BWH mourns the loss of Bill Salkin, CPhT, of Pharmacy Services, who worked at BWH for more than 35 years. He died June 11 at the age of 59.

For the past 15 years, Mr. Salkin was responsible for ensuring the code carts on each of the patient floors were fully stocked with necessary medications, equipment and supplies to be used when caring for a patient who goes into cardiac arrest.

William Churchill, MS, RPh, chief of Pharmacy Services, said Mr. Salkin had been a fixture in the department and was affectionately known throughout the hospital as “Mr. Code Cart.”

“I had the pleasure of working with Bill for 35 years and always knew him as a hard-working and loyal Pharmacy team member and someone who I trusted to get the job done,” Churchill said. “I never had to worry knowing that Bill was at the helm of our code cart program.”

Before shepherding the program, Mr. Salkin worked as a Pharmacy technician and a receiver and purchasing agent in the department.

“Once I got to know Bill, I knew our friendship would be lifelong,” said Karen Kelley, Pharmacy purchasing manager. “He was a very adventurous and independent person.”

She says she will miss his quirky sense of humor and hearing stories about his travels.

In addition to his Pharmacy work, Mr. Salkin was a member of the Emergency Response Committee at BWH.

Karen Griswold, MBA, RN, BWH’s lead Patient Safety consultant, said Mr. Salkin was a dedicated member of the committee over the years: “His work was central to the success for the code cart program and key to our work as a committee. His vast knowledge and unique humor will be sorely missed.”

Hallie Greenberg, MS, BSN, BC, a nursing educator at BWH, always looked forward to seeing Mr. Salkin walking around BWH: “He was a caring man who always had a kind word and code cart to lend.”

Pharmacy supervisor Angela Triggs said she’ll miss Mr. Salkin’s presence and warm smile.

“He fulfilled his job above and beyond expectations, and he always put patients first.”

When Mr. Salkin wasn’t working, he enjoyed traveling, taking photographs and honing his audio engineer skills.

A memorial service for Mr. Salkin will be held on Tuesday, June 30, at 3 p.m., in Carrie Hall. All are welcome to attend.