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![[IMAGE: Book Shelf]](graphics/off10a.gif)
This page is an archive of the stories appearing in the
Newsline of Auburn University's Program in
Health Administration during
the year 1997. Top news stories for 1997 included:
In Winter 1998, PO 680 (Health Administration) has been cancelled.
In Spring 1998, Dr. McEldowney will be offering HA 539, Topics in Health Administration, on the subject of Women's Health.
If you have questions about either of these course, please contact Dr. McEldowney.
Nov. 11, 1997
Panelists will include Dr. Roger Myrick from the Department of
Communication, who has extensively researched mass media messages regarding
women/minorities and HIV, and Ms. Emily Myers, who is the Director of Social Work and
recently was recognized as the Alabama Outstanding AIDS Educator. (A third panelist, as
yet undetermined, may also participate).Nov. 5, 1997
Students attending will leave Auburn at about 7:30 a.m. Friday, and the itinerary in Birmingham will include the following:
10:30am-12:00 noon
Discussion of MSHA and MSHA/MBA Programs with Dr. Cynthia Haddock, MSHA
Program Director, and Melody Lake, MBA Program Coordinator.
12:00noon-1:00pm
Lunch with Dr. Robert Hernandez, Chair of the Department of Health
Services Administration, and Second-Year MSHA students.
1:00-2:00pm
Tour of UAB Campus with First-Year MSHA Students
2:00pm-3:00pm
Tour of UAB Hospital with Ted McCollum, Administrative Resident
If you're interested in joining the trip, please contact Todd
Kennedy ASAP by phone at 826-5073 or email at kennets@mail.auburn.edu.
Nov. 4, 1997
The main thing that I got from this tour was that in order for hospitals to compete now and in the future, they must become a true "health system", encompassing everything from managed care to home health care and to long term care.
There is a great demand for specialists in managed care and finance. We learned that hospital administrators can be hired fairly easily, but it is difficult to find an administrator to head up a managed care firm, or a CFO.
Tom Sanders, of Baptist Health System predicts that Medicare could move to managed care in the near future which would cut hospital occupancy rates in half. Currently, in Birmingham, they are running around 50% average. Then, if Blue-Cross/Blue-Shield moves to managed care, this will further reduce the occupancy rates.
Currently, Baptist is taking all the necessary steps to be prosperous in the future. Developing a long-term plan for the future is vitally important for any health care institution.
The HA education at Auburn has been excellent, and
everything discussed in the lectures and texts is very true. Care is
moving away from the hospitals and it is important for current HA students
at Auburn to be aware of this. There are many routes one could go in
pursuing a job after graduation. It seems that managed care, long-term care
and physician practices are the trend. Home Health Care is on the rise.
Heather Ohly ('97) writes:
I have accepted a job with Emory Healthcare, Inc. in Atlanta. I am
working with the Director of Operations of 18 Primary Care Clinics in the
metro area. I have been here 1 1/2 months, and already have learned so
much. Things are exactly as you say - managed care is here to stay. . .
I am so glad that you made us write those papers in HA 500. My paper
about Primary Care Docs becoming Gatekeepers has been played out
like a song in Atlanta - especially in Emory. I work in Primary Care and
they have a new procedure for all patients wanting referrals to a
specialist. THEY MUST SEE THEIR PRIMARY CARE DOCTOR. Patients
are calling from the specialist's office to try and get in, but the
administration isn't budging - they must be seen FIRST by the PCP.
There is a lot of Performance Improvement going on. I am on a
system-wide reengineering team. We are trying to find a better way to
access the system. The Medical Director has given us until December 1
to devise a plan.
Please tell your students that the things they study are so important if
they are going to pursue a career in healthcare. The Administration
hiring people like me wants to know what I know about healthcare. I
wouldn't have known if I didn't really pay attention in lectures. . .
We are getting ready for our joint commission audit next week. . .Tell
your students that it is real! JCAHO is not playing around - they are
concerned with detail. . .
