2021 Missouri – Lisa Cillessen, PharmD, BCACP

Clinical Associate Professor
University of Missouri-Kansas City, Jordan Valley Community Health Center
Springfield, Missouri

Lisa was destined for pharmacy. Science and math were her favorite high school subjects and her anatomy and physiology teacher encouraged her to look into the medical fields. “Pharmacy allowed me to mix my favorite subjects with patient and provider interactions to impact people’s health.” Today, she is a clinical associate professor at University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy and a clinical pharmacist for the Jordan Valley Community Health Center (JVCHC), Missouri’s largest federally qualified health center. In December 2020, the Health Resources and Services Administration asked JVCHC to become a pilot site to bring monoclonal antibody infusion treatment for COVID-19 positive patients to the outpatient setting. As the project’s clinical lead, her team was up and running in 12 days to makeshift a space with available equipment (they used dental chairs to provide a comfortable place to sit). In 2021, the site provided infusion treatments to more than 1,200 patients. Additionally, Lisa was one of the clinical leads for a vaccination program that provided more than 111,000 vaccines in 2021. She credits her success to “a medical director who is pharmacy friendly and a nurse manager who allowed me to access her nursing staff to provide coverage and training.”