Trinity University HCAD Herald

For this week's Student Spotlight we're interviewing Ashraf Ali, a member of the Class of 2021. We're so lucky to have him in the program and look forward to learning more about him! Undergraduate University: Auburn University   Undergrad Major: Health Services Administration What made you interested in healthcare administration? I became interested in healthcare at a relatively early age. I was raised in southeast Michigan and it became clear to me that the socioeconomic status of our community coupled with the state’s educational inequality had a detrimental effect on the overall health status of individuals within the community. Our community was also very ethnically diverse, and I believe that cultural boundaries imposed further challenges for individuals to receive the care they needed. Later, I fell in love with business management and found that healthcare administration as a career path was a perfect combination that would allow me to have a

This week's Student Spotlight features Isabella Harrison, a member of the Class of 2021! We're so excited to have her in the program and without further ado, here's her interview! Undergraduate University: Oral Roberts University Undergrad Major: International Business, minors in Biology and Theology What made you interested in healthcare administration?             I have always loved science and being able to care for people, but after multiple medical missions trips and many talks with doctors, I realized I did not want to be a physician. My junior year of college, I had the opportunity to lead a medical missions trip to the Dominican Republic. I was a business major and led a group of pre-medical and pre-nursing students and discovered I loved being able to coordinate and plan strategies to help us be most effective in providing medical care to the Dominican people. I didn’t fully recognize my interest in this field until this past year when I was living

This week we're excited to be interviewing Ian Crawford, a member of the Class of 2021! We're so lucky to have him in the program and without further ado, here's his interview! Undergraduate University: The University of Texas at San Antonio Undergrad Major: Bachelor of Business Administration in Management What made you interested in healthcare administration?  Coming out of high school, I had no direction and no real idea of what I wanted to do. After taking a gap year between high school and my undergrad, I started attending UTSA and pursuing a business degree. At the same time, I was working full time. During my gap year I had gotten a retail job at Walgreens, which eventually turned into an opportunity to move into the pharmacy. What started as simply a promotion and pay increase, turned into an exceptional learning experience that first introduced me to the healthcare industry. Never before had I ever thought I would want to go into healthcare. That being sai

Student Spotlights are back! We're excited to be starting off this semester's round of interviews with Garrett Dewbre, a member of the On Campus HCAD class of 2021. We look forward to learning more about Garrett and his classmates throughout this year! Undergraduate University: Texas Tech University Undergrad Major: Biology What made you interested in healthcare administration?  I first became interested in healthcare administration while working as a phlebotomist in a hospital. I made friends with a few administrators and became very interested in the work they did. Overtime, these mentors helped me realize that a career in healthcare administration would allow me to combine my passion for healthcare and business. What made you decide to apply to Trinity? Trinity’s HCAD program is nationally ranked, and my mentors spoke very highly of the program. The residency portion of the program was a huge factor for me, and I also like that Trinity has a very supporti

For this week’s Student Spotlight we’re interview Dr.Varshi Broumand, a member of the Executive Class of  2020 and a Nephrologist here in San Antonio! How did you hear of the TU HCAD Executive Program?   I heard of the program from the CMO at Christus Health and colleagues. What has been your favorite part of the program so far?   I’ve really enjoyed learning about the history of healthcare and health policy in our country and operations management. How do you see the graduate degree benefiting your career advancement?   It would allow me to use the knowledge I gain to become an effective associate CMO for my hospital and help with operations at my medical practice.   I view myself as a 2 nd year medical student now with regards to the HCAD program.   The sky is the limit, and we will see where my interests take me as I go through this journey. Just like medical school, I did not know where I was going the first day of school; where I thought I may go, ended up bei