Christy Scovell King ('93) reports:
. . .I am at Duke University Medical Center heading up a project to
interface the hospital and physician diagnostic services databases to
achieve "seamless" patient flow throughout the two Duke systems. It
will be a challenge. I work with staff at all professional levels from
the Hospital Controller to the front end staff in the Admissions Office
(Pt. Access Services) - certainly a "big picture" project.
I can't tell you what a great resource my education in HA at AU has been
over the years. No matter how simple or how difficult my
responsibilities in the hc field have been, I have always been able to
relate my situation/decision to a class I had as a HA student.
Joli Cooper ('97) writes concerning her hiring by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia:
My position is Market Operations Analyst. I work in Sales
Administration. So far I love it, it gets better everyday. We had an
orientation the first 2 days, but I felt so knowledgeable about the topics
covered...HMO, PPO, POS, and indemnity. I just really couldn't be happier.
And Becky Patterson ('97) discusses a recent activity in her graduate study at UAB:
. . .this past Friday, we toured a CCRC
in Cook Springs, AL. Though I have been to many, this was the first one I
have ever visited that seemed to work like a textbook example. It was
really a wonderful experience. They have an independent living area, an
assisted living area, and a traditional nursing home type area.
In
addition they are part of a pilot project to have Alzheimers patients
living in assisted living areas. This area of the community was really
really neat.
Also, they had many pets, from horses to fish, roaming
around different parts of the facility. The administrator was talking
about the therapy a cat, etc, can have on a resident and his or her
families. It was really neat. Next year they are instituting a child day
care program as well.
If you're an AU HA grad and would like to share news about what you've been doing lately,
please send us a line. It may not be possible to
share everyone's information through the Newsline, but your thoughts are always
welcomed.
The meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m., location TBA. Keep your eye on this
Newsline for further details.
The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. with registration/social time. The
business meeting will convene at 9:00 and should be out by 10:30 a.m.
All alumni of the HA Program are invited to see old friends and discuss
future directions for the organization.
If you have questions or wish further information, contact Jeff
Kirby, Vice President. You can e-mail him at Jbkirby@aol.com.
Topic for the evening: Internships, with Dr. Rene'
McEldowney as featured speaker.
Oct. 29, 1997
Alums on the Go
Several HA alums have checked in lately with news of their activities.
Oct. 27, 1997
More Details on HHAO Meeting
Tonight's HHAO meeting will take place in 3345 Haley at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 22, 1997
HHAO Meeting
On Monday, October 27 (this coming Monday), the featured speaker will be Marcy
Gilder (NP), Supervisor of Clinical Nursing for Lee and Lincoln County.
Oct. 8, 1997
Fall Alumni Meeting
The Fall meeting of the AU HA Alumni Association will take place
on Saturday, November 1, in 3174 Haley center.Oct. 7, 1997
HHAO Meeting
The HHAO will meet on Monday, Oct. 13, at 7:00 p.m. in 2226 Haley
Center. September 30,
1997
Problems with Intern Form Page
Several students have reported problems with the intern scheduling page. Tests on the page
suggest these problems are not flaws in the page itself but rather
problems of peak overload on the University server.
If you are experiencing such problems, try the form page at an "off
period"--e.g. early morning, late at night. Alternately, you can submit
the same information called for in the form via an e-mail to Dr. Burns.
September 27, 1997
Auburn University's Department of Political Science invites applications
for a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor in the Health Administration
Program. Review of applications
will begin October 15, 1997. For a copy of the formal position announcement,
e-mail Mark Burns, Program
Director.
August 26, 1997
For further information, see our scheduling
page.
Dr. McEldowney will assume the role of Internship Director.
However, students will continue to see Dr. Burns for initial
discussion/scheduling of their internships.
Dr. McEldowney will also serve as HHAO adviser.
Prof. Carol Jenkins, joining our program
for
the 1997-98 academic year, will serve as Freshman-Sophomore Adviser.
