July 9, 2010 – It is with great sorrow that Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access (SNHPA), the publisher of the Drug Discount Monitor, reports the death of its close friend, Fred Metschulat, assistant director of business operations for the University of Maryland Medical Center Pharmacies (UMMC) for the last eight years.
Fred passed away on July 6 following a struggle with a heart condition.
Fred was a strong proponent of the 340B program and worked tirelessly to educate others within his health system and throughout the nation on how to implement this important program. “His work not only increased access to much needed pharmaceutical care but helped reduce costs of medications by millions of dollars to a health system serving a very large low-income population,” said SNHPA Executive Director Ted Slafsky. Fred was also a strong advocate for SNHPA’s various legislative and regulatory efforts and a regular and avid attendee at 340B Coalition conferences. He also provided valuable guidance to SNHPA and its members on many pharmacy related topics.
In communicating Fred’s death to hospital staff, Mark Summerfield, UMMC pharmacy director, said: “To say that Fred was a friend, colleague, and mentor of the highest order is an understatement. To say that Fred was instrumental over the last eight years in building our pharmacy is an understatement. To say that Fred will be missed with pain and emptiness and sorrow is an understatement.”
Friends may call at the Ruck Towson Funeral Home, 1050 York Rd., in the Baltimore, Md., suburb of Towson (Beltway exit 26A) on Sunday, July 11, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. and between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Funeral services will be held Monday, July 12, at 10 a.m. at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1108 Providence Road, Towson, MD. Interment will be at the Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens on East Padonia Road in Lutherville-Timonium, Md.
Condolences may be communicated to Fred’s family via his daughter Nikki (Nicole) Strong, senior operations manager for ambulatory services at UMMC, at nstrong@umm.edu or (410) 328-3619 or via the Ruck Towson Funeral Home online Legacy Book.