CommonSpirit Health’s Karen McConnell and Northwell Health’s Onisis Stefas Join Hospital Owned Specialty Pharmacy (HOSP) Alliance Board of Directors

Wakefield, Mass. – October 18, 2021 – The HOSP Alliance today announced that two new members have joined the Board of Directors. Karen McConnell, System Vice President of the Pharmacy Enterprise and Chief Pharmacy Officer at CommonSpirit Health, and Onisis Stefas, Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer, Northwell Health, join the six founding members on the board.

The breadth of knowledge and expertise McConnell and Stefas bring to the HOSP Alliance includes clinical and leadership positions, as well as backgrounds in directing programs, policies, and procedures for health systems’ pharmacies.

Stefas serves not only on the board but heads up the Advocacy Committee as well. At Northwell Health, he is vice president and chief pharmacy officer, and leads Northwell Health’s Pharmacy Service Line. He develops the strategy and directs the implementation of programs, policies and procedures designed to integrate the health system’s pharmacy services. He also oversees the management, financial operations and development of Northwell’s central pharmacy and for-profit subsidiary Vivo Health, which includes PBM, specialty, mail order, retail and pharmacy consulting services. Stefas graduated from Albany College of Pharmacy with a Doctor of Pharmacy in 2002, and went on to receive his Master in Business Administration from Hofstra University in 2010. He is an adjunct professor at St. John’s University and Binghamton University.

“HOSP provides a collective voice advocating for the needs of patients and providers and is focused on demonstrating the value an integrated health system-owned pharmacy brings to patient care,” said Stefas. “Being a member of the HOSP Board allows me to be part of an organization that can prioritize the unique needs of health system-owned specialty pharmacies.

At CommonSpirit Health, McConnell oversees the entire pharmacy enterprise, including inpatient, ambulatory care, operations, clinical, retail, and specialty and telepharmacy for the their142-hospital system located in 21 states.  She graduated with her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Missouri – Kansas City and with her Master of Business Administration from Grand Canyon University. She completed a pharmacy practice residency at Cox Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri and a specialty residency at Kaiser Permanente Colorado in Denver.  Prior to her current role, she was the System Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services at CommonSpirit Health.

“I’m excited to join the HOSP Board because it focuses on integrating the care of patients to improve their health outcomes,” said McConnell. “Fragmentation of care can result in suboptimal care, so being a part of an innovative organization that seeks to contribute to the solution for all patients who need specialty pharmacy services feels right to me.”

About HOSP
The Health System Owned Specialty Pharmacy Alliance (HOSP) is a network of leading health systems and the businesses that support them who advocate for the better patient care and outcomes associated with fully integrated health system specialty pharmacies. HOSP believes that health systems are best positioned to provide the highest quality care to their specialty patients in the outpatient setting. HOSP advocates for and develops industry best practices to ensure that onsite health system specialty pharmacy operations have gold standard care models of excellence. For more information: https://hospalliance.org/

HOSP Membership

HOSP is a non-profit organization. It is not a charity, rather it is an organization of professionals with common business and societal interests to devote the organization’s time to improving industry conditions and promoting common interests.

HOSP general membership is open to any qualified health system that seeks to embrace the organization’s mission of delivering critical care excellence through health system owned specialty pharmacies. For information about member qualifications, membership dues and how to join: https://hospalliance.org/membership/

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