Charlotte Smith, president of PharmEcology Associates, LLC, announced today that Northern Michigan Regional Hospital of Petoskey, Michigan is the first hospital to achieve “PharmE® Certification.” PharmE® Certification verifies that the healthcare facility has successfully designed and implemented a pharmaceutical waste management program in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local regulations and has adopted best management practices to prevent virtually all drugs from being disposed of down the drain or in a landfill.

Ms. Smith said, “Cheryl Chisholm, Certified Pharmacy Technician, and her team have worked very hard over the past three years to pioneer this process in the State of Michigan. This achievement is all the more remarkable considering that Michigan has additional definitions of hazardous waste and is one of only two states that have added pharmaceuticals to their universal waste rules. While easing generator requirements in some areas, it required all of us to work very closely with the Michigan DEQ and the vendor community to insure that proper procedures were developed and implemented. Northern Michigan Regional Hospital is to be commended on this ground-breaking effort.”

According to Thomas Mroczkowski, President and CEO of Northern Michigan Regional Hospital, “we always strive for excellence, and this certification is just another indicator of the collaborative efforts of our Colleagues to be above the curve and go beyond the current regulations.” Mroczkowski went on to specifically commend the commitment and dedication of the committee for this tremendous accomplishment.

This effort stood the hospital well when approached recently by the Petoskey News-Review inquiring about drugs being disposed down the drain. Cheryl Chisholm informed the press that Northern Michigan Regional Hospital was already implementing their more conservative program and would not be sewering or landfilling the majority of drugs being disposed.

The criteria for PharmE® Certification is being shared with EPA Headquarters, the EPA regions, and state regulatory agencies. Healthcare facilities earning this certification can refer to their achievement if and when they are inspected by regulatory authorities.

A number of PharmEcology clients are moving towards PharmE® Certification. In 2009, PharmEcology will begin offering the certification program to non-PharmEcology clients. “We recognize that a number of healthcare facilities have developed compliant pharmaceutical waste management programs independently and may wish to have a third party review their programs. By opening up our certification program to these hospitals, PharmEcology can recognize their accomplishments in a public manner.”

Northern Michigan Regional Hospital is a 243-bed, regional referral center located in Petoskey, serving residents in 22 counties across northern lower Michigan and the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula. A medical staff of nearly 200 physicians represents nearly all medical and surgical specialties, enabling full-service care with an emphasis on heart, cancer, orthopaedics, and neuroscience services. Additional information can be found at northernhealth.org.

PharmEcology® Associates, LLC of Wauwatosa, WI was founded in 2000 and provides pharmaceutical waste management consulting services to the healthcare industry through seminars, on-site risk assessments, and other custom consulting services, in addition to the PharmE® Waste Wizard and PharmE® Inventory Analysis. For additional information on PharmE® Certification, contact us at 414-292-3959 or email us at info@pharmecology.com.