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News and Events

November 2023

Our excellent student cohort never fails to impress! Our JHAWK Executive Board pulled together an incredible Career Fair and networking Event last night! Students learned from a panel of experienced health administrators, met representatives from local health care organizations, networked with peers, alumni, and faculty, and explored a variety of careers in healthcare administration. Great work JHAWK! Thank you to all who participated!

Career Fair Collage 2023

October 2023

We had the pleasure of hosting the 13th Annual MHSA/MHA Case Competition in the Department of Population Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Case competitions offer a wonderful learning experience grounded in real health care challenges.
Thank you to all of the visiting programs: The University of Iowa Health Management & Policy Department, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Missouri-Columbia. A huge thanks to all the participating students for your preparation and hard work, and congratulations to the winning teams! Thank you to our judges and the faculty who graciously volunteered their time and expertise during the day's events.
Special thanks to our sponsor PYA for writing a terrific case and partnering on a successful event.

MHSA Case Competition 2023

June 2023

Journey to Fellowship

Krit Sarai, MHSA, Class of 2023 was interviewed for the podcast "So You Want to Be a Healthcare Executive?" with Ken Rates!  Listen now to hear about his journey from undergrad to fellowship and his experience as a University of Kansas Medical Center MHSA student!

May 2023

Congratulations to our graduates! 

The Class of 2023 celebrated with family, friends, and staff at our annual commencement ceremony.  Congratulations!

 MHSA 2023 Graduates

2023 Annual Awards Ceremony

Faculty, students, and staff of the University of Kansas Medical Center gathered to recognize our graduates and award winners. 

  • JHAWK Outstanding Faculty Members:
    • Atlee Gafford & Gene Meyer
  • JHAWK Outstanding Student:
    • Krit Sarai
  • Healthcare Executive of the Future
    • Ashley Huber
  • Professional Development Award
    • Krit Sarai

October 2020

MHSA Regional Case Competition Goes Virtual

Our 10th Annual MHSA Regional Case Competition was held virtually on Friday, October 30, 2020. We were thrilled to welcome students from University of Missouri - Columbia, University of Oklahoma, and Saint Louis University to compete along some of our first-year MHSA students in this educational experience.

Because our competition was virtual, our judges attended from all over the United States. The MHSA program extends our sincere appreciation to everyone who volunteered their time to make this year's competition a success!

  • First Place: Rania Mahrous, Chesna Panicker, Yesha Patel - Saint Louis University
  • Finalists: Aaron Carrillo, Derek Reese, Nicole Romanelli - KUMC
  • Finalists: Jacob Ip, Clare Kessler, Sohil Swaminathan - Saint Louis University
    November 2020

Cox Receives Lifetime Achievement Award, "The Jayhawk"

The announcement was made at the WIMS Annual Awards Event and the School of Medicine Annual Faculty Retreat. Recordings of the events are available on the WIMS website and Faculty Council website, respectively.

Brooks Awarded Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award

Dr. Joanna Brooks has been on faculty since 2015 and teaches in both the MHSA and PhD programs.

Saint Onge receives John C. Wright Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award

Dr. Jarron Saint Onge has a joint appointment as an Associate Professor for the Department of Sociology, as well as the Department of Population Health. He teaches in both the MHSA and PhD programs.

Brooks Receives Glandon Family Scholarship for Advancement of Healthcare Management Education

Dr. Brooks has been named the first recipient of the Glandon Family Scholarship for Advancement of Healthcare Management Education by AUPHA (the Association of University Programs in Health Administration). See the press release here.

MHSA Program Graduates; Graduation Awards Announced

The MHSA Program honored 15 new MHSA graduates at the Department of Population Health virtual hooding ceremony on May 15th. Among the graduates were 1 Joint BSHIM/MHSA student, 2 Joint MS/MHSA students, and 1 Joint JD/MHSA student.

Congratulations to the following new MHSA graduates receiving awards at this year's ceremony:

Health Care Executive of the Future Award: Miranda Steele

Professional Development Award: Mary-Kate Shelton

May 2020

JHAWK Annual Awards

The MHSA Student Organization, Jayhawk Healthcare Administrators Working for Kansas (JHAWK), included their annual student-voted recognition awards in this year's virtual hooding ceremony:

  • JHAWK Outstanding Faculty Member: Dr. Atlee Gafford
  • JHAWK Outstanding Student: Mary-Kate Shelton

Ellis Selected as Visiting Scholar

MHSA and PhD program faculty member Dr. Shellie Ellis was selected as the 2020 AcademyHealth/National Cancer Institute Visiting Scholar for Healthcare Delivery Research. During her term, she will work with colleagues at the National Cancer Institute to conduct research on rural oncology practices' participation in research and, via the national platform provided by AcademyHealth, the pre-eminent Health Services Research professional society, will convey a national agenda for expanding rural participation in cancer care delivery research.