Dr. Burns and Dr. McEldowney will advise Junior and Senior
students. Juniors and Seniors without an assigned adviser should contact
Dr. Burns.
Dr. McEldowney will assume the chair of the HA Scholarship
Committee. Dr. Burns will continue as a member of the committee.
We hope these changes will enable our faculty to better serve the needs
of our Program and its students.
HHAO Vice President Corbin Camp notes: "Ms. Respess has
worked for six years in legislative affairs with two national trade
associations, a nationally recognized lobbying firm, and two years on
President Ronald Reagan's Domestic Policy staff. She has also served on the
National Association of Children's Hospitals' Public Policy Council and is
currently the Public Affairs Chairman for the Jefferson County American
Cancer Society Chapter."
The exact location of the meeting has not yet been decided. It will be
announced in the Newsline as soon as it is
Hope to see you there!
Kate Stephens, HHAO Secretary/Treasurer, is acting as a volunteer
Student Adjunct Adviser, to
assist Dr. Burns, who at present has more than 80 advisees (!). You can
reach her by e-mail at
stephkj@mail.auburn.edu or by
phone at 502-9285.
So, before you brave the long backup that sometimes occurs for Dr.
Burns's appointments these
days, contact Kate.
P.S. As Ms. Carol Jenkins joins our faculty Fall of 1997, our crowded
advising situation will
begin to improve. Please bear with us until then. And thanks to Kate
for assisting.
Staffing Changes
Effective the start of fall quarter, the following changes in duties for
HA faculty will occur:
July
30, 1997
New Addition to the HA Family
Dr. Charles Spindler and his wife, Yi, are the proud parents of a
daughter, Allison Jeanne Spindler, born July 18. Congratulations
and best wishes to the Spindler family!
May 7,
1997
HHAO Speaker for May 12
HHAO will meet at 7:30 Monday the 12th, with the featured speaker to be
Ms. Suzanne Respess, Director
of Government Relations for the Children's Hospital of Alabama.
May 5, 1997
HHAO Meeting
HHAO will meet at 8:00 (not the usual 7:30) Monday night, May 5, in 241 Foy
Union.
Guest speaker will be Ms. Sharon Gess of East Alabama Mental Health.April 30, 1997
Additional Advising Assistance
Need advice on scheduling? Or just like to talk to a fellow student who
knows the HA Program
well?April
24, 1997
Scholarship Opportunity
Applications are now being accepted for the annual HA Scholarship
Award. If you are interested in being considered, check out the information page about it. Applications may be
obtained from Dr. Burns. The application deadline is May 15.
To learn more about Ms. Jenkins, check her information page.
April 9, 1997
Dr. Chater served as Social Security commissioner from 1995 to last month, when she left government service to become Regents' Professor of the University of California.
Thanks.
--Mark Burns, Program Director
April 6, 1997
HHAO Website Debuts
Thanks to the efforts of HHAO President Todd Kennedy, the HHAO now has its own Website. It includes profiles of the HHAO
officers, information on the proposed redraft version of the HHAO constitution, a
question/gripe line to let students express their concern about the organization and the
HA Program in general, and a considerable touch of tongue-in-cheek humor.
If you encounter any problems as a result of the move, or if you are
aware of other pages or Websites elsewhere that still point to the "old"
location, please let us know.
March
12, 1997
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Burns or Dr. McEldowney.
March 10, 1997
Please bear with us during the forthcoming period of transition. If you have
"bookmarked" any HA pages other than the home page and would like special
"jump pages" created to ease your move to the new pages, please just let us know which pages
you've "bookmarked."
March 6,
1997
The only Alabama institution to appear in the latest rankings of HA graduate
schools was the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB), which
ranked eighth in the nation.
Dr. Keenan Grennel of Auburn's Political
Science Department and HA Program Director Dr. Mark Burns were among those
invited to share their memories of Dr. Ford at the service. Burial was at
Ashdale Cemetery in Tuskegee.
