Steinhardt named 2011-12 Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow
Sarah Steinhardt of Lafayette, Ind., has been named the 2011-12 Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow. The fellow program, which focuses on legislative policy analysis and development, is sponsored by VCU School of Pharmacy in collaboration with the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Steinhardt earned her doctor of pharmacy degree from Purdue University College of Pharmacy in 2003 . She also earned a law degree with a health law concentration from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis in 2009 and a master of science degree in pharmacy administration from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in 2010.
In making her case as an applicant for the health-care policy fellowship, Steinhardt noted her experience as “a pharmacist with a legal background, residency training and rotational experience in the government affairs division of one of the premier pharmacy associations in the country.”
Gary R. Matzke, founding director of the fellow program, confirmed Steinhardt as an excellent choice for the 2011-12 fellowship. The Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow program, the country’s first such program for pharmacists, was established in 2006. The current fellow, Joshua Lorenz, works for the office of Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) with the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
As part of her fellowship, Steinhardt will spend one month with the ASHP government affairs staff (Joe Hill, Brian Meyer and Kasey Thompson) and one month with the ACCP government and professional affairs staff (John McGlew and C. Edwin Webb). Following those rotations, she will begin working as a policy fellow on a congressional committee or with the personal staff of a United States senator or representative.
The congressional placement process is guided by the fellow program developers: Matzke, associate dean for clinical research and public policy at VCU School of Pharmacy; Webb, ACCP associate executive director; and Meyer, director of ASHP’s government affairs division.
Steinhardt most recently is a pharmacy practice administration resident at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
“Sarah’s legal and pharmacy backgrounds intersect well,” wrote Scott Mark in a recommendation. Mark, who is director of pharmacy and director of the Pharmacy Practice Management Residency for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said Steinhardt exhibits “excellent scientific, analytical and management skills” in general.
It is clear, Mark wrote, that she enjoyed working on changing the outcomes of health policy issues that she had seen impact the hospital and that she would like to contribute to the implementation of health policies that will result in practice improvements nationwide.
Among Steinhardt’s awards and honors are the Robert C. Anderson Family Scholarship, the Thomas R. Cunningham Pharmacy Scholarship, the Walgreens Outstanding Customer Service Award and membership in Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa and the Order of the Barristers.
While attending pharmacy school, Steinhardt worked with a team of NASA engineers to plan and execute a pharmacy compounding experiment in simulated microgravity aboard the KC-135 airplane. She worked for two years in retail pharmacy before attending law school. During law school, she was a note development editor for the Indiana Health Law Review and a semifinalist in the moot court oral advocacy competition. The ASHP rotation during her pharmacy residency at the University of Pittsburgh gave her insight into a career that would combine all her interests, education and skills.
“I can honestly say that out of all my experiences, the time I spent in the government affairs division of the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists was the most fun I have had at work in my entire life,” Steinhardt wrote in her fellow application. “I visited Capitol Hill during my rotation and was excited to be in the nerve center where all the decisions shaping laws, regulations and health policy for the country are made.
“One large, important issue is health-care reform and the role a pharmacist will have as a result of changes in the system. … I would be very interested to be directly involved and see if the government can use a bipartisan approach toward solving the problem of health-care costs and health-care reform.”
Steinhardt’s fellowship begins Sept. 1. To learn more about the Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow Program, click here. To visit the program’s Facebook page for more information and related health-care policy news, click here.
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