Congratulations to 40 Under 40 Winner: Adrian Gonzales, System Pharmacy Services Executive, Adventist Health
Get To Know Adrian:
Age (as of December 31, 2023): 39
Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Alma Matter: University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA)
Number of Years of Experience in Healthcare: 17
Someone You Look Up to in the Industry: Michael Frisina
Favorite Hobby: Anything with family and sports
Favorite Movie of All-Time: Sandlot
Your Favorite thing about healthcare: The opportunity to care for people and provide a solution for their health needs. There are direct and indirect things that we do but at the end it is for people and that is a blessing!
Why is this candidate a good fit for 40 under 40?
Executive oversight of Pharmacy Service Line at Adventist Health. Adventist Health is a multi-state health system compromised of hospitals, infusion centers, clinics, and retail pharmacies. Medication management is a key function for patient and community wellbeing. Adrian has shared a vision and strategy that promotes pharmacy services into all continuums of care to ensure operational excellence, safety, compliance, outcomes, and financial stewardship are optimized. Establishing governance structure within the organization has fostered team work, leadership development, strategic alignment, and plan implementation. Service line initiatives have ensured associates are practicing at top of license for improved patient experiences as seen in CMS 5 star ratings and LEAP frog scores. In addition, service line has reversed negative EBIDA contribution to double digit EBIDA contribution within the last 2 years with plans to generate $500M in topline revenue over the next 5 years. New care programs at organizational level and thru partnerships will improve community wellbeing and transform lives. We have created patient programs for under-served communities thru technology and innovative resourcing. Team approach and person centric models create engaged associates, patients, and business partners.
Explain this candidate’s professional accomplishments:
Transforming patient experience and outcomes thru pharmacy services to improve medication access and adherence, reduce total cost of care plus improving the organizations bottom line. Within our clinics, patients now are able to begin therapy within 3 business days instead of baseline and national average of 6 weeks for specialty diseases. Pharmacy integration models in clinic space also affords the patient to have their own pharmacist not only in the clinic office setting, but we also ensure medication is delivered from our own store. This is better for patients and resulted in 22% EBIDA retail pharmacy margin. Other programs include Naloxone use campaigns within at risk populations and within our school systems (principals have reported without program assistance certain student lives may have been lost on campus). Optimization of technology has increased safety with Bar code medication administration utilization greater than 90% across the system. Safety is a top priority, and capital funds were acquired to upgrade and add additional Automated Dispensing Cabinets (ADC's) across the entire system. ADC upgrade will offer clinicians a full solution to care for patients that allows for safe and timely delivery of medications. As part of system level council development, standard formulary and EHR build has been possible. In addition, council development have led to improved engagement from all hospitals and departments to be aligned with strategy and outcomes. Adrian has been a national speaker, presenting on topics such as Antimicrobial stewardship, Clinical Pharmacy Programs, EHR enhancements. In addition, Adrian established a County Wide Antimicrobial stewardship consortium that brought in multiple parties to establish alignment of practices. In addition, established a Telepharmacy program that brought Pharmacists closer to the patient in both acute and outpatient settings. The telepharmacy program was very instrumental to patient care pre and post-COVID.
How does the candidate show commitment to the industry and bettering their professional career?
Patient outcomes and safety advocate thru service line growth, thru national committees, and research. Graduate of the ACHE Executive Program cohort he understands leadership leads people and people is what gets things done. Taking care of people is our top priority. As evidence in national speaker presentations, this also includes speaking to the next generation at local high schools and universities. Optimizing people, processes, and technology have allowed for best practice development, innovation, and inspiration. Evidence seen as new generation of leaders are active within the organization and peer network establishment.
