2000 Health Administration Program Newsline Archive

This page is an archive of the stories appearing in the Newsline of Auburn University's Program in Health Administration during the year 2000.

Top news stories for 2000 included:

Sucsessful AUPHA Review
HA Website Changes
Dr. Charles Spindler Dies

If you have comments, suggestions, or questions, please send us your e-mail.

November 3, 2000

HHAO Meeting Tuesday

There will be an important HHAO meeting on Tuesday, November 7 at 7:00 p.m. in 3353 Haley. Featured speaker will be HA alumni Shon Ingram from Account Management Services in Montgomery. Business topics will include preparation for attending the managed care conference, HHAO T-shirts, and an attendance award.

Don't miss this important meeting!

October 30, 2000

Alumni Events

Several important events took place at the meeting of HA Alumni on Saturday October 28.

Officer elections were held, and the following positions were filled:

President, Lindsey Jarrell, HealthLink
Secretary/Treasurer, Michelle Beach, UAB MHSA Program
At-Large Board Member, Lisa Yutendale, CSC
At-Large Board Member, Jeff Kirby, Methodist Homes for the Aging

Congratulations to all these new officers and thanks to the outgoing officers who served in these positions.

In other business, a proposed constitutional revision was discussed. The proposed change would expand the number of at-large board members to four, with two each elected in alternating two-year terms. Currently, there are only two at-large members, both elected annually.

This proposed change will be voted on at the Spring 2001 meeting and, if passed would take effect with the Fall 2001 meeting.

October 26, 2000

Alumni Reminder

HA Alumni, particularly those planning to attend this Saturday's game, are reminded that the HA Alumni Organization will be meeting at 10 a.m. in 3346 Haley. Business will include officer elections and discussion of possible constitutional changes.

October 25, 2000

AUPHA Review Concluded Successfully

The Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) has concluded its review of the Health Administration Program and has recognized Auburn's program as a full member, the only Alabama undergraduate program so recognized. Prior to this, Auburn's status was that of an associate/candidate member, the status awarded to programs when they first attain AUPHA membership.

Congratulations to all who worked hard for this outcome, especially to Progam Director Dr. Rene' McEldowney.

To learn more about the Association, you may want to visit its Website.

October 18, 2000

HHAO News

Mark your calendars for the following HHAO events:

Social for HHAO members on October 24 at Niffer's at 6:00 PM
The next HHAO meeting will be October 26 at 7:00 PM. Mr. Gordon Korb from Wesley Terrace Retirement Community will be the speaker.
Organization Day will be October 25 and 26. HHAO will have a table at this event.

October 4, 2000

Clarification of Internship Policy

Dr. Rene' McEldowney, HA Internship Director and Program Director, wishes to remind students that Auburn's new "academic forgiveness" policy cannot be used to automatically increase one's GPA for the purpose of calculating eligibity for internships.

Internship eligiblity GPA's are computed on the basis of completed coursework. Thus, if a student has failed a particular HADM course, the "F" he/she received in the course will be used to compute an intern eligibility GPA until such time as the student has actually retaken the course and received a higher grade.

If you have any questions about this matter, please contact Dr. McEldowney.

September 26, 2000

HHAO Meeting

The HHAO Glomerata picture will be taken Tues Oct. 3 at 6:40 at the Quad center. Students should dress appropriately (ties optional for guys).

Students will then walk over to the Haley Center for an HHAO meeting at 7:30. There will be a speaker.

September 14, 2000

MGMA Meeting

The local chapter of the Medical Group Manager Association will meet at 12 noon on Wednesday the 20th at the Saugahattechee County Club for lunch and a talk on the topic "The Paperless Office." Cost of the luncheon is $10 and professional dress is required.

To register and for further details, contact Dr. McEldowney.

September 13, 2000

HHAO Meets Tuesday

Our student organization, the HHAO, will meet at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday the 19th in 3353 Haley. Membership is open to any students interested in the area of health administration.

August 22, 2000

Course Scheduling Changes

Please note the following changes in HA Course Offerings for this Spring 2001 and Spring 2002.

Spring 2001
A new section of HADM 4000 (Developing Health Care Organizations) will be offered.
Spring 2002
The HADM 4000 section originally planned for this quarter will not be offered. However, a new section of HADM 4820 (Long-Term Care Admin.) will be offered.

If you have questions about how these changes may affect your plan of study, see your HA faculty adviser. For detailed information about HA course offerings this year and next, check out the courses schedule pages for 2000-2001 and 2001-2002.

