Hermann is recognized for impacting the pharmacy profession on a national scale

By Katie Ginder-Vogel

“I’ve always known I wanted to be in a profession that gave back to society,” says Staci Hermann (MS ’07).

When she was first immersed in pharmacy through a high school careers program, she learned about the impact pharmacists can make — and she never looked back.

“I shadowed a local hospital pharmacist and became enthralled. She would show me a medication and list off the conditions it could treat and how the pharmacist was crucial to the care of the patient,” says Hermann. “I learned what a pharmacist could do, and that set me on my way.”

Since earning her PharmD from the University of Rhode Island and her master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy, Hermann has been making good on her goal to give back to society as well as her profession. Since she was a graduate student, she has been a writer and reviewer for the AJHP Journal, served as the project leader for multiple ASHP sections, chaired the ASHP Practice Management section for three years, and served in the ASHP House of Delegates.

“I am incredibly honored to be recognized by my professional peers. When we were honored at the meeting, it was amazing — I got chills as we stood up.”
—Staci Hermann

For her myriad contributions, she has been selected as one of 28 pharmacists nationwide to be inducted as 2024 Fellows of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

“I am incredibly honored to be recognized by my professional peers,” Hermann says. “When we were honored at the meeting, it was amazing — I got chills as we stood up. Everyone was applauding us.” 

Power of leadership

The year Hermann graduated from pharmacy school, large chain pharmacies were opening on every street corner and offering huge sign-on bonuses to new pharmacists. Hermann was tempted, but her former dean, Don LeTendre, recommended she consider a residency program and encouraged her to experience the practice of pharmacy outside New England. 

Pursuing his advice, Hermann landed at Aurora Healthcare in Milwaukee (now Advocate Aurora Health), working with Tom Woller (BS ‘84, MS ‘86), now the system vice president of pharmacy for Advocate Aurora Health; 2019 ASHP Fellow Julie Dagam (BS ‘98, PharmD ‘99), now ASHP’s director of residency accreditation services; and Arlene Iglar (BS ‘86, MS ‘88), now vice president of pharmacy operations at Advocate Aurora Health.

“Tom and Arlene really opened my eyes to leadership,” Hermann says. “I loved operating at the 30,000-foot view after working at the individual patient level. I went on to do a two-year master’s and residency in pharmacy administration at UW–Madison with Steve Rough (BS ’91, MS ’94) and Tom Thielke (BS ‘67, MS ‘69). That experience, and the fact that I went west and discovered pharmacy leadership and administration, has set the course for my career.” 

After earning her MS and completing her residency, Hermann moved to the University of Kansas in 2007 to be the pharmacy operations and informatics manager at the University of Kansas Hospital, drawn to its similarities to UW–Madison. 

“Both were going live with Epic, both had similar technology platforms within their inpatient pharmacy space, and it felt like a natural transition and fit,” Hermann says.

In 2012, Hermann returned to the East Coast to manage the pharmacy portion of Mass General Brigham’s Epic project, soon rising through numerous positions, serving as assistant director of pharmacy for Tufts Medical Center and for Lahey Hospital and Clinics and system director of pharmacy for the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health system, later becoming their chief pharmacy officer. 

“Health systems are growing, and growing means driving standardization and elevating the importance of the pharmacy enterprise,” Hermann says. “When I left at Dartmouth, we had four retail sites, a mail order site, six inpatient pharmacies, and nine infusion sites – and counting.”

New adventures

When Hermann felt ready to take on a new challenge, she joined Wolters Kluwer as the vice president of clinical content, overseeing the content team that develops the Medi-Span product, a suite of drug data solutions to support the healthcare industry.

“I wanted something new that would impact the broader health ecosystem, and I’m coming back to my IT and technical roots,” Hermann says. “At Medi-Span, we’re in major retail chains, payer/ pharmacy benefit management companies, and inpatient facilities both domestically and internationally — the magnitude of our solutions was an intriguing challenge.”

Part of her role at Wolters Kluwer is bringing a pharmacy perspective.

“I don’t know of any better group than pharmacists when it comes to that type of communication and translation.”
—Staci Hermann

“I often tell people that pharmacists are great translators — translating provider diagnoses into therapies and communicating how those therapies work to the patient,” she says. “We translate information from IT and technical teams to pharmacy operations, nursing, and finance. I don’t know of any better group than pharmacists when it comes to that type of communication and translation.”

Herman has received numerous accolades in the past few years, as her career has continued its upward trajectory. 

“I’m most proud of the growth in the pharmacy programs where I’ve been and the recognition I’ve gotten in the last few years for it,” she says. “In 2022, I was recognized by both Modern Healthcare as one of the 2022 Top Innovators as well as the state ASHP affiliate as pharmacist of the year. During my time at Dartmouth, we quadrupled the residency program, and it’s still growing. I want to continue to give back to the profession, and I view this ASHP fellowship as a recognition of that dedication.”