For this week's Student Spotlight, we're interviewing Samantha Echols, a member of the Executive Class of 2020 and  Lead Physical Therapist at St. David’s Surgical Hospital! How did you hear of the TU HCAD Executive Program? My rehab director – Crystal Milan. She has been the biggest influence for me to go back to school. What has been your favorite part of the program so far? For our first semester, I would have to say being on-campus to interact with classmates and the professors. How do you see the graduate degree benefiting your career advancement? I plan to switch gears from clinical to more professional.  My goal is to ultimately become a COO within the next 5 years.  This degree would allow me the education needed to understand the business aspect of that career. What does “being a leader in healthcare” mean to you? Means making an impact by creating new and improved ways to provide health-care to not just an individual patient but to whole co

We're back with a Student Spotlight! This week we're interviewing Dianna Cobb, a member of the Executive Class of 2020. She's currently the  Division Vice President  of Cardiovascular Services for Methodist Healthcare System here in San Antonio! Without further ado, h ere's her interview!        How did you hear of the TU HCAD Executive Program?   From work peers, several of our Executives attended the program. What has been your favorite part of the program so far?   The flexibility it offers with my full-time, demanding job.  The instructors are extremely supportive and knowledgeable!!         How do you see the graduate degree benefiting your career advancement?   My undergrad and 1 st  Master’s are in clinical studies (Nursing).  The MHA program will give me insight into the business, marketing, policy, and strategic side of healthcare.  My goal is to, one day, become a CEO where those skill will be even more critical.        What does “being a

This past week, Trinity HCAD students had the chance to enjoy the annual tradition of attending the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Congress in Chicago. This fun ritual allows first-year students to bond with their classmates, meet and learn from ACHE's community of executives, connect with Trinity alumni, prepare for Preceptor's Conference with mock interviews and experience the city of Chicago. All 23 of the first-year on campus students attended the event along with the Trinity HCAD faculty and a number of the second-year students, who are currently in their year-long residency. There were over 100 education and networking sessions so students were busy meeting with healthcare professionals and graduate students from across the country. Hopefully these connections will turn into friendships as students advance in their careers.  Trinity professor, Dr. Amer Kaissi, won ACHE's Book of the Year for his book Intangibles: The Unexpected Tr

For this week's Student Spotlight, we're interviewing Meagan Goggans! Meagan has a knack for supporting her classmates- it's one of the many reasons she makes a great Health and Fitness Co-Chair for the Class of 2020. As you'll be able to tell in her interview, she's also hilarious and can be counted on to make her classmates laugh, even during stressful situations. Without further ado, here's her interview! Undergraduate University: The University of Texas at Austin Undergrad Major: B.S. in Psychology What made you interested in healthcare administration? I think – like a lot of my classmates – I originally found myself drawn to the healthcare field from an early age. My mother is an ICU nurse and growing up I had always admired her for her  work ethic, ability to put others first, and her desire to never stop learning in a constantly changing environment. I have done my best to learn from her and emulate these qualities, and it was thro

For this week's Student Spotlight we're interviewing Austin Gailey! As you'll see while reading his interview, Austin is an insightful and eloquent writer and we are so lucky to have him in the program! Here's his interview! Undergraduate University: The University of Oklahoma Undergrad Major: Biology What made you interested in healthcare administration? -        It is no secret that the U.S. healthcare system is largely segmented, non-transparent, and for many, care provision is prohibitively expensive. I have always found joy in improving the lives of others, and motivation in being confronted with great challenges – a career in healthcare administration affords me both. As Theodore Roosevelt once said: “Far and away the best prize life has to offer is working hard at work worth doing.” To me, there is no work more worth doing than improving the health and well-being of others. What made you decide to apply to Trinity? -        Trinity’s Health C

For this week's Student Spotlight, we're interviewing Andi Fernandez! Andi is Preceptors Conference Co-Chair for the Class of 2020 as well as the class' resident baker and dog mom to her adorable golden doodle Bentley. You can always count on Andi for optimism and positivity. We're so lucky to have her in the program, here's her interview! Undergraduate University: Baylor University Undergrad Major: Bachelor of Science in Biology What made you interested in healthcare administration?  I always wanted to be involved in healthcare and thought the only way to do that was by going to medical school and becoming a doctor. It wasn’t until my junior year of college when I was pursuing a minor in business administration and involved in various leadership positions that I began to see a different path for myself.  These experiences led me to realize I loved the business side of healthcare. What made you decide to apply to Trinity?  After researching pr

