medication safety, trigger tool development, and just culture
Johlee S. Odinet, PharmD, BCPS, CPPS is currently the Medication Safety Manager at Ochsner Health. In this role, she oversees implementation of process improvements within the medication use system to ensure optimal patient outcomes. Job responsibilities also include incorporating ISMP medication safety best practices, error analysis, prospective risk mitigation, and regulatory/compliance efforts. Johlee serves as the Program Coordinator for the PGY-2 Medication Use, Safety, and Policy residency program; Director at Large for LSHP; and has had the pleasure of serving on ASHP's Medication Safety Section Advisory Group for the past 5 years.
Catherine B. Oliver, PharmD, BCPS, DPLA
Director – Clinical Pharmacy Services, System Pharmacy Service Line
Catherine.oliver@ochsner.org
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy, University of Louisiana-Monroe; BS Biochemistry, Louisiana Tech University
Training: PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency, Cone Health in Greensboro, NC; ASHP Pharmacy Leadership Academy program graduate; SIDP Antimicrobial Stewardship Certification; ASHP Pharmacogenomics Certification (in process)
Catherine has been with Ochsner Health for seven years; four years as Manager for Clinical Pharmacy Services at OMC-Jefferson Hwy and moving into the system director role in September of 2019. She chairs the System Clinical Coordinator’s monthly meeting, as well as several System P&T Subcommittees: Opioid Stewardship Core team and Hospital Practice workgroup, Oncology and Pharmacogenomics Subcommittees. Catherine leads the development and implementation of clinical pharmacy services across the organization. She additionally serves as an advisory board member for the S3P purchasing group, Vizient Clinical Pharmacy Advisory Council, and serves as vice-chair for the Vizient AMC Pharmacy Practice Advancement Committee.
Ryan Pepper
AVP – Pharmacy Supply Chain; System Pharmacy Service Line
rpepper@ochsner.org
Education: BS Finance at Loyola University- New Orleans; MBA - University of New Orleans
As AVP – Pharmacy Supply Chain, Ryan has responsibility for the contract negotiation, vender management, procurement, and strategic vision for system-wide functions of Pharmacy Supply Chain. Ochsner Health is a not-for-profit health care provider based in southeast Louisiana that includes 28 hospitals, 400+ clinics, 12 retail pharmacies and Specialty Pharmacy. Ryan joined Ochsner in 2007 and has built the pharmacy contracting management structure for the system.
Emily Prabhu, PharmD, BCPS
Medication Utilization Pharmacist, System Pharmacy
Emily.prabhu@ochsner.org
Education: PharmD from Butler University; MS in Pharmacy Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University
Training: PGY-1 Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Mishawaka, IN; PGY2 HSPA University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA; Medication Use Policy Fellow, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA
As the Medication Utilization Pharmacist, Emily is responsible for collaboration with stakeholders (supply chain, clinical teams,) to conduct medication use evaluations (MUEs) and determine areas of opportunity with regards to medication use processes. Additionally, she provides analysis of data to determine how medications are being used throughout the system and evaluation of the financial impact of utilization changes.
