From left: Jindal School alumni Cody Campbell MS’12, Julie McCure MS’13, Salman Moti MS’11, MBA’16 and Keith Herl MBA’15 joined Dr. Forney Fleming, director of the Master of Science in Healthcare Leadership and Management program, at the recent launch of the Center for Healthcare Leadership and Management.
The health care management programs at the Naveen Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas have banded together to form the Center for Healthcare Leadership and Management (CHLM), which formally debuted April 20.
“The center is intended to bring all of the faculty together, reach out to many of you that are in industry, and invite you to speak and lecture and be part of this great effort,” Dr. Britt Berrett, the center’s director, said at a launch event attended by health care professionals, students and professors.
Referring to the Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management program, which he also directs, Berrett told the audience that “we started the program about a year-and-a-half ago, and already we have over 350 undergraduate students.”
He also said that internships and job shadowing are key components of the students’ education.
The other JSOM health care management programs that form the new center are:
- MS in Healthcare Leadership and Management.
- Executive MS/MBA in Healthcare Management, designed for physicians.
- Executive MS in Healthcare Leadership and Management, designed for health care professionals.
- Certificate in Healthcare Leadership and Management for Physicians, and
- Essential Elements of Accountable Care Organizations program.
Dr. Forney Fleming, director of the Master of Science in Healthcare Leadership and Management program, said that a master’s degree is vital for those in health care management.
“Fifteen years ago, the master’s was optional for that kind of employment goal,” Fleming told the crowd gathered at the event. “Not anymore.”
He said that his program’s evening classes, flexible format and online option allow students to continue to work full time if they choose.
“The center is intended to bring all of the faculty together, reach out to many of you that are in industry, and invite you to speak and lecture and be part of this great effort,” said Dr. Britt Berrett, the center’s director.
Dr. Keith Thurgood, director of the Executive MS in Healthcare Leadership and Management program designed for health care professionals, envisioned the new center putting UT Dallas firmly on the map in terms of leadership in health care and management.
“This can be a center of excellence for thought leadership,” Thurgood said. “Fundamentally, the industry needs to create leaders who will drive transformational change and who have a different skill set tomorrow than they have today.
“We know cost structures aren’t sustainable, and we need leaders to find alternatives. The center will allow you to learn from many tools, including case studies, discussing problems and coming up with solutions.”
Away from the podium, Fleming said health care management is such a dynamic field that he changes his lectures every semester — to the point that he does not use a textbook.
“The changes happen faster than they can print them,” he said. “But that makes it fun.”
One of his students, Mariana Garay, said studying health care management and the creation of the new center are exciting.
“Like Professor Fleming says, they’re training us for jobs that don’t really exist … yet,” said Garay, who is taking Fleming’s course American Healthcare System.
Berrett said UT Dallas can play a big part in the future of health care through its ability to explore — with the center serving as a focal point for such endeavors.
“This university and Texas are filled with entrepreneurs with creative ideas. Within health care, it’s a structure and industry reluctant to change,” he said. “This area has a perfect climate to bring engaged health care-minded individuals to the issues and find solutions. From the long waits in the lobby to how many bills you see, we have a terrific chance to improve efficiency.”
This story was reported and written by freelance contributor Eric Butterman.