Somani named to direct pharmacy services at hospitals and clinics

Shabir Somani of Issaquah has been appointed director of the Department of Pharmacy Services for the UW Academic Medical Center.

Somani

In his new role, Somani will have management responsibility for pharmacy services at UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Hall Health Primary Care Center, and the UW Physicians Neighborhood Clinics. The department has a combined staff of nearly 250 professional, technical and support personnel.

“This truly is one of the best academic medical centers in the country and I am proud to be leading a department of very dedicated professionals,” Somani said.

Somani has served as associate director of UW Medical Center Pharmacy Services since September 1994, when he came to UWMC from the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinics. He replaces V. de Paul Burkhart, who retired last October. Somani was chosen after a national search.

Somani has a master’s of business administration, a master’s of science in hospital pharmacy and a residency in pharmacy administration from the University of Minnesota. He is an associate professor in the UW School of Pharmacy and has numerous publications to his credit.

A native of Kenya, Somani came to America after high school to attend the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he received his bachelor’s of science in pharmacy. He and his wife, Salma, who is also a pharmacist, are the parents of 6-year-old triplets, two girls and a boy. ¶

Craig Degginger