UPHS – Bell Heroes | Douglas Anderson, PharmD, Director of Pharmacy

What is your title and role at UPHS – Bell? 
Director of Pharmacy, I ultimately bear responsibility for all medications administered in the hospital, and therefore develop and enforce policies and procedures to ensure the safe, effective, and fiscally responsible use of those medications. I am also responsible for pharmacy informatics, which is the building and maintaining of the computer systems used to prescribe, document, and monitor medication therapies. 

How long have you been employed here? Have you always been in the same position? 
I have been at Bell for 12 years and have always been in the same position. 

What does a typical day look like for you? 
A typical day consists of reviewing quality reports, addressing computer-related questions and making necessary updates, reviewing and updating policies, acting as a liaison between the pharmacy staff and other professionals, such as nursing and medicine, attending meetings of various committees and performing traditional pharmacist roles such as order verification, medication checking and distribution. The distribution of time spent between these various activities varies widely depending on the day, but some time is spent on each of them nearly every day.

Tell us a little bit about your family.
My wife, Kimber, is a circulating nurse in the OR here at Bell when she’s not at home chasing our two young children, Shawn (4) and Avery (2). I also have a 24-year-old daughter, Holly, who is an accountant in Green Bay. I have one sister, Christine, who is the activities director at an assisted living facility in Grand Blanc, MI.

What are some of your favorite hobbies? 
I love pretty much anything outdoors, we run (both trail and road), bike (both trail and road), use our standup paddleboards, hike, and camp. I also enjoy woodworking when I can find the time. 

What is something people may not know about you? 
I’m Batman. Seriously, I can’t think of anything. Most people probably don’t know I have a woodshop. It’s a bit of solitary activity and it doesn’t come up in conversation very often. 

What is your favorite part about working for UPHS – Bell? 
Hands down, the way every department works together. I’ve worked at other places where the nursing staff, medical staff, and pharmacy were consistently feuding about something. Here at UPHS – Bell, we are a big family focused on the patient and finding ways to best serve them.