Dean's Advisory Council member: John M. Marraffa Jr.

Marraffa

John M. Marraffa Jr., RPh

President, Kinney Drugs
KPH Healthcare Services
NYS Board of Pharmacy Chairman



John M. Marraffa Jr. is the president of Kinney Drugs of KPH Healthcare Services. Marraffa focuses on scaling and driving valuable outcomes for pharmacy programs, as well as identifying new opportunities and partnerships for the delivery of integrated healthcare solutions throughout the KPH organization. 

KPH Healthcare Services is comprised of Kinney Drugs, ProAct, HealthDirect Pharmacy Services, Noble Health Services Kinnect Healthcare Services and Aristacare. Marraffa is responsible for proactively monitoring state and federal legislative and regulatory developments and working with internal and external stakeholders to assess and craft effective responses. He serves as the patient safety officer to provide leadership and direction to the organization’s patient safety strategy. He is responsible for continuously evaluating and improving patient safety programs based on internal needs and external requirements and standards. He also serves as the organizations' HIPAA officer. Marraffa is licensed to practice in New York, Illinois and Vermont. 

Prior to his current role, Marraffa was the regional healthcare director for the Walgreens Co., covering New Jersey, New York and Eastern Pennsylvania. He was responsible for executing healthcare strategies that integrated all Walgreens healthcare offerings. He advised on pharmacy strategy, engaged and empowered others and led change using management principles, employee development and relationship building. Marraffa was also responsible for ensuring that his region was in compliance with laws, company polices, DEA and BOP regulations.

Marraffa served Walgreens for 14 years where he joined as a registered pharmacist. He continued to excel at Walgreens and became a pharmacy manager in 2006 and then a district pharmacy supervisor in 2008.

In 2015, he was promoted to area healthcare supervisor and in January 2018 was promoted to regional healthcare director. 

Marraffa received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2003, where he served as president of his class.

On Sept. 16, 2014, Marraffa was appointed to the New York State Board of Pharmacy, where he is currently serving his second term as chairman. 

He served on the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy Task Force on the Regulation of Pharmacist Care Services, where he was responsible for reviewing existing state laws and regulations pertaining to the provision of pharmacist care outside of the traditional pharmacy setting. Marraffa previously served on the Task Force of the RPh Integrated Communication Skills Exam and currently serves on the NABP 2018-2019 Committee on Constitution and Bylaws. In 2016, he served as the chair of the Counseling Committee, charged with ensuring that patients are appropriately counseled on their medication regimens in the community setting. The committee also studied the barriers that currently prevent pharmacists from adequately counseling.

In April 2014, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office appointed Marraffa to the New York State Medicaid Pharmacy Advisory Committee, where he provides expertise related to developing and maintaining Medicaid policies that improve patient healthcare outcomes while supporting the practice of community pharmacy.

In 2015, Marraffa joined the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) President’s Advisory Council (PAC), selected by ACPHS President Greg Dewey to offer insights into how educational institutions should respond to long-term trends in the health science and healthcare industries. The PAC is comprised of leaders in the corporate, academic and not-for-profit sectors.

In March 2016, Marraffa was selected by Gloria Meredith, founding dean of Binghamton University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, to join her Advisory Committee. This committee advises the dean on how to educate the next generation of pharmacists so that they are prepared to practice at the top of their licenses.

Marraffa serves as an adjunct experiential preceptor for the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John Fisher College of Pharmacy, Binghamton University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, D’Youville College of Pharmacy, University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He was an active member of the ACPHS Professionalism Task Force and was president of the ACPHS Alumni Council from 2008 to 2011.

As an involved community member, Marraffa was selected as the corporate walk chair for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society “Light the Night” walks and also served as the Walgreens Co. Corporate Social Responsibility Champion. He has served on the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life Planning Committee and received the Shining Star Award for exemplary service to the organization.

Marraffa and his wife Lauren have two sons, Nico and JJ, and two boxer dogs, Junie and Billy.