Spring 2015
Volume 3, Issue 3
"Never
underestimate
the valuable and
important
difference you
make in every
life you touch.
For the impact
you make today
has a powerful
rippling effect
on every
tomorrow.”
THE DONUT HOLE
A FINAL FAREWELL
The Medicare Part D Class of 2014 would like to thank each individual who
contributed to the success of our mobile clinics during this past open enrollment
season. Thirteen sites graciously hosted our clinics throughout Northern and Central
California. Over one hundred different pharmacists supervised countless student led
Medicare Part D plan reviews, medication interventions and health screenings/
services (page 6). Our clinic sponsors donated more than 2,000 health care related
items that were provided to beneficiaries in the form of “goody bags” (page 3).
Together we were able to touch the lives of 1,369 patients through the course of tour
clinic outreach season. To our readers, we sincerely appreciated the endless support
and positive feedback you provided us throughout the year. It has been a unique and
humbling experience for us to be a part of a program with the extensive impact on
the community that it has.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Click on the link!
Medicare 2014 Statistics ............ 2
What’s in a Goody Bag? ............... 3
Medicare Memories ..................... 4
Faculty Spotlight ............................ 5
Preceptor/Faculty Tribute ........ 6
Creative Caption Corner ............. 7
Medicare Classes by the Years . 8
CMS Staff Thank You’s & More . 9
Sincerely, The Donations and Design Committee Medicare c/o 2014
Beckie Siu, Daniela Okino, Hasna Manghi, Jennifer Fong, Jenny Balabanian,
Jenny Pham, Sofia Campos, Tamlyn Ige, Tina Liu, and Tiffany Wong
1
Medicare 2014 Clinic Season...by the Numbers
$1,043,429
total potential Part D plan cost savings to assisted beneficiaries
45 Medicare
Part D
Students
13 Clinic Outreach Sites
754
All-time
record!
Beneficiaries were assisted with
their Part D plans here are the details of those interventions
629
Beneficiaries enrolled in a new Part D
plan onsite
immunizations
Low-income (i.e. Medicaid or LowIncome Subsidy) beneficiaries
serviced
(flu,
pneumococcal
or Tdap)
administered
by students
254
180
Interventions performed in a language
other than English
126
0
50
100 150 200 250 300
Screenings Services Provided
Blood Pressure Measurements: 1,094
2%
3% 2%
Diabetes Screening: 612
5%
Cholesterol Testing: 609
6%
Bone Density Measurement: 473
Falls Risk Assessment: 358
9%
Memory Decline Screening: 223
Depression Screening: 189
Asthma/COPD Testing: 125
3,852
free health care
screening/
services provided
12%
16%
Anxiety Screening: 88
Anemia Testing: 82
29%
16%
2
What’s in a Goody Bag?
By Jenny Pham
Our 2014 Medicare outreach season
kicked off with a blast as beneficiaries
were seen carrying bright orange goody
bags that proudly represented the
University of the Pacific. This year, the
Donations and Design committee
decided to focus on our motto of
“Partnering to Build a Healthier
Community” while also consciously
trying to become a little more ‘green’ at
the same time. We opted for
environmentally-friendly reusable bags
that housed the health-related items we
gave beneficiaries. We thought this was
consistent in theme; we try to save
beneficiaries green ($) through Part D
assistance and now were going green in
terms of the goody bag itself!
Goody bags were a great way to
thank the beneficiaries for entrusting
the Medicare students with their Part D
plan selection and/or medication
therapy management interventions. The
Medicare Class of 2014 would like to
thank the following entities (see list to
the right ————————————>)
for donating items and/or providing
funding that was used to purchase
health care related items.
In addition to the reusable goody bags, all
beneficiaries received a number of health-related
products including a first-aid kit, hand sanitizer
spray, facial tissue pack, lip balm, toothbrush,
dental floss, eye glass repair kit, and pedometer. The
pedometers proved to be a useful tool in
encouraging beneficiaries to exercise. Some
beneficiaries were even seen walking around the
health fairs with their new pedometers at their hips!
TO OUR SPONSORS
All of this would not have been possible if it were not
for your help. We sincerely thank you for your
generosity and support of our Medicare clinics.
33
MEDICARE MEMORIES
By Tina Liu
Kristine Markham:
“ My favorite memory was of this elderly couple who
were high school sweethearts and shared with Kevin
Cameros and I their love story and how excited they
were to celebrate their 70th anniversary!!”
“Seeing Dr. Paul Williams and his
wife Debbie attend our Medicare
event at the Northeast Community
Center. He was a former instructor
of mine, a colleague at the School of
Pharmacy for many years, and an
encouraging
mentor.
It
was
gratifying that they would entrust
us with their Medicare Part D plans
and also allow us to perform a full
blown MTM session with them. He
privately shared with me how
thankful he was for the services we
provided. What was most difficult is
Maegan Wang:
“I got a full on
smooch from this
one lady!! It was
pretty gross actually
lol.”
that he passed away a few weeks
after we helped him. I dedicate this
past Medicare season to him.”
“My favorite memory was of