MHSA Faculty Member Becomes Peer Review Editor

Faculty member Richelle Marting has been asked to serve as the Kansas and Missouri Peer Review Editor for the American Health Lawyers Association Physicians Organizations Practice Group 30 State Opiod Prescribing Law Survey.

New Department

Dr. Robert Simari, Executive Dean of the School of Medicine, announced the merger of the Department of Health Policy and Management and the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health. They formed a new Department of Population Health, effective July 1, 2019. All existing academic programs remain the same. 

MHSA Program Graduates; Graduation Awards Announced

The MHSA Program celebrated 3 new PhD and 22 new MHSA graduates at its May 11th Hooding Ceremony. Among the graduates were 2 Joint MS Nursing/MHSA and 2 Joint BSHIM/MHSA students. Congratulations to the following new MHSA graduates receiving awards at this year's Graduation Reception:

  • Health Care Executive of the Future Award: Ariel Shifter
  • Professional Development Award: Emily Santiago

May 2019

JHAWK Annual Awards

The MHSA Student Organization, Jayhawk Healthcare Administrators Working for Kansas (JHAWK), announced their annual awards at the Graduation Reception:

  • JHAWK Outstanding Faculty Member: Dr. Jarron Saint Onge
  • JHAWK Outstanding Student: Emily Santiago

Scholarship Awards Announced

The MHSA Program awarded the following scholarships to continuing students:

  • Ray Davis Scholarship: Alex Lemcke
  • Jerry Slaughter Scholarship: Taylor Zabel
  • Avis G. McPike Scholarship: Navneet Kaur, Claire Poague, Miranda Steele, Alex Lemcke

Health Policy Symposium

The department of Health Policy and Management hosted its first Health Policy Symposium on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 entitled "Opportunities in Healthcare and Health Policy for Underserved Populations."

Partially sponsored by the Peter T. Bohan Visiting Lecturer Fund, the symposium's keynote speaker was Alonzo Plough, PhD, MPH, Vice President for Research Evaluation Learning and Chief Science Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The symposium featured three targeted sessions, bringing together policy and healthcare experts from across the State of Kansas and national panelists to discuss disabilities and mental health, cultural humility, and rural medicine.

New Publication for Faculty Member

MHSA instructor Richelle Marting's article, Protecting Adolescent Patient Privacy: Four Key Questions, was published in the American Academy of Family Physicians Family Practice Management Journal, January 2019.

JHAWK Announces New Officers

The following MHSA students have been elected as officers for the 2019 year:

  • President: Alexander Lemcke
  • Vice-President: Logan Decker
  • Treasurer: Jesse Lyle
  • Information Officer: Larkin Bailey
  • Outreach Officer: Dayna Richards
  • Liaison Officer: Mary-Kate Shelton
  • Planning Officer: Kaitlyn Wolken

MHSA Alumnus Chosen for Campus Award

MHSA (2007) Alumnus Nico Tejeda was chosen by the School of Medicine Alumni Association to receive its 2018 Outstanding Early Careerist Award. Tejeda is currently the Group CEO of The Hospitals of Providence in Texas.

Don C. Black Future of Healthcare Lecture

The Don C. Black Future of Healthcare Lecture Series was held during alumni weekend, and we were pleased to welcome back Nicholas Tejeda, MHSA Class of 2007, FACHE and Market CEO at The Hospitals of Providence. Nico was awarded the KUMC Alumni Early Career Achievement award at the campus-wide alumni awards luncheon. His talk, "Sustainable Partnerships: The Basis of Healthcare Transformation", was attended by alumni, current students and faculty.

New Kansas Secretary of Health and Environment from KU Health System

Congratulations to Dr. Lee Norman, state surgeon of Kansas, former chief medical officer of The University of Kansas Health System, who has been named interim secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment by Governer Laura Kelly. Dr. Norman is an active member of the MHSA External Advisory Board and has remained a continuous contributor to the program.

Administrative Fellows Announced

Congratulations to the following 2019 MHSA graduates who will be going on to fellowships this June:

  • Pooneh Nazaran, UT Southwestern
  • Halle Ponick, KU Health System
  • Emily Santiago, UT Southwestern
  • Ariel Shifter, Children's Hospital Colorado

Williams Elected Chair of American Public Health Association

HP&M faculty member Dr. Jessica Williams was elected chair of the Medical Care Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) effective November 2018. As chair, Dr. Williams will seek connections between medical care and public health.  December 2018

School of Medicine

University of Kansas Medical Center
Population Health
Mail Stop 1008
3901 Rainbow Boulevard
Kansas City, KS 66160
913-588-2775
Fax: 913-588-2780