VCU news

By Malorie Burkett

A team of students in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Health Administration won first place in a national contest designed to improve future health administrators’ ability to undertake real-world issues.

The Health Administration Case Competition, hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Health Services Administration and sponsored by the UAB Health System, took place earlier this month in conjunction with UAB’s L.R. Jordan Distinguished Lecture Series.

During the two-day competition, teams from 15 universities prepared analyses of a case study on the construction of a replacement facility for a major pediatric hospital in a southwestern city. Competitors developed a set of practical recommendations in the areas of strategic planning, operations, finance and marketing.

VCU team members included Beemal Shah, Sarah Johnson and Karah Jones – all students in the Masters in Health Administration program.

“The case competition not only increased the camaraderie among our team members, but it also truly brought our department together as a whole,” said Shah. “This accomplishment speaks highly of our faculty, program and all the organizations that have continuously provided support.”

David Hoidal, CEO of the UAB Health System, presented VCU’s team with a check for $9,000. A team from Northwestern University won second place, while third place went to the UAB team. A panel of seven nationally recognized health administration professionals judged the presentations.

“These three students worked tirelessly to polish their presentation and to hone in on the essential elements of the case study,” said Stephen Mick, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Health Administration.

“This kind of exercise requires a total synthesis of all their course work to date,” he said. “The task is very difficult, but the team rose to the occasion and did a superlative job.”

The UAB competition is the second national case study competition that VCU students have won. Last year, a team of VCU health administration students took first place in the Clarion National Case Competition, edging out Mayo Clinic, the University of Chicago and other teams from around the country.

The HCA Richmond Division and the HCA Capitol Division sponsored the VCU team members in this year’s UAB case competition.