University of Iowa graduate James A. Otterbeck, of Chicago, Illinois, and Naples, Florida., has made a gift of $1.5 million through his company, OnePoint Patient Care, to establish the James A. Otterbeck OnePoint Patient Care Professorship in Hospice and Palliative Care in the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy.
This gift will help the UI College of Pharmacy take the lead in preparing health-care professionals to provide holistic end-of-life care for patients and their families.
“The vision was to establish the nation’s first teaching position focused on hospice and palliative-care pharmacy at the University of Iowa,” says Otterbeck. “It is my hope that this position can foster integration among all the UI health sciences—helping to create a world-class UI specialty in hospice and palliative care.”
Did you know?
Forty-seven percent of all Iowa pharmacists are UI educated.
To see a related story, see UI pharmacy faculty member to lead Iowa pharmacists.
The field of hospice and palliative care is meeting a growing national need. According to the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, the number of older people in the United States will increase dramatically between 2010 and 2030. The older population in 2030 is projected to be twice what it was in 2000, growing from 35 million to 72 million and representing nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. population.
“Our college is extremely grateful to Mr. Otterbeck for his generosity and vision,” says Donald Letendre, dean of the UI College of Pharmacy. “Establishing a professorship in hospice and palliative care in the UI College of Pharmacy will help emphasize, throughout all of the university’s health-care disciplines, the importance of education, training, and research for end-of-life care. Thanks to Jim’s loyalty and commitment, we look forward to becoming a national leader in serving patients and their families in this critical health-care specialty.”
Otterbeck received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in decision sciences from the UI in 1983 and his Master of Business Administration degree in economics and marketing from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1989. He is the chairman of OnePoint Patient Care, an independent hospice-pharmacy services provider. OnePoint is the only major provider offering clinical expertise, custom compounding and same-day delivery to hospice patients from all of its dispensing locations.
The UI College of Pharmacy is the fourth-oldest College of Pharmacy in a state-supported university, with a Doctor of Pharmacy program that is consistently ranked as one of the finest in the nation.The college’s mission is to enhance human health through excellence in pharmacy education, research, patient care, and engaged service.
About the UI Foundation
The UI Foundation’s mission is to advance the UI and fulfill the aspirations of those it serves. The university’s dedicated contributors fund a broad array of needs, from student scholarships, breakthrough research and life-changing health care to innovative facilities, community outreach and global education.
The UI and UI Foundation are conducting a historic comprehensive $1.7 billion fundraising campaign, For Iowa. Forever More: The Campaign for the University of Iowa, which will help secure the UI’s status as a world-class institution for future generations.
The UI Foundation is the preferred channel for private contributions that benefit all areas of the University of Iowa. For more information about the foundation and the campaign, visit the foundation website.