Dr. Ford's information page has been redesigned
in a memorial format as a small token of the concern our HA community feels at
the death of this prominent member of our faculty, of whom one HA alumni
commented: "Dr. Ford was a woman of grace and intelligence. Her passing is a
great loss to the HA Program."
Her family is making tentative plans for the funeral this coming Tuesday,
possibly at 11. Further information will be posted to the "Newsline"
as it becomes available.
This is a very sad day for our Program and all who knew Dr. Ford.
If anyone wishes to attend and needs more detailed infomation, please e-mail Dr. Burns.
Also, for those wishing to send condolences to the Ford family, their
address is P.O. Box 830450,
Tuskegee, AL 36083.
March 4, 1997
Services for Dr. Ford
Memorial services for Dr. Doris Ford took place today at Greenwood
Missionary Baptist Church in Tuskegee, with her pastor, Dr. Reginald
Porter, officiating. Several hundred people attended, including members of
her extended family, her friends from her church and community, co-workers,
HA students and alumni, and law enforcement officials who knew her through
her husband, Judge Aubrey Ford, Jr. February 27, 1997
A Message from the Program Director
It was with deep regret that I must inform you of the death of my friend
and colleague, Dr. Doris Ford. She passed away last night at Jackson
Hospital after an extended illness, having been on medical leave from the
University since last spring.
Additional Information on Service
The funeral service for Dr. Ford has been
scheduled for 11:00 Tuesday at Greenwood Missionary Baptist Church on
Washington
Ave. in Tuskegee.
February 26,
1997
Possible Job Opening
Former HHAO President and 1996 graduate Lisa Crapet is now working
for Strategic Management Systems, a Third-Part Administrator (TPA) firm
in Birmingham. Her company is looking for temporary employees in
connection with preparation for a forthcoming audit. If you are an HA
alumni interested in a "starter" position, you can phone Lisa at
800-466-8242 or 205-987-0069 or e-mail her at crapet@mindspring.com.
Applications are also welcomed from current students who will graduate at the end of Winter quarter.
Mr. Fox is currently involved in the administration of the Medical Arts
Eye Clinic, Auburn-Opelika Urology Associates, and several other
health-related
enterprises. He also has a wide and interesting background in a variety
of non-HA administrative positions.
February 25,
1997
Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to Dr. Ford and her family.
February 22, 1997
The HA Program and its students owe Leland a deep debt of gratitude for his enthusiastic leadership of the Council during many important periods of the development of our program, including its successful application for AUPHA membership. He will continue to be involved in the Program through his current teaching of HA370 and his membership on the Executive Council of the HA Alumni Organization.
Succeeding Leland as Council Chair is Kevin Rowley, Director of Planning for St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Georgia. Also, LaDonna Posey, Provider Services Coordinator for Medisphere Management in Birmingham, will serve as Deputy Chair subject to a confirmation vote by the full Council at its next meeting.
The HA Advisory Council is a major source of advice and input in
continuing efforts to improve Auburn's Health Administration Program.
Since the reshuffling of the Council now leaves one seat vacant, interested
HA alumni are welcome to make nominations of other administrators in health
administration (including themselves) as possible candidates for the
vacancy. Just contact Kevin
Rowley or HA Program Director Mark Burns.
February 19, 1997
Join us and learn more about the world of clinic administration and physician group practices!
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During its period of "field testing," the six-button interface has undergone repeated modifications to make it as efficient as possible. Special thanks are due to Todd Kennedy, who provided a helpful critique of an earlier version.
In the days ahead, you'll see it on a growing number of HA Website pages. If you have suggestions or comments on the new interface, please drop us a line.
In the past, HA and the MPA Program have sought to develop a specialty track in health administration/policy within the MPA, including the development of graduate courses such as PO680/PO6xx. Recently, faculty and graduate students in the MBA Program have also been also contemplating options for their students interested in some kind of specialty in health administration.
