Obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and Pharmacology at St. John’s University, Ms. Scharaga took a position as Director of Pharmacy with Baxter Travenol Laboratories Inc. (now Baxter International Inc.). Her management role extended to a full range of home-care pharmacy services, including regularly scheduled intravenous infusion treatments. She next served as Director of Pharmacy and Quality Assurance with ABEL Health Management Services, Inc., supervising sales, operational, and clinical areas of the firm’s New York branch, which served a Tri-state patient coverage region.
As Direct Infusion Manager for New York and New Jersey, Ellen Scharaga led financial operations at Homedco Infusion from 1992 to 1995. She handled a wide range of staff training, hiring, and development activities, initiating disciplinary actions as necessary. She additionally oversaw sales functions through focused client relationship management activities. She increased profitability through a combination of purchasing and inventory control, and pricing, payor, and product initiatives.
Prior to taking her current position, Ms. Scharaga served Group Health Inc. for nearly a decade as Director and Vice President of Pharmacy. She successfully transitioned a prescription drug program valued in excess of $300 million to a new PBM, in the process achieving $25 million in savings through discounts, and reduced program and contract administration fees. Ellen Scharaga holds professional affiliation with the Pharmaceutical Society of New York.