About the Program
Who We Are
Our Residents are immersed into a team who is committed to being on top of a vastly changing field of pharmacy.
Holyoke Health Center’s Pharmacy Residency Program is a ASHP Accredited PGY1 Community Residency Program. We are located within a federally qualified community health center (FQHC) with an on-site open door community pharmacy. Integrated directly with the primary care team, our program focuses on ambulatory care and management of chronic disease states for patients that receive their care at our outpatient facility.
Holyoke Health Center is in a HRSA designated HPSA (Health Professional Shortage Area) location. Holyoke has a large Puerto Rican population and most patients are best served in Spanish. With 26% of the cities population considered to be in poverty; a majority of the patients are on state Medicaid.
ASHP Purpose
PGY1 pharmacy residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) education and outcomes to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists responsible for medication-related care of patients with a wide range of conditions, eligible for board certification, and eligible for postgraduate year two (PGY2) pharmacy residency training.


Our Expert Team
Each preceptor has years of experience and specialized training. Every year, the Residency Program Director conducts a Preceptor Development Plan to ensure that all preceptors are equipped to meet the demands and needs that come from training our pharmacy residents
Meet the Preceptors

Lori Lewicki, RPh
Chief Pharmacy Officer & Residency Program Director
Retail Operations/ Management Preceptor

Marisa Piers-Gamble, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, RPh
Clinical Program Coordinator & Primary Contact for the residency program.

Alyssa Puia, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, RPh
Clinical Pharmacist
Immunizations & MTM Preceptor

Aimee Dawson, PharmD, RPh
Associate Professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Vice Chair of Department of Pharmacy Practice Pharmacy Practice
Academia Preceptor

Alma Garcia, PharmD, RPh
Clinical Pharmacist
Transitions-of-Care Preceptor

Karen Zamachaj, PharmD, RPh
Clinical Pharmacist
Retail Pharmacy/ Community Preceptor

Jerril Varghese, PharmD, RPh
Informatics Pharmacist
Informatics & Retail Operations/ Management Preceptor

Melvin Morales Jr, PharmD, RPh
Clinical Pharmacist
MTM Preceptor

Alicia Poole, PharmD, RPh
Clinical Pharmacist
MTM Pharmacist Preceptor
Meet the Residents

Evona Bolaske, PharmD
- From West Brookfield, MA
- Graduated from the University of Rhode Island
- I enjoy baking, going to the beach, playing with my dog and reading
Contact Info:

Ashley Chiarello, PharmD
- From Stony Brook, NY
- Graduated from the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy
- I enjoy traveling, going to the beach, spending time with family and friends, and spending time with my dog
Contact Info:
Where are they now?
While most of our residents have pursued careers as ambulatory care pharmacists, a few have went in different routes. 1 is a professor of pharmacy practice, 1 is a director of pharmacy, 1 is an informatics pharmacist, and 1 went on to do research in infectious disease.
Our residents have taken what they learned through their pharmacy career and have brought it across the US to many states including Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Arizona, Wisconsin, & Florida.
A Day in the Life of a Resident
CORE ROTATIONS
See what each of our core rotations are and how they will fit into your daily schedule
MTM Clinic
Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Clinic is the core of our residency program. Pharmacists at Holyoke Health Center are embedded on the family medicine floors working with providers, nurses, CHWs & other support staff to meet with patients, provide education on medications, and recommend strategies to optimize therapy.
Trasitions-of-Care
To deliver quality care, patients touch back with the primary care office once discharged from a facility. The pharmacist will communicate with the patient ahead of their transition appointment via telehealth to ensure all medication changes have been addressed & that the patient's medication list is accurate.
Co-Precepting & Research
The pharmacist is crucial in providing education to pharmacy students and technicians trainees. Residents will enhance student learning experiences while also completing a research project in the field of pharmacy.
Immunizations Clinic
One of the first clinical services provided by the pharmacy was immunizations. The pharmacist is responsible for encouraging routine vaccination and providing vaccines to patients in an easy and efficient manner.
Family Medicine
The health center is a firm believer in collaborative care. The pharmacist works with other healthcare professionals including nurse practitioner residents to assist with creating a medication profile for new patients and patients transitioning their primary care to our clinic.
Operations
In order to run the operations of the pharmacy department, the resident will work closely with our Chief Pharmacy Officer and informatics pharmacist to keep the pharmacy on top of regulations, encourage smooth business operations, report out on continuous quality improvements, and identify ways to improve the pharmacy profession. The pharmacist will also be responsible for creating a business plan during this rotation.
Community
The health center has an in-house pharmacy where all our pharmacy operations are based out of. The pharmacist fills and verifies prescriptions in our community pharmacy to provide patients with enhanced access to medications. The pharmacist also provides blister packed medications to patients to help with medication adherence.
Electives
Interested in more opportunities?
Academia
Does pharmacy education appeal to you? Academia is our most popular elective. We have a preceptor who is a professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. You will have the opportunity to be on campus, deliver a lecture, or precept students in pharmacy lab.
Diabetes Clinic
Immerse yourself fully into diabetes care. Our pharmacists are certified in diabetes care with CDCES. You will have the opportunity to manage patients' diabetes through the use of novel technologies like CGMs (Continuous Glucose Monitors) and ensure that practice protocols are the gold standard by reviewing our collaborative practice agreement.
Hepatitis C Clinic
With novel therapies for Hepatitis C, pharmacists play a crucial role in getting patients ready for Hep C treatment. You'll have the opportunity work with the Hep C pharmacist to ensure patients have access to to therapy and complete therapy as prescribed.
Pharmacy Informatics
Get into the more technical side of pharmacy. If you are tech-savvy, this is the elective for you. Learn how to run reports out of our pharmacy software or EHR. Use these reports to generate visual graphics to convey or identify trends.
Unsure?
Unsure if any of the electives peak your interest? If you are passionate about any of your core rotations, you can repeat it and immerse yourself even deeper into the learning experience.