2010 Health Administration Symposium

The past year has been marked by calls and initiatives for reform of healthcare in the United States. While the process has been challenging and in some cases acrimonious, it is inevitable that healthcare will be going through major changes in the coming years, whether or not an actual reform bill is passed. Now, more than ever, leaders in healthcare must strategically equip themselves for the challenge. This symposium brings together experts in many aspects of healthcare. In one week in Maine you will have access to much of the information you will need for future success. You will also be engaged in the search for viable solutions to some of the problems currently plaguing healthcare systems.

Join us on July 26 – 30, 2010
On the campus of Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, ME

New Members of the Health Administration Program Advisory Committee!

We are pleased to announce that Brenda Rice and Marguerite Stapleton have been appointed to the Health Administration Program Advisory Committee!

Brenda Rice is a graduate of the Master of Health Administration and Bachelor of Science in Health Administration programs at SJC. She is also the Director of the Mercy Hospital School of Radiology in Portland, Maine. Brenda has worked in a variety of capacities in healthcare and academia. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in radiology technology and will be able to provide guidance to the radiologic science administration degree programs as well as to the health administration programs.

Marguerite Stapleton is a Spirituality Consultant providing resources in spirituality for individuals, groups and organizations through Wisdom’s Works. She loves to engage people in reflective conversations, rituals, and centering. Marguerite also officiates at weddings after working with couples to create a ceremony grounded in their own spirituality.

Marguerite served as the Vice-President for Mission Effectiveness at St. Mary’s Health System from 1993-2009. In this role, she was responsible for educating and motivating the employees, medical staff and trustees to live the mission and values of the organization. She also worked with the Ethics Committee and the Haiti outeeach.

Marguerite did her undergraduate work at Immaculata College and received her master’s degree at the University of Illinois. She has done further graduate study at Villanova University and Boston College.

During her career she has taught elementary and secondary school, been a book review editor, and worked as a pastoral associate focusing on adult faith formation. She has given workshops, retreats and conferences throughout the US and Canada.

She has served on the Board of Directors of the Maine Council of Churches, the United Way of Androscoggin County, and the Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice. Currently, she serves on the Board for the Center for Wisdom’s Women.

2009 Health Administration Symposium

The 2009 Health Administration Symposium held at Saint Joseph's College the week of July 22nd was a tremendous success! Thirty people attended the event and speakers from all over the United States presented the latest information relative to "Managing Health Care with Values in Turbulent Economic Times." Employee development and succession planning, culture change, faith-based healthcare systems, health informatics, managing responsibly, physician relationships, quality, servant leadership and trends in paying for care were all covered! The participants were actively engaged in each of the presentations and brought their expertise to the discussion! It was a terrific event! Expect another great symposium next year as we watch the possibilities unfold with the US economy and the potential of healthcare reform!

Long-Term Care Text

John Pratt’s text, Long-Term Care: Managing Across the Continuum, has been upgraded to a third edition by Jones & Bartlett Publishers!

As described by the publisher, Long-Term Care: Managing Across the Continuum, Third Edition is an ideal introduction to management in this dynamic industry. Concise, yet complete, it defines the various segments of the system, describes how the system developed to its current state, compares it to an ideal system, and projects future trends. Adopted as a reference for the national licensing examination prepared by the National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB), and the certification examination of the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA), this book covers the full continuum of long-term care.

The Third Edition is a comprehensive revision reflecting the changes in regulations, financing methods, forms of service delivery, and management methods in this dynamic field. The increasingly important topics of the aging of American society, the impact of the “baby-boomers”, consumer choice, and the growing diversity in long-term care are covered extensively and from a variety of perspectives. The new edition includes two new chapters: “Senior Housing” and “Leadership and Culture Change”. The final chapters address the future of long-term care and include recommendations for dealing with it proactively.

We are very pleased that John Pratt is on staff here at Saint Joseph's College of Maine! His expertise is an asset to our programs and our students!

Benedictine Health System partners with Saint Joseph's College of Maine!

The Benedictine Health System (BHS) is partnering with Saint Joseph’s College of Maine (SJC) to launch the BHS Leadership Institute, a comprehensive educational project for BHS leaders across the System.

The Minnesota-based long term care system sought to partner with Saint Joseph’s College to create a unique, systematic educational experience for BHS leaders to achieve success. With its commitment to leadership excellence, BHS is choosing to invest in its leaders serving throughout its more than 40 campuses and corporate offices. Focusing on developing values-centered leaders throughout the System, BHS chose to create a custom strategic and challenging educational experience.

This program was developed by Saint Joseph’s Division of Graduate & Professional Studies, in conjunction with BHS, to ensure this customized training would address the goals and objectives of their organization. The BHS Leadership Institute will offer both traditional classroom as well as online courses in the areas of leadership; strategic thinking; planning and marketing; team building and staff motivation; decision making, problem solving and conflict resolution; human resources; performance management; finance; quality processes; ethics; and long term care consumers’ special needs. BHS leaders completing the program will be awarded a jointly-sponsored graduate certificate.

The BHS Leadership Institute is also aligned with the Master of Health Administration degree program at SJC for those desiring to earn a graduate degree.

“BHS is committed to performance excellence in our services, programs and leaders,” said Dale Thompson, BHS president/CEO. “By partnering with Saint Joseph’s College to offer the BHS Leadership Institute, we are ensuring our leaders receive the ongoing education grounded in the BHS Mission and Core Values. This knowledge will help our leaders further enhance the care our facilities provide to their communities and the residents they serve.”