Now, contact has begun across the three programs to study possible cooperative efforts, such as cross-listing certain classes in both MPA/HA and MBA for access to students in both graduate programs. Such moves might help to minimize duplication of effort and maximize the number of HA-related graduate classes available for all students. As a pilot example, this quarter's offering of PO680 includes three MBA students and two MPA students.
In Friday's meeting Drs. Burns and McEldowney represented HA; Dr. Christa
Slaton, the MPA; and Drs. Dan Gropper and Sharon Oswald the MBA. Further
discussions are expected to involve specifics of courses to be developed
and possible cooperation in distance learning efforts. The various
programs and departments involved, as well as the HA
Advisory Council and
the HHAO, will be involved in shaping the exact
nature of future cooperative arrangements as they are developed.
February 5, 1997
If you're interested in learning more about duties of officers,
election procedures, or the organization of the HHAO, check out the HHAO Constitution, which has now been posted
to this Website.
Amy Major, another 1995 graduate, writes from Central Baptist
Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky, where she is Marketing and Public
Relations Coordinator and is also involved in community relations:
I have just recently finished phase I of our
hospital website. . .I love my work but
do miss Auburn and everyone in the program. Like they say, Auburn is a
place
that gets in your blood and stays there forever.
WAR EAGLE!
If you have any questions about this change, please e-mail Dr. Burns or contact him at
his office, HC 7094.
Now, you can take advantage of our new, enhanced graduate
school page which offers links to ALL the AUPHA-affiliated
graduate programs in the United States. A considerable effort has been
made, wherever possible, to provide links directly to the graduate programs
themselves, not just their "parent" universities. Thus, in many cases, our
grad school page saves you the time which would otherwise be required to
dig through multiple layers of Web pages to find what you're really
after.
Hope students contemplating grad study enjoy the improvements to this
resource. If any of you find more direct links to particular graduate
programs than what is currently on the page, please take a moment to drop us a line so we can continue
to refine our information.
Topics will include legal, ethical, religious, and historical aspects of
the controveraial issue of assisted suicide. Among the participants will be
Dr. Clifton Perry.
January 29, 1997
News from Our HA
Alumni
HA! HA!
HA! HA graduates "show the colors" at Fall 1996 graduation.
I am almost finished with my MSPH from the University of
Kentucky. All I have left is my thesis, and I should graduate by May.
January 25, 1997
Important Scheduling Change
Because of serious conflicts with courses offered by other
departments, it has been decided to move the Spring 1997 offering of
HA510, Finance in Health Administration to MW 3:00-4:30. The new
section number is 5733, and the class will meet in 2324.
New Graduate School Resource
For some time, this Website has provided a page listing Web links to major
Southeastern graduate schools in HA. However, coverage of institutions
outside the Southeast had been limited mainly to schools where HA students
had gone for graduate work in the past.
Another Internet Milestone
As of this date, our Website home page counter reports over 4000
accesses since August, 1995. War (Cyber) Eagle!
January 23, 1997
Forum on "Right to Die" Issues
Students interested in health policy issues involving death and dying should
take note of a forthcoming panel on assisted suicide and euthanasia
which will take place Thursday January 24 at 7 P.M. in Foy 246.
Jan. 14, 1997
New Placement Page
Auburn University's Placement Services has set up a new Web page for
students interested in possible job interviews through them.
The page address is:
Students coming up on graduation are also reminded that advice on
job seeking is available both on this Website and
through the office of
the Program Director, including access to our HA alumni database.
HA graduates are also encouraged to pursue networking through the HA
Alumni Organization.Jan. 13, 1997
Although there had been tentative plans for an HHAO meeting this evening, it has been cancelled.
The next regular meeting will be on January 27, location TBA. The primary item of business will the election of officers. Any interested candidates or voters must be dues-paying members.
For current news stories, see the regular HA Newsline.