Jacqueline Surugue, President of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), was awarded the prestigious Donald E. Francke Medal at the opening ceremony of the 43rd Mid-Year Clinical Meeting of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) in Orlando, Florida, USA on December 8th 2008.

“Jacqueline Surugue’s efforts to advance the profession serve as an inspiration to health system pharmacists around the world. It is an honour to recognise her hard work and dedication with the Donald E. Francke Medal” said ASHP President, Kevin J. Colgan, M. A., FASHP.

The Donald E. Francke Award was established by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists in 1971 to honour individuals who have made significant contributions to international pharmacy practice. Since that date, it has only been awarded 12 times. Jacqueline Surugue is the 4th European, the second woman, and the first French pharmacist to receive this prestigious distinction. Her address, as this year’s award recipient, was entitled “Going global”.

Jacqueline Surugue has been a key leader in making the EAHP a cohesive force for advancing hospital pharmacy in Europe. She has worked passionately to ensure that the 21,000 hospital pharmacists in Europe have a voice in the important healthcare discussions taking place within the European Union. She has also led efforts to professionalize EAHP operations, building an expert staff of association management professionals based in Brussels, Belgium, the headquarters of the European Union.

Jacqueline Surugue is currently chief of the pharmacy department of Centre Hospitalier Georges Renon, a 1200 bed hospital in Niort, France. In addition, she is a pharmacy lecturer at the University of Angers. In 2006, she was elected vice president of the Federation Internationale Pharmaceutique (FIP) Hospital Section and is an elected member of the National Council of the French Order of Pharmacists. Since 2007, she has served on the Council of Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE).

ASHP is a society of 35,000 members including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, as well as, pharmacy students who practice in hospital settings within the USA. For more information, visit www.ashp.org .