“We are delighted to have this opportunity to work with one of the leading health systems in the country,” said Lynn Olson, dean of the college’s Graduate & Professional Studies division. “ The core values that the Benedictine Health System uses to guide their facilities are consistent with those of Saint Joseph’s College, and it is a natural fit for the two organizations to partner,” she added. The college’s respected health administration program is well-established, as it was the first program developed when Saint Joseph’s began to offer distance education 33 years ago.

The BHS Leadership Institute begins its first session for BHS leaders in May 2009.

The Benedictine Health System is a Catholic, non-profit long term care health system based in Duluth, Minn. Sponsored by the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery, Duluth, BHS owns and/or operates nursing homes, assisted and independent housing in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Additional information may be found at http://www.bhshealth.org/.

Saint Joseph’s College is a Catholic college in Standish, Maine, founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1912. The college, a member of the Catholic Health Association, is accredited by New England Association of Schools & Colleges. The long term care administration programs are also accredited by the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards. The college offers both traditional, on-campus degrees for young adults and online degree and certificate programs for working professionals. Additional information may be found at www.sjcme.edu/gps.

2009 Health Administration Symposium

We are pleased to announce our second annual health administration symposium here at Saint Joseph's College of Maine!! The symposium will be held on campus the week of July 20, 2009. We will be posting additional information here as things move forward, but here is the tease:

Managing Healthcare with Values in Turbulent Economic Times

A Symposium for Health Administration Professionals

The Graduate and Professional Studies division of Saint Joseph’s College of Maine is holding it’s second annual symposium for health administration professionals July 20th through 24th in 2009! This symposium is designed for individuals with an interesting in how healthcare systems work and ways to improve the system. Students may earn academic credit (undergraduate and graduate). Continuing Education credits will also be offered. Students who attended last year’s event may also attend in 2009 to earn credits in the health administration elective courses area.

This symposium will be focused on managing the business of healthcare, using values and integrity, in spite of the unpredictable economic times. Special topics will be included that are particularly relevant in these difficult times and will be presented by nationally-known experts in those areas.

As noted by The Joint Commission,“while health care has long been thought to be ‘recession-proof’ because of an endless supply of sick patients and reliance on government payment, health care organizations are as vulnerable to the tightened credit market as any industry”
(Guiding Principles for the Development of the Hospital of the Future, The Joint Commission, 2008, p. 11).

View video testimonials of some of last year's participants: http://sigma.sjcme.edu/gps/Symposium/Symposium_Broadband.mpg.

Check our web site soon for additional information!!

www.sjcme.edu/gps/health-administration-symposium.php

An Additional New Committee Member!

We are very pleased to announce that Sister Constance Veit, lsp has also been appointed to our advisory committee!!! Sister Constance is a student in our Master of Health Administration program. She brings a great deal of experience in healthcare to the committee, but she also brings the student perspective!

Sister Constance Veit discovered her love for the elderly as a high school volunteer with the Little Sisters of the Poor in Latham, NY. After graduating from Boston University’s Sargent College of Allied Health Professions with a B.S. in occupational therapy in 1984, she entered the community and made her profession as a Little Sister in 1987. For the past twenty years she has served in various capacities in the homes for the aged administered by her Congregation throughout the United States and in Paris, France. From 1994–2001 she served as editor of her community’s magazine, Serenity. She then served on the Provincial Council of the Chicago province, which covers homes from Kentucky to California, from 2001–2005. After that she returned to the direct care of the elderly, supervising a 36-bed nursing unit, the activities program and a flourishing youth volunteer program at Our Lady of Hope Residence in Latham, NY. She is currently enrolled in the Masters in Health Care Administration program at St Joseph’s College and in November 2008 returned to her position in the Little Sisters’ Publications Office in Baltimore, MD.

The Little Sisters of the Poor are an international Congregation of women religious serving the needy elderly in 32 countries around the world. The Congregation administers 30 homes in the United States.

Joint us in welcoming Sister Constance!! We are very pleased to have her working with us to ensure our programs are of the highest quality!

Interview with John Pratt

Gary Tetz interviewed John Pratt for an article in the Long-Term Living Journal. It has some interesting bits of information! Check it out by clicking on the title above!

Changes in Health Administration at SJC

As you may know, there have been a number of changes here at Saint Joseph's College of Maine recently.

Dr. Joseph Lee has accepted the position of President of the college and will be inaugurated later this month. We look forward to working with Dr. Lee!

In the Health Administration programs we continue to work to ensure the quality of our programs. We are particularly excited about some new developments with our Master of Health Administration program. We are planning to develop a specialization in Catholic healthcare leadership, recognizing that many Catholic health organizations are working to strengthen their Catholic foundation. We have also applied for membership to the US Catholic Health Association. We're very excited about the opportunities this affords us to combine our expertise in equipping and supporting healthcare leaders with our Catholic heritage, to meet the needs of the profession.

We are already making plans for summer 2009 and intend to offer a greater variety of hybrid courses, as well as hosting another symposium. The symposium was very popular this past summer and we anticipate it will be even better next year! If you have ideas for topics for this event, please comment to this post. We would love to hear from you!

We will let you know as we progress!

Summer Hybrid Courses a Hit

During the past year, GPS eliminated the requirement that students attend an on-campus summer residency session. That presented a challenge for us to find ways to get students to come to campus voluntarily. One way we did that was to create several hybrid courses that combined online and in-class segments. We offered six such courses. They included four weeks of online course work, a one-week session on campus, and a final week online.

These courses were a great success, with students commenting very favorably about the flexibility offered by the hybrid courses.

Meetings have already been held to review the overall 2008 summer programming and to begin to plan for 2009. While we still do not know the final format or timing, we are sure some type of hybrid courses will be offered. We are also looking at other course options.