EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Emergency Preparedness: Be Ready, Stay Safe

At Amerita, we are dedicated to ensuring that you have uninterrupted access to your medications and our team, even during an emergency. By being prepared, we can work together to minimize disruptions to your treatment and keep you safe.

Emergencies can come in many forms, including tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms/blizzards, fires, floods, and other situations that may cause power outages or require evacuation. Take the time to prepare so you are ready for any scenario.

Plan Ahead for Safety

  • Emergency Preparedness: Be Ready, Stay SafeGather all medications and supplies (IV bags, tubing, syringes, etc.) in one place so they are easy to access and ready to grab quickly if you need to evacuate; however, please make sure they are stored properly.
    • If your medication requires refrigeration, prepare a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs.
    • Place medication in watertight containers, such as a zip lock bag, to keep them dry.
  • If your infusion pump requires power, ensure you have a fully charged backup battery or an
    alternate power source such as a portable generator.
  • Make sure to have a flashlight or other lights source with you to read medication labels or to use if an
    injection is required.
  • DO NOT return to a dangerous situation to retrieve your medications. If you’ve left medications behind in a disaster, prioritize your safety. Contact us immediately, and we will work with you to provide a replacement. Make sure our number is saved in your contacts.  

Critical Information for Caregivers and Emergency Responders

Prepare and keep the following with your medications:

  • A list of your allergies and medical history, with specific home IV treatment protocols and note any conditions or reactions so they can be easily accessed.
  • Your full medication list that includes doses, equipment, schedules, along with a list of your doctors.

Emergency Kit Items

  • Emergency Preparedness: Be Ready, Stay SafeExtra tubing and saline flushes if needed, along with a Sharps disposal container for needles and supplies
  • Water and non-perishable food: plan for at least three days
  • First aid kit: include basic supplies and an extra pair of glasses or contact lenses
  • Personal items: transistor radio, flashlights and/or candles available, extra batteries, blankets, hand sanitizer and/or antiseptic wipes, and any medical devices you rely on (e.g. glucose monitors, nebulizers, etc)

How You Can Stay Informed

  • Sign up for emergency notifications through local authorities or FEMA alerts
  • Make sure Amerita has a second emergency phone number whenever possible in case we can’t reach you at the first number.
  • Follow our social media channels or website for updates regarding pharmacy operations during an emergency
  • Call your local branch directly for assistance if you’re affected by an emergency or disaster
Tracy James

Tracy James
Vice President, Marketing

Tracy James is a results-oriented and data-driven marketing professional who is responsible for the development of robust marketing strategies to drive positive script growth, increase patient engagement, and expand our digital marketing presence.


Tracy has over 20 years of strategic marketing, branding & product positioning knowledge within the pharmacy, healthcare, retail, and consumer packaged goods industries.


Tracy has also held agency roles working on brands such as Rite Aid, General Nutrition Centers, and GlaxoSmithKline, and most recently, led marketing efforts for Giant Eagle Pharmacy.


Tracy holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and Management from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania.

Ryan Fluharty

Ryan Fluharty
Vice President, Enterprise Optimization

Ryan Fluharty is responsible for driving transformation and optimization within the Amerita Revenue Cycle function. This includes full ownership of Billing, Cash Applications, 3rd Party Payer and Patient Collections, Audits, Training, Quality, and Data Enablement.


Ryan joined Amerita with more than 10 years of operations, technology, and analytics leadership experience. He comes with a track record of driving transformation across multiple disciplines, resulting in multi-million dollar cost savings along with multi-million dollar revenue growth.


He has served in multiple senior level roles leading client services, vendor management, call center and pharmacy operations, workforce management, technology enablement, sales enablement, and reporting & analytics with RxCrossroads, McKesson, and A Place For Mom.


Ryan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, with a focus on Healthcare and is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

Ariel Zlicha

Ariel Zlicha, PharmD, CSP
Vice President of Operations

Ariel Zlicha joins the Executive Team at Amerita as Vice President of Pharmacy Operations, where he will be responsible for the overall operations of Amerita’s 34 pharmacy locations.

Prior to stepping into this role, Ariel served as Director of Pharmacy Operations for Amerita. In this role he was responsible for the overall operational leadership of the nursing teams with a focus on standardizing processes and improving productivity, while maintaining a high level of patient care. Before coming to Amerita, Ariel held director level roles in various pharmacy practice settings including retail, hospice, and oncology. He brings over 12 years of pharmacy experience with a focus on operational optimization.

Ariel holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Stony Brook University and a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from Nova Southeastern University. Ariel is board certified in specialty pharmacy (CSP) and is licensed to practice pharmacy in over 30 states.

Julie Owen

Julie Owen
PharmD, CSP, BCOP
Senior Vice President of Operations

Julie Owen joins the Executive Team at Amerita as Senior Vice President of Operations, where she is a responsible for the overall Leadership of the Operations department.

As a seasoned results-driven healthcare professional with over 15 years of pharmacy management experience, Julie has served in a variety of progressively senior roles Operations leadership roles within the BrightSpring Health brands. Her experience includes Pharmacist, Pharmacy Director, Senior Director, and Vice President Pharmacy Operations while at PharMerica, Onco360 and Amerita.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry from Louisiana State University and received her Pharmacy Doctorate (PharmD) from the University of Kentucky. Her post-graduate distinctions include a Board-Certification in Oncology Pharmacy (BCOP), a Certification in Specialty Pharmacy (CSP), and multi-state licensure in over 25 states.

Julie strives to ensure Amerita’s overall success in fulfilling its Mission, Vision and Values through her passion and effective leadership.

Steven Abbate
Steven Abbate
Senior Vice President, Sales

Steven has over 30 years of infusion and specialty pharmacy experience and is responsible for leading the hospital and physician sales team. His leadership highlights include results-driven revenue growth year-over-year, along with operational and employee development.

He joined the team in 2022 after serving as Senior VP of Growth at Amedisys Home Health and Hospice. Steven also spent more than 17 years at CVS Health Coram where he began as the Vice President of Sales in the Southeast Region and worked his way to become the Vice President of Sales.

Steven holds a B.S. in Business/Marketing from Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.
Alex Katen
Alex Katen
Chief Financial Officer

Alex Katen has been in the pharmacy industry for over 21 years and brings extensive finance, accounting, payor contracting, procurement, inventory management, and revenue cycle management experience to Amerita.

He has served as the Chief Financial Officer for AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy, a specialty and home delivery pharmacy wholly owned by Walgreens, where he was responsible for all finance, accounting, inventory management, and revenue cycle management functions with demonstrated success in value optimization and continuous improvement. He has also held various Finance roles, including VP of Finance, with Walgreens, Liberty Medical Supply Pharmacy, Akamai Technologies, and First Union Securities.

Alex successfully passed the Certified Public Accounting examination and in 1999 was awarded his CPA license in Florida. He earned a Master of Science in Accountancy from Wake Forest University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina.