2.27.2025
UVA Health Leadership Transition
2.27.2025
Black History Month | Alem Mulat, PharmD, BCPS: ‘I Can Be Whatever I Want to Be’
February is Black History Month, a time to reflect on the extraordinary contributions of African Americans.
The 2025 theme, “African Americans and Labor: Acknowledging Our Contributions Across UVA Health,” encourages us to "to focus on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds — free and unfree; skilled and unskilled; vocational and voluntary — intersect with the collective experiences of Black people."
In the latest installment in Connect’s Black History Month series, we introduce you to another UVA Health team member supporting our strategic plan initiatives of community engagement and health equity — this time, in Northern Virginia:
'Why?'
The passion of Alem Mulat, PharmD, BCPS, for helping people was sparked early in life — fueling his career in the pharmacy field and his work every day for UVA Health.
The Manager of Clinical Pharmacy Services for UVA Health’s community hospitals and clinics in Northern Virginia and Culpeper was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He grew up in a tight-knit family and had a particularly close relationship with his grandfather. When Mulat was in high school, his grandfather became ill and suddenly passed away. Mulat recalls going to the hospital with his parents during that time, and that’s where the intrigue began.
“When someone close to you dies, you ask ‘Why?’ and the inquiry starts there,” he explains. “I was always fascinated with how medicines go into the body and work throughout to cure someone. That’s where my curiosity started.”
Finding His Path
After high school, Mulat moved to the United States and completed his undergraduate studies, zeroing in on pharmacy as his area of focus. He then was accepted to the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy and earned his PharmD. He is working on a master’s degree in public health.
Mulat went on to complete his residency in eastern Kentucky, which he says in some ways, is similar to where he grew up. “I worked in an economically disadvantaged area where the people need a lot of help. Once they are discharged, they don’t have the means to get their medications. So, that created a passion in me for helping patients — not only in the acute disease state, but also to access and afford their medications afterward.”
Following his residency, Mulat got a job as the pharmacy clinical manager at a standalone hospital in Indiana. Without being part of a larger system or academic center like UVA Health, he became adept at working with limited resources while making sure to have the latest in evidence-based medicine for his staff and patients. He was there in 2020 when the pandemic hit.
“When COVID-19 first emerged and they were shutting everything down, we didn’t even have guidelines to know how to treat the patients,” he recalls. “So it was challenging, and I had to search literature outside of the U.S. to get the latest [in practices and treatments].”
Once the vaccine was available, Mulat managed the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic and led community outreach efforts to make it more widely available. Soon after, he moved to Virginia to work with HCA Healthcare as a clinical manager, which then led to his current position for UVA Health's community hospitals and clinics in Northern Virginia and Culpeper.
‘Best Service Possible’
“My ultimate job here is to make sure that patients get the best service possible in clinical pharmacy,” he says. This can entail a wide range of activities like ensuring the system’s protocols are up-to-date on current evidence-based information, leading process improvements for software systems and pharmacy staffing, and optimizing the amount of time pharmacists have to serve patients.
Mulat leads interdisciplinary initiatives such as improving patient satisfaction scores around medication education, recently working with his pharmacy colleagues to revamp the entire patient education program. He also oversees and co-chairs the antibiotic stewardship program, conducting patient reviews to optimize their care on antibiotics.
While he acknowledges that the pharmacy team can run into its fair share of challenges with shortages and finding alternatives for drugs and various supplies, he is confident his team can weather those storms. He says, “One of the things I love about UVACH is that everyone is positive. They are ready to help and when you present alternatives, they are very welcoming and optimistic.”
‘I Can Be Whatever I Want to Be’
Mulat vividly remembers arriving in the United States with his wife — first son on the way, no car, no job, and just $200 to his name.
“We both wanted to go to school, get an education, and better ourselves,” he recalls. “Working two jobs, going to school, and raising kids all in a new country was tough. Life can be hard, but with persistence, you can be wherever you want to be.”
Beyond his own perseverance, Mulat recognizes the generations of Black leaders and civil rights champions who made his success possible.
“There are so many people in the Black history struggle who worked to get barriers removed so that people — regardless of their skin color — can achieve whatever they want to,” he says. “I can be that example. I came here without knowing anyone in this country, and because people laid the foundation for equality, I can be whatever I want to be. It means a lot and it’s important we appreciate the people who sacrificed their time and their lives so we can be successful.”
And to Mulat, that means delivering the very best to our patients. “My goal is to bring the most excellent patient care and cutting-edge technology to our community and serve our patients with the best care out there.”
Working with Alem is a joy, and we are so lucky to have him in the pharmacy family!