Two and a half years ago the Department of Health Management and Informatics was launched as a new department, and so much has happened during this 30-month period. It is indeed fitting that we now launch a new newsletter, which will be sent to all of our stakeholders.

In coming newsletters, we will share with you our accomplishments and explain the challenges we are confronting as our undergraduate and graduate programs in health services administration (HSA) have the largest enrollment in America.

We have wonderful faculty members, who have dedicated themselves to fostering quality learning practices and producing first-rank health care professionals. Our graduates are distinguishing themselves in a variety of ways as well. During the past year alone, two of our students, Keila Rooney and Brian Shipman, won national essay competitions. Keila won the Richard J. Stull Essay Competition sponsored by the American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE) and Brian won the American College of Legal Medicine’s essay competition. While these are noteworthy individual accomplishments, the respective students have benefitted from the significant investment of time and effort by our faculty in both encouraging and mentoring those efforts. It is noteworthy  that Associate Professor Donna Malvey has been instrumental in mentoring two of the three winning student essays during the past year.

During the coming months, we also will be sharing information about a number of new and exciting programs in which we are engaged as a department and as a faculty. We do look forward to that opportunity.

Please know that if you have any questions, or if you need any information or assistance, do feel free to contact us. Our respective doors are open and we look forward to meeting and discussing issues of importance with you all.

 Student Highlights

• Last year, graduate student Keila Rooney won first place in the graduate division of the ACHE’s annual Richard J. Stull Essay Competition in Healthcare Management. This marked the first time that a UCF student won top honors in the essay contest. In March 2009, Rooney traveled to Chicago to present her paper and receive her $3,000 prize award at the ACHE’s annual meeting. Associate Professor. Donna Malvey was her faculty mentor. Click here to learn more.
• This year, undergraduate student Robyn Lloyd captured third place in the undergraduate division of the ACHE’s annual essay competition for her paper titled “Retail Clinics: The New Consumerism.” She will also travel to Chicago to present her paper and receive a $1,000 prize. Malvey was her faculty mentor as well.
• Congratulations to graduate student Brian Shipman for winning the American College of Legal Medicine’s Hirsh Award for his essay, “The Role of Communication in the Patient-Physician Relationship.” Shipman is enrolled in the master's degree program in health services administration.
• The 4th Annual Health Administration Case Competition was held on Feb. 11 in Birmingham, Ala. Three students, Jamie Milici, Elizabeth Chen and Gregory Kirkwood, were chosen to represent UCF’s HSA programs at the prestigious event. The task was to analyze the diverse array of hospital-physician alignment strategies that were available and make recommendations to the Executive Management Team. After using all resources accessible, including a mock trial in front of several faculty members, the team headed off to Birmingham for the competition. The students performed admirably and fell just short of making it to the final round. The team had a great experience and is grateful to UCF for not only a wonderful opportunity but for an increase in professional and personal growth as well.
• Congratulations to undergraduate student Michael Rape, who was selected to receive a McNair Fellowship. This award provides a $10,000 stipend plus tuition support.
• Congratulations to student Alexis Gryzmkowski, who received the Memorial Healthcare System Fellowship. Gryzmkowski will rotate through each of the system’s six hospitals and will be working on various projects under the direction of president and system CEO Frank Sacco.

Associate Professor Donna Malvey and Executive Director and Professor Myron Fottler have just published the first book that documents and describes the retail health care trend. Their book is about the silent revolution that is occurring in the private sector with regard to the growth of private sector initiatives such as retail clinics, walk-in clinics and employer-based initiatives. Health care reform efforts are not just limited to government efforts as evidenced by what is occurring in the private markets. Moreover, the private sector is focused on reducing costs, increasing quality and customer service. Reputable studies indicate that these goals are being achieved.

“The Retail Revolution in Health Care” presents an overview of the retail health trend and its implications for consumers, employers, health care providers, health care companies, insurers and health policy makers. The authors examine the phenomenon of retail health care from an entrepreneurial perspective, discussing the growth of retail care beyond traditional retail establishments and possible performance indicators to assess health outcomes. This important book explores their part in furthering the availability of health care for all Americans.

For more information on their book, go to www.greenwood.com.

Megan McLendon (Class of 2009) recently accepted a position at Orlando Health as an administrative fellow with the Adult Hospitals Group. This is a yearlong position in which Megan will spend time shadowing leaders within the organization and devoting herself to a variety of projects to increase her understanding of the operations of a comprehensive, private, not-for-profit healthcare network. McLendon is currently involved in a project in collaboration with UCF to research hospital readmissions, transitional care and the use of community-based resources for patients post-discharge.

Undergraduate HSA Program
The Undergraduate HSA Program remains the largest in the country with 782 students enrolled in the fall 2009 semester, and our students are doing wonderful things. The Health Services Administration Student Association (HSASA) has seen an increase in the student members in the spring semester. They have had great guest speakers at the past few meetings, and have Heather Engelking from UCF Career Services booked to present at the next meeting on April 15. They have also been in contact with the Orlando ACHE Chapter so that we can become affiliated with them in the near future. — Dr. Kendall Cortelyou-Ward
Graduate HSA Program
This past year, the Graduate HSA Program has experienced tremendous growth and we now have the distinction of being the largest graduate program in health services administration in the country! With the increased quantity of students, we did not want to lose our focus on offering a quality program, so we have increased the number of sections of courses offered and have provided one instructor per 30 students in each course. We are also in the process of hiring an additional six faculty over the next two year to further enhance the program. Additionally, Ms. Andrea Velez-Vazquez joined our department this past year as the coordinator of academic services. In this position, she assists in advising students with scheduling and academic planning and promotes program activities and opportunities. — Dr. Dawn Oetjen

The HSA Pulse is produced by the faculty, staff and students of the Department of Health Management and Informatics with assistance from the college’s Communications Office. Please e-mail your comments and news to be included in the next issue to avelezva@mail.ucf.edu.