JGL held a memorial service today honouring Zdravko Saršon, MPharm, one of its founders and long-standing members of the Board of Directors, who passed away on 8 December 2022. Zdravko Saršon was born in Rijeka in 1936. He graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry at the University of Zagreb, where he gained a master’s degree in pharmacy. He dedicated his entire working life to pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacy. From 1985 to 1988, he was Mayor of the City of Rijeka.
Ines Krajačević, Director of the Ljekarna Jadran Health Institution, and Ivo Usmiani, President of JGL’s Board of Directors, offered their deepest condolences to Saršon’s family and colleagues gathered at the memorial service.
“It is difficult to put into words all the wonderful and valuable things that Zdravko and I shared. I considered him a father, friend and partner. He was the first director I worked under, and he gave me the opportunity to grow with him. He was my rock, a source of help and support, and he encouraged, motivated and guided me throughout my professional career. Our relationship was built on mutual respect, appreciation and trust. Working and creating together, side by side, was a great privilege and pleasure. We were lifelong friends who shared a passion for creating, learning and growth. We had big dreams and made most of them come true. Together, we built this company we can all be very proud of, which has revived the industrial spirit that Rijeka once had. We shared values and goals and trusted each other and our entire team. We always strived for excellence, always moving forward and trying to go one step further. Zdravko Saršon has left an indelible mark on all of us. He will be greatly missed, but he will live on in our hearts and minds. May God bless him, and may he rest in peace,” said Ivo Usmiani in his speech.
Zdravko Saršon became the manager of a garrison pharmacy in Rijeka in 1970. In 1975, he assumed the position of Director of the Ljekarna Jadran Health Institution in Rijeka. During that time, he initiated the merger, expansion and modernisation of pharmacies in the area of Croatian Littoral, the islands and Gorski Kotar. In 1976, the Health Organisation of the United Labour Ljekarna Jadran was registered with 27 pharmacies in nine municipalities. It was a period of prosperity and modernisation of the pharmacy industry, which included the revitalisation and expansion of the pharmacy network, professional training, scholarships, centralisation of production of galenic preparations, training of pharmaceutical technicians, and establishment of resorts to raise the standard of employees. By 1982, sixteen new pharmacies were built, a laboratory was opened for the production of galenic and magistral preparations, and an administrative building was established. The Ljekarna Jadran HI had grown from 43 facilities into one of the biggest pharmacy chains in Croatia, covering the area from Gorski Kotar to the island of Pag.
In 1995, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County founded the Ljekarna Jadran Health Institution, which continued the pharmaceutical tradition of the city and the county. When JGL was founded in 1991, Zdravko Saršon, along with Ivo Usmiani, was the founding member, shareholder and Deputy Chair of the company’s Supervisory Board and Board of Directors. The Croatian Pharmaceutical Society honoured him for his work in advancing the pharmaceutical profession in the county by awarding him the “Dr. Julije Domac” Medal, the highest recognition for outstanding achievements in pharmacy.