August 8, 2000

Forthcoming Website Change

As part of retooling our Website as the semester system begins, other features of the site are being updated as well. One planned change concerns our Master Page of Contents.

Currently, this useful page listing and connecting to all other pages in our site exists in two versions:

A graphical version compatible with most computer equipment used today.
A non-graphical version which loads faster and is more user-friendly to those using older computers

However, these days site users needing the second type of page appear to be few or none. Therefore, further updates to the non-graphical page are scheduled to be phased out this month, and the page will eventually be discontinued.

If you are a user who prefers continued maintenance of the non-graphical page, please e-mail Dr. Mark Burns, HA Website coordinator, and make your needs known.

August 7, 2000

Fall Meeting of the HA Alumni Organization

The HA Alumni Organization will meet on Saturday, October 28, in 3346 Haley Center.

Business of the meeting will include election of officers. If you are a member of the organization interested in nominating someone or running for office, contact Vice President Becky Patterson.

For further information on the Alumni Organization, see their Web page.

July 18, 2000

Fall Seminars

Students planning to take classes this fall to fulfill the HA seminar requirement should note that two of the three seminars being offered this fall (HADM 4800 and HADM 4850) are now filled.

Seats are still available in the third seminar, HADM 4810, Change in Health Administration. This seminar considers the impact of change across major areas of our field, particularly technological change and the challenge of dealing with diversity issues in the health care setting. For further information about this course, contact Dr. Burns

Students under the new semesterized version of the HA Program are required to take three classes in the seminar series. Students still under the "old" (quarter) version are required to take two. Students who do not do internships must take two additional seminars beyond the regular requirements for either version.

May 18, 2000

HA Alumni Organization Meeting

The HA Alumni Organization (AUHAAO) will meet Saturday June 17 in 3346 Haley at 10:00 a.m.

May 8, 2000

HA Faculty Member Dies

Dr. Charles Spindler, who taught advanced finance for the HA Program, died Friday while swimming with friends at the campus pool.

There will be a visitation at Holy Trinity Episcopal church at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday night. The funeral will take place there at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday.

Dr. Spindler was a lively and innovative instructor and a diligent scholar. He will be greatly missed by his colleagues and all the students whose lives he touched.

April 27, 2000

Important News About Internships

The latest edition of the handbook for HA Internships is now available in the A.U. Bookstore. Any students planning on taking HADM 450/4920 should purchase a copy.

April 20, 2000

Pre-Registration Matters

Annual pre-registration for classes has started again. Please be sure to consult with your designated HA adviser.

Also, some students registering for Fall 2000 have asked about the apparent lack of a course for statistics. Actually, what is now SOCY 2220 or RSOC 2200 will be replaced in the fall by a new statistics course, STAT 2010.

April 10, 2000

HHAO Meeting Tomorrow

The HHAO will meet tomorrow, Tuesday, April 11, at 7:00 pm in Haley Center 2226.

HA Scholarship Winner

HA Program Director Dr. Rene' McEldowney has announced this year's HA Scholarship winner. This year's award goes to Daniele Beam a junior from Arab, Alabama. In addition to winning the HA Scholarship award for 2000-20001, Stephanie is a member of Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Lamba Delta Honor Societies.

The Health Administration Scholarship, established in 1981, is awarded each year to a junior in HA on the basis of applicant's demonstrated scholarship and promise as a future health administrator. If you wish to learn more about this award, see its web page,

Congratulations to Danielle on her achievement!

Internship Announcement

All students planning internships must register directly with Dr. McEldowney. You can obtain further information about internship procedures by purchasing a copy of A Health Administration Internship Guide, available in the University bookstore, checking out the internship FAQ page, or by contacting Dr. McEldowney (Phone: 334-844-5370; or E-Mail: mceldrp@mail.auburn.edu)

Feb. 22, 2000

New Schedules Released

A revised schedule of HA classes for next year, 2000-2001 has been posted to the HA Website. Students planning for that academic year should be sure to check it out. This will be the first year HA classes are on the semester system.

A very tentative schedule of classes for 2001-2002 is also available.

March HHAO Field Trip

The HHAO will be making a field trip to the UAB MHA program and Children's Hospital in Birmingham on March 3. For further information, contact Dr. McEldowney or HHAO President Benjamin McSwean.

Students making the trip will need to meet at the same location as the Dothan trip (near the old Vocational Education building) no later than 6:15 a.m. Tour participants can expect to return to Auburn by around 5:00 p.m.