this one couple who asked if
they could have a snack from
our surplus since they were
hungry. After saying yes, over
the rest of the intervention,
they ate in combination: 8
granola bars, 5 bags of chips,
and 4 fruit snacks.”
“My other favorite moment was
when he [Dr. Patel] became an
honorary hijabi”
Hasna Manghi
Dr. Patel
Jenny Balabanian:
“When Patel
shut it down for
us to party at
Tandoori Nites.”
Jenny Pham
“When a beneficiary gave me a
hug after we finished her
intervention, and one hour
later remembered to come
back before she left to give me
another hug - she was
genuinely so happy about how
much money she saved!”
4
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: MEET DR. ED ROGAN
BY JENNY BALABANIAN & DANIELA OKINO
DR. ROGAN’S TOP
FIVE ALBUMS
Where are you from and what cities
have you lived in?
I grew up in Lockport, Illinois, then went
to school at the University of Illinois. After
that, I went to the University of Colorado
for only a semester; lived there for a year
and then went to pharmacy school in
Iowa City, Iowa.
1.
Rolling Stones - Sticky
Fingers
2.
I moved to Stockton in 1997. My wife was
originally from the Bay Area but went to
school in Chicago. She went to law school
with one of my best friends/roommates
from undergrad so I met her through him.
She graduated law school a year before I
graduated pharmacy school and moved
out to Stockton while I was still on
rotations. Her dad used to work in
Stockton, so her first job was here in
Stockton through contacts of her dad. She
was initially commuting with her dad
from the Bay, but he likes to be at work at
7:30 in the morning, even with an hour
and 15 minute commute. Neither of us are
morning people so that didn’t work out
very well because she was making him
late all the time. She finally just said “I’m
going to move to Stockton.” Our plan was
that I was going to move here and we
would live in Stockton for 5 years...still
here after 17 or 18 years! Stockton has
grown on me like a fungus; it’s home now.
I like my house and my friends around
here, so it’s okay. We’re here for a long
time...Beautiful Stockton, cheers!
What is your favorite part of being a professor at UOP?
“Working with students and preparing them to enter
the profession. It’s very cool and very important.”
3.
4.
1.
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Cake - Fashion Nugget
Bob Dylan - Blood on
the Tracks
2.
Led Zepplin - Houses
of the Holy
5
What made
pharmacy?
you
want
to
go into
I have always been interested in chemistry
and biology. I like working with people.
Pharmacy is one of those things where you
can practice anywhere and I was pretty
sure I wasn’t going to stay in the Chicago
area because I wanted to go somewhere
much warmer. It was a
combination of all those
things. With pharmacy, you
get to work with people and
solve
problems
with
chemistry and biology. It all
came together and made sense
for me.
What is your favorite part of
being a part of the Medicare
faculty?
I like the research component
and direct patient care. What I
really miss when going from
practice into academia is that I
really like direct patient care and now I
don’t really have that opportunity. But with
Part D, you do get the chance to work with
patients and that’s really cool. Also being
able to ask questions and have the ability to
develop research. You can start doing
things that are good for the profession and
being able to work with students and
patients at the same time. That’s what I
really like.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Still here [in Stockton] teaching,
continuing to work, and developing things
that I’m interested in - like research and
teaching classes. I hope to develop more
electives and different ways to assess and
teach students to be the best pharmacists
possible. I see myself in
this chair.
What are your hobbies?
I am a musician, so I play
guitar, sing, write and
record
music,
make
albums, and play live with
my band. I also like to
draw and oil paint, but am
not able to do those often
because I am busy and
don’t have as much time
for them as I would like.
But I practice with the
band every week at least and love playing
live. My favorite part of being a musician is
writing music.
What are your favorite restaurants in
Stockton?
Market Tavern, Breadfruit Tree, Mile Wine,
The Abbey, Papapavlov’s, Lincoln Cellar,
Centrale.
5
PHARMACIST PRECEPTOR/FACULTY TRIBUTE
TO OUR PRECEPTORS:
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to you for donating your time
and support during this year’s clinic outreach season. We were truly inspired to see
your passion for our profession, thankful for your mentorship, and your dedication to
giving back to the community. Thank you so much for all that you have done for us.
Our Mobile Medicare Clinics would not have been possible without you!
6
CREATIVE CAPTION CORNER
Each issue we have asked the
Medicare class to get their
creative juices flowing and come
up with a clever caption for the
photo provided. This time the
winning submission was not a
caption.
Instead,
current
Medicare student Nicole Nguyen
found the original inspiration for
the picture. It was taken from
the cover art of Take Care, the
second
studio
album
by
artist Drake.
By Hasna Manghi
Submitted by
Nicole Nguyen
Medicare c/o 2014
MORE FUN FACTS
About Dr. Ed Rogan

