NACDS Names Jaeger Senior Vice President of Pharmacy Care

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) has named pharmacist Kathleen Jaeger as senior vice president of pharmacy care and patient advocacy. Jaeger also will serve in a separate and vital role as president of the NACDS Foundation.

“With 24 years of experience and leadership as a trade association CEO, pharmacist, attorney and advocate, Kathleen Jaeger will serve as a clear and compelling voice for the value of community pharmacy and for the needs of patients in this new and expanded role at NACDS,” said NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE, in a statement. “NACDS’ absolute commitment to telling the story of community pharmacies as the face of neighborhood healthcare has brought us to the point that pharmacy no longer is talking only to itself. We are raising awareness of the value of pharmacy among consumers and patients, among elected officials and policymakers, among the media and among all healthcare partners and stakeholders. Now, it is time to take this work to the next level of success.”

Previously, Jaeger served as executive vice president and CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association and president and CEO of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association. She also has been a partner in the food and drug practices of national law firms Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP, and McKenna & Cuneo LLP, and has served as a hospital pharmacist at the National Institute of Health. Jaeger earned her B.S. in Pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island, and earned her J.D. at Catholic University Law School.

“Every day, countless patient care success stories play out in pharmacies in neighborhoods across America. I look forward to helping to tell this story to advance patient care, and I look forward to doing so with the insights and true passion that flow from being a pharmacist and the daughter of a pharmacist,” said Jaeger. “It is a distinct honor to represent community pharmacy and the value that it delivers to patients and to the broader healthcare system.”

As NACDS’ senior vice president of pharmacy care and patient advocacy, Jaeger will serve as a spokesperson for pharmacy patient care before key constituencies and target audiences, including in the media and at public and healthcare events. She also will direct the staff of the newly renamed Pharmacy Care and Patient Advocacy Department, which advances pharmacy information and research, conducts outreach with NACDS members and with external constituencies including colleges and schools of pharmacy, and provides pharmacy insights and expertise that contribute to NACDS’ public policy advocacy and communications initiatives.

In a separate role, Jaeger also will serve as president of the NACDS Foundation, an organization affiliated with NACDS that operates for the advancement of public health. The NACDS Foundation’s mission is to utilize and support education, research and charitable involvement to help people improve their health and quality of life through an understanding of medication therapy and the importance of taking medications appropriately. Scholarships to pharmacy students and to pharmacy colleges and schools, as well as a new program to expand community pharmacy residencies, are among the NACDS Foundation’s initiatives.

Jaeger will assume her new positions on November 28, 2011, and will report to Anderson.