Developing Leaders for a
Value-Focused Health Care System:
A Vision for the MHA Program
Jean Abraham, Ph.D.
Weckwerth Professor in
Healthcare Administration Leadership
September 18, 2015
My Background
• PhD in Public Policy & Management,
Carnegie Mellon University
• Joined MHA Faculty in 2001 in the
Carlson School of Management
• Teach Statistics and Health Economics;
o MHA Teaching Award in 2003, 2008,
2013
o Leonard M. Schuman Award for
Excellence in Teaching, 2011
• Vernon Weckwerth Professor in
Healthcare Administration Leadership,
2014
My Background
• Scholarship
o Impact of ACA
o Employer Populations
o Coverage
o Health Promotion
• Research Funding
o National Institutes of Health
o CDC
o Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
o The Commonwealth Fund
• National Service
o Senior Economist, White House
Council of Economic Advisers,
2008-2009
Build on the Strengths of the Program
Student-Centered Educational Experience
TheoryDriven
Health Systems
Management
Finance
Statistics
Operations
Economics
Marketing
HR
Health Law
PracticeEnabled
Problem-Solving
Inter-professional
Teamwork
Summer Clerkship
Advanced ProblemSolving
Alumni Network
Lifelong Learning
Engagement
Philanthropy
Promote excellence in healthcare leadership by assuring
the MHA Program’s successes and cultivating a
satisfying life-long alumni network.
MHA Program Values
Integrity
Studentcentered
Service
Loyalty
Career
Development
Relevance
Connection
to Field
Excellence
Leadership
1946
2015
70 Years of
Healthcare Market Transformation
Hill-Burton
Managed Care
Integration
Medicare & Medicaid
Quality & Patient Safety
Transformation
Population Aging
Technological Advances
Information Technology
Quality Measurement
Transparency Initiatives
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Provider and Insurance Market Consolidation
Value-Focused Healthcare System
Pay-forPerformance
Healthcare
Homes
Shared
Savings
Bundled
Payments
Accountable Care Organizations
Global
Capitation
Population Health also depends on where
a person lives, works, and plays, and how
they engage in their community also affects
their health and care-seeking.
Progression to High Performance Healthcare Delivery
Quality
High Performance
Managed
Engaged
Pilot projects
Opportunistic to increase
Implementation quality and
value
of EMR
P4P
Upside risk
with 3rd parties
Risk
stratification
Care
management
Provider
engagement
Bundles &
Shared savings
Info management &
advanced analytics
Management across
care continuum
Engagement with
consumers &
community partners
Risk-based contracts
including downside
risk and global
capitation
Risk
How should the MHA Program innovate to
be the best in the nation at developing
leaders of high performance organizations
in a value-focused healthcare system?
Leadership of a High Performance
Healthcare Organization
Student-Centered
Educational Experience
TheoryDriven
Faculty
PracticeEnabled
StudentServices Staff
Alumni
Goals
• Best Curriculum
• Best Students
• Best Faculty and
Staff
• Best Alumni
Best MHA
Program
Curriculum Innovations
• Value-Based Payment Models
– Change and Risk Management
– Diversity of Organization Types
• Information Management and Analytics
– Speak the Language of Data
• Advanced Operations and Performance
Improvement
• Private-Public Partnerships to Improve
Population Health
Curriculum Competencies for Leading
High Performance Health Systems
• Program should partner with alumni and other
industry leaders to identify core competencies
– Dialogue
– Short and longer-run perspective
– Cover the career trajectory
• Full-time and EMHA
• Program should develop a more systematic
approach
Increase Practice-Enabled Learning
• Technology-enabled guest speakers
• Program-Organization Partnerships (POPs)
• Case-based learning opportunities
• Examples
– Statistics
– Finance I
Enhancing Professional Development
Full-Time Students
• Current
– Leadership coaching
– Mentoring
• Expansion
– Business Etiquette &
Communications Skills
– “Lunch and Learn” sessions
Executive Students
• Solicit input regarding what
they are seeking
• Mentorship Opportunities
– Paired with senior alumni
mentors
– Opportunity to mentor to fulltime students
Best Students
Full-Time Program
• 35-40 students per year
• Younger (early-mid 20s)
E-MHA
•
•
•
•
25-35 students per year (cohort)
Mid-career professionals
25 months
Online and intensive on-campus learning sessions
Saudi
• 32 students per cohort from King Fahad Medical City
• Online with some in-person learning in Saudi Arabia
Market for Healthcare Administration
Education is Competitive