He has 45 days of music on his computer or ~1400 albums

His first concert was — Pink Floyd in 1986

If he could meet any musician (dead or alive) who would it be?
 Neil Young and he would like to jam with him ! Jimi Hendrix would
be his second choice though.

What’s his favorite yoga pose?
 “All the ones that don’t hurt! I don’t have a favorite because I just
started and they are all very challenging. I started going to the class
at Baun in January. It’s really cool though, I’m probably more flexible
than I’ve been in a long time, like since I was about 12. Now I can put
shoes and socks on while standing without falling or holding onto
anything. It also helps for running, because there is a lot of core
strength involved so it helps my flexibility, my knee and my back.”

Would he ever wear yoga pants in public?
 “No! And that’s a public service.”
7
MEDICARE CLASSES THROUGH THE YEARS
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”
—Vincent Van Gogh
As we close out another great year, we understand our success
are built on the strong foundation laid down by previous
Medicare classes. Now that our time has come to an end, we
welcome the new Medicare Class of 2015 (the 9th Medicare
class). We are eager to see all you will accomplish. Each
number above corresponds to the Medicare class at Pacific and
is shaped by the names of the student’s participating in that
class...while the colors indicates the color of each class’s
Medicare polo. Zoom in for a closer look!
8
DID YOU KNOW?
2014 MEDICARE PART D FAST FACTS
Support staff from the Centers
for
Medicare
Services
&
(CMS)
Medicaid

In 2014, more than 37 million Medicare beneficiaries were
enrolled in a Medicare drug plan; an increase of 2 million
compared to 2013, and 15 million since 2006.

Over half of all beneficiaries were enrolled in a plan sponsored by
UnitedHealth, Humana, or CVS Caremark.

On average, Medicare beneficiaries had a choice of 35 PDPs and 15
MA-PD from which to choose to get their Rx drug coverage.

Seventy two percent of all PDPs have a preferred pharmacy
network.

The average monthly Part D premium was $37.27.
provided
support (whether in person or
through a
designated phone
line) at each of our 2014
mobile clinics. The help of our
friends at CMS enabled us to
assist a record number of
beneficiaries!
A special thank you to the CMS
staff who kindly donated their
time and expertise to help us:
Abraham Estrada
Beth Simon
Charlie Chaleunsy
Cherry Castaneda
Christina Leath
Jeannette Tam
Kaihe Akahane
Ken Gardner
Rita Akpan
Lucy Saldana
OTHER RESOURCES:
Source: Hoadley, J., Summer, L., Hargrave, E., et al;,Medicare Part D in Its Ninth Year: The
2014 Marketplace and Key Trends, 2006-2014, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation,
[Aug 18, 2014 ] Date accessed Mar 2, 2015
Remember Medicare Part D plan premiums,
deductibles, cost-sharing and formularies
change annually, so be sure to review to instruct
beneficiaries to review their plan at least
annually!
Medicare website:
Medicare.gov
Medicare hotline:
1-800-MEDICARE
Health Insurance Counseling
& Advocacy Program
(HICAP):
1-800-434-0222
KEEP IN CONTACT
University of the Pacific’s Medicare
Helpline:
209-946-7728
University of the Pacific’s Medicare
Website:
http://www.pacific.edu/Academics/Schools-and-Colleges/
Thomas-J-Long-School-of-Pharmacy-and-Health-Sciences/
Community-Health-Services/Medicare-Part-D.html
9