JOSEPH ODDIS

ODDIS JOSEPH A. ODDIS Longtime ASHP CEO Joseph A. Oddis Dies at 92 Years Joseph A. Oddis, whose visionary leadership brought about many critical initiatives that continue to shape and advance the pharmacy profession, died February 24, 2021 at age 92 years. Oddis was chief executive officer (CEO) of ASHP from 1960 to 1997 - a period of great change in pharmacy practice. "This is an extremely sad time for the profession of pharmacy," said current ASHP CEO Paul W. Abramowitz. He said Oddis made innumerable contributions to pharmacy practice worldwide, embraced pharmacists' societal roles as medication experts, and advanced the vision that optimal medication use improves patients' lives. Through his leadership of ASHP, Oddis championed pharmacists' move beyond their traditional drug dispensing roles to serve as the medication experts on interprofessional healthcare teams in hospitals and clinics. When Oddis was sworn in as ASHP's top executive in 1960, the organization had 3,294 members. At the time of his retirement 37 years later, the Bethesda, Maryland-based professional association's membership stood at 31,000 and employed a staff of 180. During Oddis' tenure, ASHP became the accrediting body for pharmacy residency and pharmacy technician training programs. By the time he retired in 1997, more than 10,000 pharmacy residents had graduated from ASHP-accredited programs. Oddis also spearheaded the evolution of ASHP's early educational events into what would become the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition - now the world's largest gathering of pharmacy professionals. With support from Oddis, ASHP in 1964 published the Mirror to Hospital Pharmacy, a national survey of hospital pharmacy practice. This groundbreaking document defined essential hospital pharmacy services and contained the building blocks of modern health-system pharmacy practice. Under his direction, ASHP became a major publisher of drug information and books on pharmacy practice, including the American Hospital Formulary Service, which the U.S. Congress recognized as an official compendium, and has gained international acclaim as the most comprehensive source of unbiased drug information. In 1968, under the leadership of Oddis, the ASHP Research and Education Foundation was incorporated, creating a philanthropic organization to offer research grants to advance pharmacy practice and support pharmacists' role in patient care. Joseph A. Oddis was born November 5, 1928, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to Giacinto and Felicetta Oddis, who had emigrated from Italy. Christened as Giuseppe Amilcare, he took the name Joseph Anthony at his confirmation and was known by that name thereafter. During his senior year of high school, Joseph Oddis visited Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where he hoped to enroll in the school of music. The visit included an introduction to Hugh C. Muldoon, founding dean of the pharmacy school. Muldoon's magnetism and grace so impressed Oddis that he switched his plans and applied to the school of pharmacy. He received a bachelor's degree in pharmacy from Duquesne in 1950 and worked as a staff pharmacist at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh for a year before being drafted into the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, where he met Jeanne Trevenna. They were married in 1954 and remained devoted to each other until her death in 2013. Oddis returned to Mercy Hospital and served briefly as assistant director of pharmacy. Soon after, Oddis was selected as chief pharmacist for Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh. After serving on the staff of the American Hospital Association in Chicago for four years, Oddis was hired as CEO of ASHP. Oddis was a lifelong supporter of international pharmacy practice, and served as president of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) during 1986-90. The organization honored him in 2018 by bestowing an honorary lifetime membership. FIP in 1994 recognized Oddis' passionate support for international pharmacy with the André Bédat Award. In 2013, FIP honored Oddis as the inaugural recipient of the Joseph A. Oddis Award for Exceptional Service to FIP. Oddis received many prestigious awards acknowledging his leadership and vision, including six honorary doctor of science degrees. He was the 1970 recipient of ASHP's Harvey A. K. Whitney Lecture Award and the 1986 recipient of ASHP's Donald E. Francke Medal. APhA presented Oddis with the Hugo H. Schaefer Award in 1983 and the Remington Honor Medal in 1990. Oddis is survived by son Joseph, daughter Marie Newman, their spouses, and four grandchildren. Oddis will be interred at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland, in a private ceremony. A memorial service will be held April 9 and can be viewed remotely at https://youtu.be/8ak7JSElrIo. Friends are encouraged to sign the online guest book at Robert A. Pumphrey Funeral Homes. Gifts in memory of Dr. Oddis can be made to the ASHP Foundation at ASHPFoundation.org.Gifts in memory of Dr. Oddis can be made to the ASHP Foundation at ASHPFoundation.org.