Feb. 10, 2000

HA Scholarship

Applications for the 2000-2001 Health Administration Scholarship are now being taken. Qualified applicants must be Auburn students with a 3.0 cumulative GPA and should not be receiving any University-based scholarships for the 2000-2001 academic year.

To apply, students must submit a copy of their transcripts, a two-page essay on their personal theory of management style, and fill out an application form which can be obtained from Dr. McEldowney or Dr. Burns.

If you have questions about the scholarship, please contact Dr. McEldowney.

Feb. 2, 2000

Changes in Spring Classes

Please note that the following HA classes have been changed from the times listed in the registration tabloid.

HADM 0510 (Finance in HA) is going to be offered Wednesdays 5:30-8:30.
HADM 0539 Section 2 (Medical Terminology) is going to be offered Thursdays 5-9. You can register for this class only through your HA faculty adviser.

Jan. 24, 2000

HHAO Activities for February

Check your calendars to be sure you keep the following February HHAO activities in mind during the coming month:

February 4--Field trip to Extended Care in Dothan, Alabama; lunch and transportation will be provided. However, you will need to make reservations by January 31 with HHAO President Ben McSwean (ph. 502-0420).
February 15--HHAO Meeting. Guest speaker will be Robert Chapman, Alabama Regent of the American College of Health Care Executives and CEO, Eastern Health Systems, Birmingham. This meeting will be held at 6:30 the evening of the 15th at the A.U. Medical Clinic, 2nd floor conference room.
February 28--A.U. Health Fair, Foy Union

Jan. 21, 2000

Auburn Free Clinic

There will be a meeting to discuss and do work for the planned Auburn Free Clinic Monday night, 6:30-8:30 p.m. (January 24) at the Baptist Student Union building in downtown Auburn. Anyone interested in volunteering to help should attend.

Jan. 18, 2000

New HHAO Officers

As a result of last week's HHAO elections, the following are now the officers of the organization:

President, Benjamin McSwean
Phone: 502-0420
E-mail: mcswebl@mail.auburn.edu
1st Vice President, Mark Didier
Phone: 501-1387
E-mail: mddidier@aol.com
2nd Vice President, Brad McGilton
Phone: 501-1387
E-mail: mcgilbj@mail.auburn.edu
Secretary, Melissa Starr
Phone: 826-9715
E-mail: starrma@auburn.edu or mastarr14@hotmail.com
Treasurer, Jami Davis
Phone: 501-1741
E-mail: jdavis7354@aol.com

Also, HHAO adviser Dr. Rene' McEldowney is taking orders for HHAO t-shirts. Cost is $10.00 and students should drop by her office to sign up and pre-pay.

HA Intern News

HA Interns Robyn Hardy and Rebeka Frank are enjoying their internships at Johns Hopkins Health System in Baltimore, Maryland

Are you listed on Dr. McEldowney's internship list yet? Keep in mind that internships must be scheduled at least a year in advance, longer for summer.

Also, beginning in September 2000, intern applicants must past screening criteria to obtain an internship position. Otherwise, they must take two extra 500-level classes instead of the internship. For details, contact Dr. McEldowney.

Jan. 7, 2000

Change in MGMA Luncheon

Due to a conflict, the MGMA meeting originally scheduled for January 19 has been moved up to Wednesday, January 12 12:00 noon at the country club. If you are an HHAO member planning to attend, please contact Dr. McEldowney ASAP.

If you are not an HHAO member and would like to become one, the dues are $25.00. Applications are available in Dr. McEldowney's office.

Jan. 5, 2000

Important Advising Announcement

Effective immediately, all Health Administration students will be assigned advisers as follows:

Last names A-I: Dr. Burns
Last names J-P: Dr. McEldowney
Last names Q-Z: Dr. Jenkins

Under this change, some students will be "shifted" from their old adviser. Be sure you see the faculty member listed above for further advising, not your previous adviser.

HHAO Activities for January

Keep in mind the following dates of forthcoming HHAO Activities:

January 11--HHAO Elections will be held in Haley Center, Room 3226, at 7:00 p.m. Refreshments will be provided.
January 14--Deadline for registration to attend the January 19 luncheon of the area MGMA Chapter. See Dr. McEldowney to register. Cost is $10.
January 31--Deadline for registration for the February 4 field trip to Extended Care in Dothan, Alabama. Lunch and transportation will be provided, but you must make reservations with Dr. McEldowney by the 31st.

For stories from other past years, see the General News Archive Page

For current news stories, see the regular HA Newsline.