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Armitstead Receives ASHPs Distinguished Leadership Award

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FORT MYERS, Fla. (Dec. 18, 2020) --- John Armitstead, M.S., R.Ph, FASHP, system director of Pharmacy Services at Lee Health is the 2020 recipient of The American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists  Board of Directors’ Distinguished Leadership Award. The award, established in 2001, recognizes contributions to excellence in pharmacy practice leadership in acute and ambulatory care settings.

As system director, Armitstead is responsible for strategic planning, financial management, direction and coordination of pharmacy care services for the health system as well as overseeing 330 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. In his nine years at Lee Health, he has expanded the pharmacy enterprise, adding more than 140 new pharmacy practice positions under approved, innovative business plans.

“John is a respected leader and administrator, and this honor is a reflection of his hard work, dedication and commitment to the pharmacy profession,” said Armando Llechu, Chief Officer Hospital Operations and Women and Children’s Services at Lee Health. “He is a champion for leadership development of pharmacists at all levels of their career and he has contributed greatly to the practice. We congratulate John on this prestigious award and are grateful he is part of our team.”

Armitstead also serves as a Residency Program Director for the PGY2 program in health services pharmacy administration and leadership at Lee Health. He has trained over 200 pharmacy residents and served as a preceptor for more than 100 Doctor of Pharmacy students.

For more than three decades, Armitstead has been active in national and state pharmacy associations and has served as past president of ASHP, the Ohio Society of Health-System Pharmacists (OSHP) and the Kentucky Society of Health-System Pharmacists (KSHP), as well as has served terms on the board of directors of ASHP, OSHP and KSHP, and was the chair of the house of delegates of the Florida Society of Health-System Pharmacists. He has presented on more than 130 professional topics nationally and internationally, and authored more than 50 publications, including two book chapters.

To be eligible for the award, a candidate must have led sustained, progressive improvements in pharmacy services within specific U.S. hospitals or health systems, and show a record of having achieved national prominence (such as through publications and presentations at professional conferences) for practice leadership.

Armitstead was born and raised in New York City. He earned a master’s degree in hospital and clinical pharmacy from The Ohio State University and completed a pharmacy residency at Riverside Methodist Hospitals in Columbus, Ohio. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from Ohio Northern University.

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