A couple of years ago, Diane Silverman, a pharmacist and partner at the Medicine Shoppe in Penn Hills, found she was competing with big-box retailers that had their own pharmacies.

Then she became a certified immunizing pharmacist to increase her store's revenue. She not only did what she had set out to accomplish, she became even more passionate about a profession she already loved.

On Oct. 3, at a recognition dinner in Lancaster, she received the Innovative Pharmacy Practice Award from the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association. She also was recently honored by the Pennsylvania Immunization Coalition with the Immunization Champion Award.

The awards recognize her contributions to improving vaccination rates in and around her community.

Pat Epple, executive director of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, said the first award is given to an innovative pharmacist who takes his or her practice beyond filling prescriptions.

She said pharmacists are nominated and nominees are evaluated by a committee.

Mrs. Silverman, a Squirrel Hill native, said "becoming certified as an immunizing pharmacist was a matter of survival.

"To stay in business, independent pharmacies must create niche markets. Vaccinating people against flu, shingles, pneumonia and other diseases is the value-added service I decided would best service my customers."

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 1980, Mrs. Silverman moved to the Philadelphia area, where she worked for a large discount store pharmacy. For the past 20 years, she has been a community pharmacist, working for the Medicine Shoppe in Penn Hills, where she considers her customers to be "family."

"They aren't lost in the shuffle," explained Mrs. Silverman, who also is able to offer individual services such as advice on appropriate drug plans.

She has even given her cell phone number to patients receiving immunizations on Fridays in case they have a reaction over the weekend. But since becoming an immunizing pharmacist, she has had an even bigger impact in patient care.

To become certified as an immunizing pharmacist in Pennsylvania, she enrolled in the American Pharmacists Association's immunization course at Duquesne University. After about 24 hours of preliminary studying, an extensive 12-hour course and an exam, she became licensed in the state to immunize adults 18 and older.

"My career has been transformed from being a dispensing to an immunizing pharmacist," she admitted.

She employs another full-time pharmacist, who dispenses medicine while Mrs. Silverman is giving shots, at the Medicine Shoppe or during one of her many trips to on-site business locations, especially this time of year.

Mrs. Silverman has initiated a program in which she travels to all types of businesses, offering flu shots to people that are paid for by their employers.

She considers this to be a "win-win" arrangement for both parties. People have the convenience of getting immunized against the flu at work; employers increase their chances of personnel taking fewer sick days.

She also is scheduled to provide shots at an apartment building for senior citizens who are unable to get to clinics and to a private school to immunize staff and parents during conference time.

"At this point, it's a matter of how many doses I have."

Her experience has helped her predict how much of the vaccine to order for this flu season. She ordered 600 doses and got 400.

"This year, I knew going into it [to increase the order] because of increased patient awareness and the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recommendation that everyone be immunized," she said.

In recent years, she has been able to make up for shortages at local doctors' offices and considers one of her primary goals to work with physicians in the community to increase the rate of immunization. Since becoming a certified immunizing pharmacist, she has given more than 800 flu shots.

"It gives me the time and ability to work with each patient, and the physicians respond to that," she said.

Being one of the largest national providers of the shingles vaccine, she is a much sought-after consultant. She answers questions from the CDC and other providers about patient care and stumbling blocks she may have encountered with the live vaccine.

"My business is growing, something very few pharmacies -- chain stores and small business -- can say."

Another of her many goals is to be one of the last of the "small people" standing.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.