The Pharmacist / Spring 2022 / Volume 44 / Issue 2

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ALUMNI PROFILES KERSTEN WEBER TATARELIS · PHARMD ’07, RES ’08 Dr. Kersten Weber Tatarelis Helps Health Care Evolve BY JESSICA CANLAS KERSTEN WEBER TATARELIS, PharmD ’07, RES ’08, honed a knack for challenging the status quo at UIC as a student, extern, and resident. Today, she brings that independent-minded approach to healthcare leadership at one of the country’s largest health systems. Weber Tatarelis rose to the position of vice president of pharmacy operations for Advocate Aurora Health in 2018, shortly after the merger of Illinois’s Advocate and Wisconsin’s Aurora healthcare systems. In that role, she’s responsible for pharmacy operations at hospitals in northern Illinois, while also overseeing a large remote clinical pharmacy services team and several system pharmacy operations, including clinical practice, medication safety, and antimicrobial stewardship. Healthcare leadership appealed to the strategic thinker in Weber Tatarelis, she said. “Leading through change, helping others with developing their purpose and vision is really my passion. I love big strategy. I love challenging conventional thinking.” That creative and independent streak first blossomed at UIC, where Weber Tatarelis also completed a pharmacy practice residency. “The mentors I had always pushed you to think differently, to think outside the box, challenged you to think beyond what’s right in front of you,” she said. “That type of thinking helped me to be more confident in the way I look at problems and solutions. It set me up for success.” The approach has served Weber Tatarelis well in a fast-changing industry, she added. “Healthcare is dynamic and ever-changing, and we’re challenged to continue to evolve with it. That is also the most rewarding thing, to not think so conventionally, but to think forward.” Weber Tatarelis began her post-UIC career at the University of Chicago as a surgical intensive care pharmacist, where she helped develop residency and clinical programs. She next moved on as a clinical coordinator at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, rising through clinical pharmacy leadership positions until her VP promotion. Even today, she continues to advance her thinking in the field at the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign’s online MBA program. “For me, the MBA is trying to close gaps in areas that I don’t feel as confident in and that I’d like more exposure to,” she said. “I’d also like more exposure to the way other industries operate.” Weber Tatarelis said she’s most proud, though, of her family. “Having a demanding career with four small kids at home—that is what I am most proud of. Keeping up with them is the hardest part!” Deanna Horner Is Comfortable Being Uncomfortable BY JESSICA CANLAS DEANNA HORNER, PharmD, RES ’08, says she does well with a little discomfort in her life. Horner, who is VP of specialty pharmacy management with UnitedHealthcare’s Government Programs, found that educational and career transitions strengthened confidence in her ability to grow. “I discovered . . . that I was just developing more quickly than if I had stayed in one place,” she recalls. “Each time, I learned, ‘I can do this,’ and it reinforced that I can do different things, take the knowledge that I already have and build on that.” As an undergrad, Horner, who hails from Downers Grove, Illinois, spent much of her time volunteering in clinical settings 34 THE PHARMACIST PHARMACY.UIC.EDU
at UIC, where her mother worked as a mechanical engineer. She was intrigued by seeing clinical pharmacists in action and realized it would make an ideal career path—combining her interest in science with a desire to serve others. After earning her degree in bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, she traveled west to the University of California, San Francisco, School of Pharmacy, where she focused on critical care. Horner then returned home for her PGY1 residency at UIC, where she sought to expand her practice experience in critical care. “There were a lot of things in residency at UIC that got me comfortable with being uncomfortable,” she says. Horner recalls the daily noon reports, led by residency director Dr. Frank Paloucek. Residents who had been on call the previous night were required to present reports of their work for team review. “That was an absolutely fantastic learning experience, to hear how coresidents and preceptors would approach problems. It was a wealth of knowledge. At the beginning of residency, Paloucek required residents to complete the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. “I identified as having a high burnout risk,” Horner says. “[Since then] I’ve been mindful of that, making sure that I maintain balance between my career and personal life. That was useful to know, especially early on in my career.” Horner went on to complete her PGY2 in critical care at University of Kentucky before returning to UCSF for a full-time position as a critical care pharmacist, where, in addition to patient care, she was able to teach and work with interns, residents and fellows on rounds. “I also got the opportunity to do some quality improvement work, both for our patients with sepsis and for those in stroke management. As part of those projects, I started to see more broadly how I could impact population health, so I became interested in what clinical programs we could implement and how we could evolve those.” Horner was also able to step out of her comfort zone to work as interim clinical pharmacy manager, further gaining the experience she needed to transition back home to a permanent role with the same title at Tenet Healthcare, where she oversaw four hospitals in the Chicago market. “I was able to take that experience and develop teams of pharmacists in the hospital setting and outpatient clinics,” she recalls. Continuing on her path toward population-level healthcare, Horner took on the responsibility for establishing an antimicrobial stewardship program at Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park. After three years at Tenet, Horner realized it was time, once again, to step up her discomfort level. “At Tenet, none of the pharmacists reported to me. I was providing recommendations and guidance to the pharmacy director and staff, more like a consultant. I wanted to go from leading through influence to leading a team directly.” Horner moved on to UnitedHealthcare, where, after two years as a clinical pharmacy manager, she was promoted to senior director of specialty pharmacy management, leading a team of pharmacists and technicians in the medication adherence program supporting UHC Medicare Advantage. “Our goal with that program was to improve medication-taking habits of our members so they could be adherent to their [regimens].” Another two years later, Horner moved on to her current, more clinically focused position at UHC as VP, developing strategy and implementing medical drug benefit programs. Now, she and her team perform outreach to Medicare members to ensure access and adherence. “We want to get to patients before they have those negative complications of their disease states,” Horner explains. At UHC, Horner feels she’s found a home, “helping people live healthier lives and making the healthcare system work better for everyone.” One of the factors that drew her to a larger company—UHC employs more than 3,500 pharmacists—is opportunity. She encourages students and fellow alumni to take advantage of any chance to learn from diverse vantage points. “It can be scary,” Horner admits. “But with each transition, if you try something new, you’d be surprised. You’ll find you can do more than you’d expect if you just continue to challenge yourself.” DEANNA HORNER · PHARMD, RES ’08 SPRING 2022 THE PHARMACIST 35
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The Pharmacist / Spring 2022 / Volume 44 / Issue 2

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