For this week's Student Spotlight, we're interviewing Rachel Sloan! Rachel is the PR Chair for the HCAD Class of 2020 but more importantly she's genuine and caring. Rachel is the friend you want to call on a bad day because you know she'll make you feel better. We're so lucky to have her in the program and without further ado, here's her interview! Undergraduate University: Texas A&M University         Undergrad Major: Business with minors in Public Health and Communications What made you interested in healthcare administration? I've always been interested in healthcare. Throughout my time in college, I explored different educational opportunities to find where I would best fit in the field of health care. I soon discovered the field of health care administration through my health and business courses. To gain more experience and knowledge in the field, I started an administrative internship at a skilled nursing facility. Through this int

For our Student Spotlight this week, we're interviewing Tanner Holt, a member of the Class of 2020. We're so lucky to have Tanner in the program and without further ado, here's his interview! Undergraduate University: Brigham Young University-Idaho Undergrad Major: Healthcare Administration What made you interested in healthcare administration? I was always interested in doing something in healthcare.   Initially, I thought I wanted to become a dentist because my dad is a dentist.   I quickly scratched that idea after begrudgingly pushing myself through multiple biology classes and labs.   However, I was still interested in healthcare and had recently developed a small interest in business.   Naturally, healthcare administration was a fit.   I loved the idea of having the opportunity to affect and improve patient outcomes through the business side of healthcare. What made you decide to apply to Trinity? I applied to Trinity for multiple reasons.   A f

Dr. Jamo Rubin: TAVHealth Dr. Jamo Rubin is the founder and CEO of San Antonio-based TAVHealth , a cloud-based platform built to address the social determinants of health. A former cardiac transplant anesthesiologist, Dr. Rubin founded and led Medical Present Value, a contract management and revenue cycle company,now Experian Healthcare, and PTRX, a consumer-oriented pharmacy benefits manager now Catamaran. He also co-founded and led Tenzing Health, a division of Vanguard Health Systems. He spoke with the class about what defines innovation in healthcare and how when it comes to health outcomes, nurture plays a far bigger role than nature. Dr. Rubin explained how the US was founded on principles of compassionate legislation and competitive economy and that the tension between those two principles is where the gaps in our healthcare system come from. As future healthcare leaders our job will be to see these problems as opportunities to create a more sustainable healthcare syste

What is the issue? Beginning from the first of this year, hospitals are required to post their chargemaster online in an effort to improve price transparency and empower patients. This ruling stems from the 2019 inpatient and long-term care hospital prospective payment system in which the CMS included the requirement for hospital to update their public price lists annually. CMS states , “ CMS encourages hospitals to undertake efforts to engage in consumer friendly communication of their charges to help patients understand what their potential financial liability might be for services they obtain at the hospital, and to enable patients to compare charges for similar services across hospitals. ” What does this mean for patients? In theory this sounds like a step in the right direction. Visible prices could mean that consumers can compare prices across hospitals and choose the best option for them. However, according to business news website Modern Healthcare , there is con

Our Student Spotlight series is back! We're starting off 2019 strong by interviewing Kristen Fallas, a member of the Class of 2020.  We're so glad to have her in the program and without further ado, here's her interview! Undergraduate University: The   University of Texas at Austin Undergrad Major: Human Development and Family Sciences What made you interested in healthcare administration? I have always had a passion for healthcare, but during my time as an undergraduate student I realized my passion for business as well. Healthcare administration allows me to have a meaningful career where I can combine these two passions. Another thing that I really like about healthcare administration is the dynamic nature of the field. Administrators are tasked with finding innovative solutions which is something I find really exciting. What made you decide to apply to Trinity? After researching many MHA programs, the year-long residency made Trinity stand ou