Erin McCreary, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP, has received UPMC’s Award for Commitment and Excellence in Service (ACES). The ACES Award honors staff whose everyday actions, and in some instances, personal acts of courage and compassion exceed the high level of service that the community has come to expect from UPMC. Each year, less than one percent of UPMC staff from across the health system receives this honor.
Erin currently leads the UPMC COVID-19 System Therapeutics Committee. Early on during the pandemic, this group was dedicated to making crucial treatment decisions with very limited knowledge, research, and studies. She read anything she could from around the world summarizing studies concisely and effectively for a large stakeholder group with many differing opinions. Managing feedback from many physicians and pharmacists, Erin combined information to create a path forward quickly for the committee. Her nominator stated, “It’s difficult to put into words how incredible Erin is. The work was daunting and hard. There were difficult discussions to lead, but Erin did it all gracefully. Perhaps it’s this part of Erin’s work ethic that had the biggest impact on me. She was an advocate at the highest level for doing what was right by patients, even if that meant having difficult conversations with other staff who were frustrated.”
Erin has been a member of the ID Division for the past three years serving as an Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacist. Erin has established herself as a trusted source of pharmacotherapeutic knowledge and expertise and a leader in innovative clinical practice. In less than 18 months, she led and implemented stewardship initiatives including: dose-optimization of anti-pseudomonal beta-lactam antibiotics, comprehensive antimicrobial dosing chart by indication, transplant prophylaxis guideline updates, novel necrotizing skin and soft tissue infection pathway, evaluation and assessment of beta-lactam allergy pathway, vancomycin area-under-the-curve-based dosing pharmacokinetic service, and antifungal stewardship.
Erin’s primary research interests focus on a “bench to bedside” approach of optimizing pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles for antimicrobial utilization and translational antibiotic stewardship initiatives. She received First Place for Innovation at the UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside 2019/2020 Quality and Safety Fair for her project entitled, “Unchartered Territory: Isavuconazonium Capsules Administered protocol to administer isavuconazonium capsules by enteral feeding tubes, thereby avoiding unnecessary intravenous administration. After 1 year of intervention, the team avoided a total of 527 unnecessary intravenous doses translating into >$50,000 in hospital cost savings. Moreover, Erin has led a multicenter study to publish these findings so that other stewardship programs may pursue a similar strategy. She has made significant contributions to the care of patients with infectious diseases and the education of students, residents, fellows, and colleagues.
Congratulations Erin on this well-deserved honor. Thank you for your hard work and dedication!