July 24, 2012
Volume 1, No. 42
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM ROLLS ALONG
Our new undergraduate program director, Dr. Rick Browne, has been working diligently on the BSHSA curriculum going
forward, as fall 2012 represents year #2 for our undergraduate program. One of the courses for this fall is HESA 451 “Aging in
Society” and it will be taught by Mark Wellinghoff, LNHA, who has been an adjunct instructor in our MHSA program for many
years. Mark is Executive Director of the Brookwood Retirement Community in Cincinnati.
Here are Mark’s thoughts about how he is approaching this course:
“In this course, the students need to understand the aging
process, life style changes, emotional issues, being retired, handicaps, etc. first and understanding how services to the elderly are
managed would come later. For example: I have already contacted someone from the Association of the Blind to present what is
out there for the visually impaired and I will present how this affects driving, relationships, social media and what devices can add
tremendous benefit. Also, I will have a pharmacist come in and talk about drugs treating symptoms, the effects on drugs with the
elderly, the problems when the elderly skip taking drugs because of costs, drug interactions, etc. In my opinion, regardless of the
field of study the student chooses, through this course, students will gain significant insight into the elderly population,; including
the emotional, psychological, spiritual, physical, societal, and life style aspects.”
HALLMARKS OF OUR PROGRAM
Now that we have completed our recruitment, interviewing, and selection process for the Class of 2015 to begin next month, I
wanted to share what we hear over and over about why prospective students are interested in Xavier’s MHSA program. I
personally interview each candidate along with one of our faculty members. Here’s what we hear regarding “Why are you
interested in Xavier’s MHSA program?”
1. REPUTATION: Our program is beginning its 54th year and is one of the oldest master’s degrees Xavier offers. The
program has always been serious, rigorous, and connected. Xavier University itself is held in high esteem and our
program benefits from that as well as adds to that. Candidates often say, “Xavier is number one! I couldn’t do any
better than that.”
2. RESIDENCY: Xavier remains one of only a handful of MHSA programs in the country that still requires the full 8-12 month
residency. This is seen as an enormous advantage over other programs. Ours is a scholar/practitioner program, and the
coursework (the scholar part) is only one part of the equation; the summer internship and the residency during the entire
third year round out the practitioner part. I haven’t met an alum yet who didn’t feel that his/her residency year was one
of the most important and beneficial in a lifetime career.
3. ALUMNI: And that brings me to our alumni. Prospective students come well-aware that our grads are an impressive
group serving now or having served in significant healthcare leadership positions. Our alumni are role models to our
students, a number are or have been residency preceptors, many generously return to campus to present to our
students, and all are supportive and interested. On behalf of our students, I want to give special thanks to so many
alums who are assisting our second-year students in preparing for their residency searches that begin in earnest next
month when the fall semester gets going – on August 21, 2012 to be exact. A number of you are reaching out to them.
ALUM-N-I-C-E
We applaud Alumni achievements and commitment to the highest quests in health services administration, we hold you up as
models for our students to emulate, and we happily claim you as “ours”. We celebrate this Alumni news:
• Harold Warman ’85, President and CEO of Highlands Health System in Prestonburg KY, is chair of the Kentucky Hospital
Association Board of Trustees for 2012-2013.
Men and Women for Others: Thinkers, Inspirers, and Leaders in Health Services Administration