MUSC College of Health Professions welcomes Two New Division Directors

• The Department of Healthcare Leadership & Management would like to announce the appointment of Dr. Jami DelliFraine as the new Director for the Masters in Health Administration program. Dr. DelliFraine completed her MS degree in Health Care Administration & Management at Trinity University, and her PhD in Health Services Organization and Research at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has served as MHA Program Director at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston and most recently Virginia Commonwealth University. We are indeed fortunate to have Dr. DelliFraine joining our team.

• The Department of Healthcare Leadership and Management welcomes Dr. Robert Steele to head the new Masters in Health Informatics Division. Dr. Steele comes to us from Sydney, Australia where he served as Deputy Dean of Research, Engineering and Technology at CQUniversity in Sydney. Prior to that appointment, he served as Full Professor, Head of Discipline and Chair of Health Informatics at The University of Sydney since 2008. Dr. Steele has a PhD in Computer Science, and has been the recipient of numerous research grants and published over 100 peer-reviewed articles since the year 2000. The Health Informatics Division is now accepting students into the new online executive format Health Informatics program for Fall of 2015 (http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/chp/MHI/).

17^th Annual Healthcare Leadership Conference

• Population health was the topic of discussion at the 17th Annual Healthcare Leadership Conference presented by the Department of Healthcare Leadership and Management in the College of Health Professions at the Medical University of South Carolina on October 17th, 2014. The event was held at the Charleston Marriott Hotel and was attended by executive administrators, clinical directors, consultants, information systems professionals, MUSC faculty and alumni among others, coming from as far as India. 
  Drew Harris, DPM, MPH, from the Jefferson School of Population Health delivered the keynote address, while the rest of the conference was broken into speaker panels. Discussion centered around Improving the Health Status of the Community, Engaging Employers to Improve the Health of Populations, and Accountability for the Care We Provide. Speakers included MUSC Doctor of Health Administration (DHA) alums Dr. Robert Curtis and Dr. Tim Putnam; representatives from Greenville Health System, Bon Secours Saint Francis, Novant Healthcare, Caradigm; SC Business Coalition and faculty from MUSC and the University of Slovakia in Bratislava. Attendees gleaned information from experts in their field, while acquiring continuing education credits from the American College of Healthcare Executives and the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards. Topping the day off, attendees enjoyed an Oyster Roast that promoted networking and fellowship.
  We extend our gratitude to our Alumni Planning Committee and to our conference sponsors, the SC ACHE Chapter, MUSC Health, Roper Saint Francis and the MUSC Alumni Association.

Research garners national distinction

• A collaborative effort between the MUSC Hearing Research Program and the College of Health Professions was awarded a National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) grant that began on July 1, 2014 and fund research for two years. The research was awarded by the National Institutes of Health at a budget for direct costs of $275,000. The team includes Principal investigator Dr. Annie Simpson and Co-Investigators Dr. Kit Simpson and Dr. Abby Kazley from the Department of Healthcare Leadership and Management, along with Dr. Judy Dubno from the MUSC College of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology.
  
  The research is titled “Age-related hearing loss:  Health services utilization and outcomes” which studies hearing loss as one of the most common chronic conditions of aging. Only a small percentage of older adults access the hearing health care system for diagnosis and treatment, which calls attention to hearing loss as a public health problem, due to the growing population of older adults. The effects of age-related hearing loss, such as breakdowns in communication between older patients and their providers, may lead to exacerbation of other chronic health conditions and may be at a higher risk for undesirable health outcomes. Findings will help inform future studies to examine how hearing loss may affect medication non-adherence, patient satisfaction and access to care.

Newest Faculty Member to focus on Internships and Fellowships

• We are pleased to announce the arrival of Ms. Lindsay Wiltshire, MHA ’08, to the Department of Healthcare Leadership & Management. Ms. Wiltshire is a Research Associate with primary responsibility for MHA student internship and fellowship placements. She will be working closely with MUSC Health, MUSC Physicians and other community healthcare organizations to facilitate placements. She will also work with preceptors to help make the internship experiences as valuable as possible. Ms. Wiltshire has extensive health administration practice experience and has been an active MUSC alumnus over the years.