The Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA) Board of Trustees and Legislative Advisory Committee awarded Greg Johansen with the 2022 Champion Advocate Award. Johansen was recognized at the 2022 Legislative Day on March 7.
The Champion Advocate Award was established in 2020 to recognize members who have partnered with IPA to advocate for and advance the profession of pharmacy.
“[Greg was] selected for this award by the Board of Trustees in recognition of [his] decades long service as an advocate for the pharmacy profession…” said Kate Gainer, executive vice president and CEO of the IPA in the announcement. “[He has] delivered contributions from the Iowa Pharmacy Political Action Committee to local legislators, hosted numerous state legislators, members of Congress and policy makers at Medicap GRx pharmacies, and… [his] personal testimony in the Iowa House of Representatives on the impact of PBM practices was instrumental in enacting change.”
Greg is a 1976 graduate of Drake’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences with a successful career in pharmacy operations and a long history of philanthropic support to his alma mater and to his profession.
“The government is all about “Where do you draw the line?” Pharmacy has not always been good at promoting ourselves. For the most part, we tend to be humble people and just want to practice what we learned,” Johansen said in virtual remarks. “But the reality is we don’t have the luxury of doing that. While belonging to associations and groups that have lobbyists to advocate on their behalf is important, they’ll be the first to tell you that they need us working with them to have an impact on the lawmakers and rulemakers.”
Currently president of GRX Holdings and a member of the board of OneroRx, Johansen operates and assists with 31 independent community pharmacies across Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
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