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South Carolina AHEC Marks the Passing of Sharm Steadman

Dr. Steadman and South Carolina AHEC
Executive Director Dr. David Garr after 
presenting Dr. Steadman with the 
Excellence in Family Medicine
Education Award in 2012
It is with great sadness that South Carolina AHEC marks the passing of Sharm Steadman, PharmD, BCPS, PASHP, CDE, BC-ADM, who lost her battle with cancer in October. Dr. Steadman was a longtime partner of the South Carolina AHEC System as well as an exemplary teacher and role model.

The South Carolina AHEC System has been proud to count her among its partners and educators. As such, the South Carolina AHEC has decided to name its award that recognizes excellence in education after Dr. Steadman. The Sharm Steadman Excellence in Family Medicine Education Award will be given to a non-physician member of the faculty of a South Carolina family medicine residency program who has distinguished him/herself as an outstanding teacher and role model. Dr. Steadman received this award herself in 2012 as she represented exactly what this award was created to recognize.

Dr. Steadman was a professor with the USC Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, where she practiced for 25 years. She also served as the director of pharmacotherapeutic education for USC/Palmetto Health Richland Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program. She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Pharmacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from MUSC. Dr. Steadman’s focus was teaching and implementing quality improvement and patient-centered, team-based care strategies in primary care. She served as the chair of the Continuing Education Committee of South Carolina Pharmacy Association for four years and served as the president for the Fifth District Pharmacy Association since 2008.

Dr. Steadman’s contribution to the field and to the education of her students are numerous and she has been recognized many times, including receiving the 2015 Bowl of Hygeia Award for outstanding community service from the American Pharmacists Association. The Bowl of Hygeia Award recognizes pharmacists who exhibit outstanding records of civic leadership in their communities and encourage pharmacists to take active roles in the communities in which they live. This award is considered one of pharmacy’s most prestigious awards. In addition, Dr. Steadman has also received the 2012 South Carolina AHEC Excellence in Family Medicine Education Award, 2012 Diabetes Champion of the Year with the South Carolina DHEC Diabetes Prevention and Control Division, 2009 Outstanding Faculty Award with the USC/Palmetto Health Richland Family Medicine Residency Program, and 2007 Pharmacist of the Year with the South Carolina Pharmacy Association.

Dr. Steadman was an advocate for patient-centered care and an outstanding teacher. Her contributions to her field, the education of her students, and the healthcare of citizens across the state cannot be enumerated. She will be greatly missed.

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