Staff

Karen Brunner

Director of Operations karen@medicationsafety.org

John Kessler, BS Pharm, PharmD

Chief Medication Safety Officer jkessler@medicationsafety.org

John has been the Chief Medication Safety Officer for APMS since 2008, when APMS became a federally listed PSO. His work with APMS includes special projects, education and training projects, and consulting with community pharmacies to improve the safety of patients receiving care. He graduated from West Virginia University and from Duquesne University and completed a Fellowship in Postmarketing Surveillance at the Medicines Safety Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa. He has practiced pharmacy for more than 40 years, accumulating experience in direct patient care, pharmacy operations, pharmacy management, public health, and clinical research. He is also the Chief Clinical Officer of SecondStory Health, LLC, a boutique medication safety firm he founded in 2003. He has served on national and state committees that advance pharmacy practice and medication safety. His professional work has been recognized by his peers with awards including the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists (NCAP) President’s Award, the NCAP Innovative Practice Award, the NCAP Don Blanton Outstanding Achievement Award, and the ASHP Executive Vice President’s Award for Courageous Service.

How did you best relieve stress/cope during quarantine in 2020?

From difficult life situations and lessons learned long before the pandemic, I knew that I had to develop a “new normal” and maintain a daily routine while staying physically active through golf and hiking with my family. My “secret” coping mechanism has been to binge on Jeopardy and reruns of the TV show “Monk”.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?

Over my lifetime, I’ve had great advice from my parents and family, colleagues, professional mentors, and perhaps most surprisingly from a colleague who had been a clown with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It was the circus clown that reminded me “The show goes on. The show must always go on”.

Caroline Beazley

Membership and Education Manager caroline@medicationsafety.org