AURORA, Colo. (May 21, 2009) - The University of Colorado Denver School of Pharmacy presented Paul Limberis, RPh, director of Inpatient Pharmacy with Denver Health Center, and Donna Lynne, DrPH, president of Kaiser Permanente Colorado with Distinguished Coloradan Awards at its annual commencement award banquet on May 21, 2009. The awards are given each year to alumni and friends of the school who have made outstanding contributions to the school, the profession of pharmacy, and the health and welfare of the citizens of Colorado and the nation.
“The two recipients were selected because of their exceptional record of leadership in the fields of health care and pharmacy in Colorado and the nation,” said Ralph Altiere, PhD, dean of the UC Denver School of Pharmacy.
Since graduating from the UC Denver School of Pharmacy in 1979, Paul Limberis, RPh, has established an extraordinary career in pharmacy at the local, state and national levels. Prior to his appointment as Director of Inpatient Pharmacy Service at Denver Health in 2007, Limberis served as Assistant Director of Pharmacy at Denver Health from 2004-2007 and as Director of Pharmacy at The Children’s Hospital Home Care Pharmacy.
Limberis is a board member of the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists serving as the Colorado delegate for twelve years. He is past president of the Colorado Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, past president of the Colorado Pharmacists Society and currently serves as the 2009 president of the State Board of Pharmacy. Limberis has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 1984 Hospital Pharmacist of the Year by the Colorado Society of Hospital Pharmacists, the 2005 Pharmacist of the Year by the Colorado Pharmacists Society, and the 1995 Preceptor of the Year by the University of Colorado Denver School of Pharmacy.
In addition to being an enthusiastic supporter of the school, Limberis’ commitment to pharmacy and the school is evidenced by his superb service as a preceptor, mentor and friend to many students and faculty members during the past thirty years. Of the award Limberis said, “This is truly an honor. I never envisioned receiving such an illustrious award.”
Since 2005, Donna Lynne has led Kaiser Permanente Colorado, the 480,000-member health care provider. As its president, she has been instrumental in continuing the collaborative relationship that has existed between Kaiser Permanente Colorado and the School of Pharmacy by supporting the school with scholarships and student mentoring programs. “Each year, our pharmacists train and mentor more than 50 UC Denver pharmacy students,” said Dr. Lynne. And most recently, Kaiser Permanente provided $100,000 in scholarships to pharmacy students in memory of Kent M. Nelson, PharmD, who at the time of his death was Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services at Kaiser Permanente Colorado.
Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, Lynne was president of Group Health Inc. of New York and worked in senior management for New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corp., the city’s safety net provider, under former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. She also served as the mayor’s operations director.
During the course of her career, Lynne has received numerous awards and recognition including the President’s Award from Women in Health Management, the Health Care Leadership Award from the New York Business Group on Health, the Denver Business Journal’s 2008 Outstanding Women in Business Award, and the 2006 Women of Distinction Award from the Girl Scouts of America Mile Hi Council. She currently serves on the boards of Colorado Concern, Colorado Forum, Colorado Regional Health Information Organization, Colorado Succeeds, Denver Public Schools Foundation, Mountain States Employers Council, Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation, and U.S. Bank Denver. She is an avid outdoor enthusiast who enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
The University of Colorado Denver School of Pharmacy is one of the top-ranked pharmacy schools in the nation. Consistently among the top 10 U.S. pharmacy schools in federal research funding, the school’s internationally renowned faculty conduct basic and clinical research in a variety of scientific fields. Committed to pharmaceutical education, research and patient care, the School of Pharmacy educates students in the properties of medicinal agents, the biology of disease, the pharmacological and toxicological actions of drugs and the current best practices for clinical and therapeutic uses of drugs. For more information, visit the UC Denver School of Pharmacy online.
The University of Colorado Denver is one of three campuses in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver on the Downtown Campus and on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colo., UC Denver offers more than 100 degrees and programs in 13 schools and colleges and serves more than 28,000 students. For more information, visit the UC Denver Newsroom.
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Contact: Dana Brandorff, 303.724.4618, dana.brandorff@ucdenver.edu