[Pharmwaste] Dr. Stevan Gressitt
Catherine Zimmer
zenllc at usfamily.net
Mon May 15 09:31:10 EDT 2017
Hi Deborah,
Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
We will miss Dr. Gressitt. He was instrumental in changing Medicare rules
to allow for trial prescriptions and pro-rated co-pays. Although I don't
believe this provision is used much, it was successful in bringing the cost
of drug waste to the forefront w/CMS and a first for source reduction of
pharmaceutical waste.
Very truly yours,
Catherine Zimmer, MS, BSMT
Executive director, <http://www.hearrtmidwest.wildapricot.org/> HEARRT
Midwest
Principal, Zimmer Environmental Improvement
Improving processes, minimizing and managing waste and, reducing costs.
T: 651.645.7509
<mailto:zenllc at usfamily.net> zenllc at usfamily.net
From: Pharmwaste [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf
Of Gaworski, Tom
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2017 5:10 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: Re: [Pharmwaste] Dr. Stevan Gressitt
I too had the opportunity to meet Dr. Gressitt in Portland in 2006. He was
on the cutting edge of many pharmaceutical disposal issues and someone I
spoke with on a number of occasions for information or advice. Those who
knew him will certainly miss his charm, intellect, passion and drive for the
initiatives he was at the forefront of. Dr. Gressitt was a great man, sorry
to hear of his passing.
<http://www.ocsewers.com/> THOMAS E. GAWORSKI
Principal Environmental Specialist
Orange County Sanitation District | Resource Protection Division
10844 Ellis Avenue | Fountain Valley | CA 92708-7018
Office: 714.593.7422 | Fax: 714.593.7785 | <http://www.ocsewers.com/>
www.ocsewers.com
From: Pharmwaste [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf
Of DeBiasi, Deborah (DEQ)
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2017 1:15 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Dr. Stevan Gressitt
I am very sad to share that Dr. Stevan Gressitt passed away
March 13th, 2017. I don't know what motivated me to search for information
on him today, other than the fact I hadn't seen anything posted by him to
this list for a long time. Needless to say, this was not what I hoped to
find. His obituary is below my comments.
Dr. Stevan Gressitt was one of the early members of the
pharmwaste list server, dating back at least to June 2005 near when the list
began. The very first conference I attended on the environmental effects
of pharmaceuticals was organized by Dr. Gressitt on October 23-24, 2006 and
held in Portland Maine. It was very informative and really opened my eyes
to other problems with pharmaceuticals that I hadn't even thought about.
The gathering allowed for me to meet him, and also Laurie Tenace, who
managed the pharmwaste list in Florida until her retirement September 2016.
Dr. Gressitt was in the forefront of creating ways to reduce the
impacts of drugs on the environment. He suggested that doctors reduce the
number of pain killers and benzodiazepines that were prescribed, started
drug take-back events, and created the first pilot mail-back program for
Maine that an EPA grant helped fund. A lot of what we do today with
pharmaceutical disposal is the result of his efforts.
I enjoyed his dry sense of humor, and his gentle urgings to make
things happen. I'm sure many others on this list remember Stevan for a
myriad of reasons as well. I'm glad to have known him, and so sorry that
he is no longer with us.
http://obituaries.centralmaine.com/obituaries/mainetoday-centralmaine/obitua
ry.aspx?page=lifestory
<http://obituaries.centralmaine.com/obituaries/mainetoday-centralmaine/obitu
ary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=184653743> &pid=184653743
STEVAN EDWARD GRESSITT, M.D.1950 - 2017 UNITY -
Stevan E. Gressitt, M.D. died unexpectedly on Monday, March 13, 2017.
Family, friends and local, national and international colleagues are shocked
and saddened.Born in Yreka, Calif., Stevan was the son of John and Doris
(MacKellar) Gressitt. He graduated from the Porter Gaud School in
Charleston, SC, from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec and from the
Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. He served as Chief
Resident in Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass.
and as Massachusetts Clinical Fellow in Psychiatry at Harvard University in
Cambridge, Mass.Moving to Maine in 2001, Stevan was an active supporter of
the Maine Association of Psychiatric Physicians, and served as Councilor,
committee member and committee Chairman at various times. He was involved in
many other professional organizations, such as the American Association of
Community Psychiatrists, the Maine Medical Association, the Maine State
Psychiatric Working Group (Drug Utilization Review Committee), the
International Pharmaceutical Federation (Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Environment and Pharmaceutical Section), and the Maine Health Workforce
Forum, Maine Office of Rural Health and Primary Care. Stevan founded the
Maine Benzodiazepine Study Group, and worked passionately for a better
understanding of the adverse effects of prescription medications and for
practices that are more effective, safe and cost-effective.
He tirelessly promoted the awareness of adverse environmental consequences
of inappropriate medication disposal, including pharmaceutical contamination
of ground water streams and rivers. He promoted the practice of initially
prescribing in smaller amounts, to reduce the volume of unused medication
that could be diverted or be the cause of accidental poisoning. He pioneered
medication take-back events that many communities now sponsor, and that
provide data to illuminate issues of waste, fraud and abuse in prescribing
practices.He was an exceptional psychiatrist, with great vision, dedication
and relentless energy and courage. As one colleague stated, "These qualities
have sometimes taken him off in the direction of roads less travelled. But
looking back, it's not so much that Dr. Gressitt marches to the beat of a
different drummer, but rather that he hears long before the rest of us
drumbeats we all eventually realize we must heed."
Stevan was a principled man, and a loving and deeply devoted husband, son,
brother and father. He was also endlessly quirky, making no two days with
Stevan the same. He would take a break from psychiatric articles to spend
half an hour with his ducks; he would become fascinated by the beauty of a
feather, or the form of an egg. He had no interest in living in a home
without dogs and cats, and took great pleasure in their presence and the way
they lived their lives. He was a complicated being, and the most interesting
companion his wife has ever known. She, and his family and friends, miss him
deeply. He is survived by: his wife, Gail M. Chase; his mother, Doris M.
Gressitt; his sister, Alexandra S. Gressitt; and his daughter, Carina A.
Gressitt.No funeral service will be held. There will be a celebration of
Stevan's life that will be held in the spring, in central Maine. Contact
Gail Chase: gchase at uninets.net
.
Deborah L. DeBiasi
Email: <mailto:Deborah.DeBiasi at deq.virginia.gov>
Deborah.DeBiasi at deq.virginia.gov
WEB site address: <http://www.deq.virginia.gov/> www.deq.virginia.gov
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Office of Water Permits
Industrial Pretreatment/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Program
PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents
<http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDi
schargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx>
http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDis
chargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx
Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218
Location: 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219
PH: 804-698-4028 FAX: 804-698-4032
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