Michigan
(#1)
UAB
(#2)
MN
(#3 Tie)
VCU
(#3-Tie)
UNC
(#5-Tie)
Rush
(#5-Tie)
Size;
SPH
Reputation
Alumni
network
Case
Competition;
National
Symposium;
Leadership
Alumni;
ProblemSolving;
100%
placement
Required
Residency;
100% job
placement
Prior work
experience;
SPH
Reputation
Practitioner
-teacher
model;
Work while
learn
N/A
~30-33
~35-40
25-30
25-35
~25
Length
2 years
3 years
(residency)
2 years
3 years
(residency)
2 years
2 years
Joint
Degree
>6
possible
MSHA/MSHI
MSHA/MBA
MHA/MBA
MHA/JD
MHA/JD
MHA/MD
MHA/MSIS
MHA/MSPH
MHA/MBA
MHA/MSIS
MHA/MRP
N/A
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
(Part-time
program)
$42,500/yr
~$15,000/yr
$39,210/yr
$24,600/yr
$31,000/yr
$30,000/yr
Unique
-ness
Size
Exec
Ed
Price
(out of
state)*
*Approximations based on website
information available
Best Faculty & Staff
Mona Rath, Teresa Robinson, Tom Gilliam, Dan
Zismer (Director), Stephanie Hagel, Drew Hatton,
Jerry Nye (Practitioner faculty), Diane McClellan
Research Informs the Classroom
Teamwork
Insurance Markets
IT & Quality
Public Purchasers
Long-term Care
Operations
Many of our Best Faculty
are also Practitioners
• Principles of Problem-Solving
– 9 faculty advisors
• Advanced Problem-Solving
– 11 advisors and preceptors
• Summer Clerkships
– 30 faculty advisors
Recruiting and Retaining the
Best Faculty and Staff
• Program expansions have outpaced teaching
capacity of the faculty
– Management; Marketing & Strategy
• Curriculum innovations may require additional
hires to fill gaps in specific content areas
• Plan for faculty and staff retirements and/or
transitions
Engagement
Lifelong Learning
Philanthropy
Received 9/5/2015 from an MHA graduate of the Class of 2015:
Dr. AbrahamI just wanted to take a minute to send you a quick thank you.
One of the first projects I was assigned was to do an analysis
on demographic and healthcare related information on our
combined service area. We were going to use this analysis to
determine where to locate our newly employed physician
offices. Lucky for me I had just completed all of those major
projects and your health economics class. I was able to draw
directly from those assignments to help me do my analysis and
gather information. So thank you for pushing us and thank you
for designing meaningful assignments and projects. I enjoyed
your classes both semesters.
Classroom Facilities Affect the
Teaching and Learning Experience
Strengthening
Program-Alumni Ties
• Lifelong Learning
– Cross-generational
• Traditional face-to-face
– Minnesota
» Public Health Institute
– Regionally where alumni are concentrated
• Technology-enabled
Recognized as Best Program By
Industry & Academic Community
• Rigorous academic training,
experiential learning, and
professional development
prepare our graduates to lead
high performance healthcare
organizations
• Faculty research affects field
of healthcare administration
MHA Program Leadership
Students
Division
and SPH
Leadership
Faculty and
Staff
MHA
Program
Leadership
Alumni
Academic
Community
& Industry
• Passionate about educating future
leaders in healthcare
– Education outside of the classroom
• Value excellence in teaching
– MHA Faculty
– Division & SPH
• Accessible to students
• Demonstrate genuine interest in
building long-term relationships
– Day of the interview to graduation and beyond
Students
Faculty
and Staff
Division
and SPH
Leadership
• Collaborative in working
with faculty on programrelated decisions
• Have the trust and
respect of faculty and
staff in HPM & SPH
• Engage in educational
policy decisions at
HPM and School-levels
• Advocate for
investments in faculty,
staff, and other
resources to benefit
students’ educational
experience
Academic
Community
& Industry
• Be visible
• AUPHA
• ACHE
• Explore ideas
around
“signature event”
to showcase MN
Alumni
• Commit to working with Alumni
around strategic initiatives
• Curriculum innovation
• Professional development
• Lifelong learning
• Face-to-face
• Technology-enabled learning
opportunities
MHA Program Leadership:
Proposed Dyad Model
Professional
Academic
•
•
•
•
•
•
Curriculum oversight
Faculty engagement
Student Services
oversight
HPM/SPH leadership
engagement
Academic
community relations
Overall accountability
Vision
&
Values
•
•
•
•
•
Key liaison to AA/F
Recruiting practitioner
faculty, preceptors,
alumni mentors
Career mentoring
Support teaching roles
in integrative courses
Involvement across
program options
“Face the problems that you are going
to have,
Are bound to have…
Take leadership and go out in front.”
James A. Hamilton
Questions, Comments, and
Discussion