Blogs

Keith Benson, MHA, PhD
Associate Professor

Dr. Benson started his career as a Military Public Health Technician in the United States Air Force.  He served over seven years in the USAF and has experience in health care management, military public health, and medical intelligence.  

Since leaving the military he as worked as an instructor in health policy and administration at Penn State University and as an Assistant Professor in Health Care Management at Winthrop University since August 1999.   He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2004 and was granted tenure at Winthrop University in 2005.  He has taught graduate and undergraduate classes in health care management, management, business administration, and general education.  His research focuses on leadership, spirituality and leadership, social media and pedagogical tools, and the value of community health partnerships.  Benson has consulted with numerous not-for-profit organizations, specializing in Board Governance and Strategic Planning.  His work is published in Southern Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Hospital Topics, Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, and Journal of Health, Politics, Policy, and Law, and Climate Research.  From 2006 to 2009, Benson was the Director of Leadership Studies and Development in University College.

He is or has served on several not-for-profit boards throughout his career ranging from local-level to national-level boards.  A few awards he has earned include 2002 Winthrop University’s Outstanding Junior Professor; 2003 Combining Service and Learning Award Winthrop University; 2007 Community Service Award, Winthrop University;  2008 Wachovia Excellence in Teaching Award; Who’s Who in the World 2006; Who’s Who In America 2005, 2006, 2007; Who’s Who in America Teachers 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006; and Who’s Who in Medicine 2006, 2007, 2008.  In July 2011, Benson was the Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Leadership located at the United States Coast Guard Academy.

He has an A.S. in Environmental Medicine from the Community College of the Air Force; B.S. in Business Management from University of Maryland, University College; M.H.A. from Penn State University and a Ph.D. in Health Policy and Administration, specialization in management, from Penn State University.

Benson is married to the former Lori Fox and they are the parents of five children Kyle, Megan, Mark, Andrew (deceased), and Claire.  His hobbies include golf, running, swimming, reading, music, and most of all being a dad.

Julia F. Costich, JD, PhD

Chair, Department of Health Services Management

Julia Field Costich, JD, PhD, is chair of the Dept. of Health Services Management in the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, director of the Master of Health Administration program, and associate director of the Kentucky Injury Prevention & Research Center.  Before joining the UK public health faculty in 1998, she administered academic medical programs and practiced health care law in the public and private sectors.  Dr. Costich holds a B.A. from Duke University and M.P.A., Ph.D., and J.D. degrees from the University of Kentucky.  Her honors and awards include a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, the Order of the Coif, and Delta Omega public health honorary.  She is the author of over 30 peer-reviewed publications in health law, health policy, and related areas.  Her current research focuses on public health policy and law, including health information privacy, empirical study of public health law, and access to care for low-income populations.

Jeffrey A. Flaks

President & Chief Executive Officer, Hartford Hospital

Jeffrey A. Flaks is president and CEO of Hartford Hospital, the flagship tertiary care center of Hartford HealthCare, a regional, integrated health care network with more than 15,000 staff members and $2 billion in net revenue. Hartford Hospital, an acute-care teaching hospital established more than 150 years ago, has more than 7,000 staff members. The hospital operates the only level one trauma center in the area and the only air ambulance service in Connecticut. Hartford Hospital has received the National Research Corporation’s “Consumer Choice Award,” the American Heart Association’s “Silver Plus Award” for its Stroke Center and “Blue Distinction” awards for its Joint and Spine Centers. The hospital’s Helen and Harry Gray Cancer Center is the only cancer center in the Northeast to be selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as an NCI Community Cancer Center.

Prior to his promotion to president and CEO, Mr. Flaks served as Hartford Hospital executive vice president and chief operating officer, as well as executive vice president of Hartford HealthCare. Since coming to Hartford Hospital in 2007, Mr. Flaks has led a number of initiatives that resulted in greatly improved facilities and increased patient and employee satisfaction.

Mr. Flaks joined Hartford Hospital from MidState Medical Center, where he served as executive vice president and chief operating officer. His prior experience also includes serving as vice president for Support Services and Strategic Initiatives at Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers of New York. In addition, he held leadership roles at Continuum Health Partners in New York City and at the Detroit Medical Center in southeastern Michigan.

Mr. Flaks was honored as a 2001 Crain’s New York Business “New York’s Rising Stars: 40 under 40” and by Modern Healthcare as one of 12 national industry leaders selected as a “2001 Up & Comer.” In 2003, he received the American College of Healthcare Executives’ Regents Award for outstanding leadership.

Mr. Flaks was elected to and served on the Board of Trustees of George Washington University and received the highest honor bestowed from George Washington University’s president – the Distinguished Alumni Service Award – in 2006. He also was honored as a member of the Hartford Business Journal’s “Class of 2008 Up-and-Coming Executives” for his commitment to business growth, personal excellence and deep community involvement. 

Among his many community activities, he is a member of the board of visitors of the University of Hartford’s College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions; a director of The Urban League of Greater Hartford; a board member of The Children’s Museum in West Hartford; a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives; and the practitioner on the National Board of the American Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA).

Mr. Flaks has published articles in the Journal of Healthcare Management, the Health Forum Journal and the Journal of Oncology Management. He also was a contributing author to the McGraw Hill textbook, Information Systems – The Tie That Binds: Re-inventing the Integrated Delivery System. He has been an invited faculty member and guest lecturer for the American College of Healthcare Executives, American Academy of Medical Administrators, the National Managed Health Care Congress, the Heath Information Management System Society and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Mr. Flaks is a graduate of George Washington University with a master’s degree in health services administration. He earned a Bachelor of Science at Ithaca College

Bernardo Ramirez, MD
Assistant Professor and Director of Global Health Initiatives

Dr. Bernardo Ramirez is an Assistant Professor and Director of Global Health Initiatives of the Department of Health Management and Informatics at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Ramirez is an experienced health services administrator in public and private organizations and his experience includes clinical practice as a general surgeon and administrative experience from the hospital departmental level to the health systems planning and policy levels. He has been General Director of Health Standards of the Ministry of Health of Mexico, Vice-President and Director of International Programs of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA). He has been a senior instructor for the Center for Creative Leadership-TEAM, and senior consultant for the Academy of Educational Development, the American International Health Alliance and for numerous organizations in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics. He has provided technical assistance, developed research and conducted training in more than 60 countries. He is the author of numerous publications and training materials and presenter in many national and international forums. His reseach and teaching topics include: health management training and development, quality improvement, performance assessment, strategic and change management, leadership and health systems reform and sustainability.

Dr. Ramirez is a member of several editorial boards. He has served in several community and non-profit organizations' boards such as the Florida Hospital Foundation SHARES International. He served as executive and faculty forum coordinator of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration and visiting professor in several U.S. and international universities. He earned his Medical Doctor (1974) and Masters in Business Administration (2006) from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Thomas Vaughn, BS, MHSA, PhD

Associate Professor and Director, MHA Program

Dr. Thomas Vaughn is Associate Professor and Director of the MHA Program in the Health Management and Policy Department of the University of Iowa College of Public Health.  Dr. Vaughn has extensive experience both as a practicing healthcare executive and as a researcher examining organizational factors associated with implementing organizational change.  He is one of the lead researchers and a member of the core team developing the Hospital Leadership and Quality Assessment Tool (HLQAT) which is designed to assist hospitals to identify leadership strengths as well as gaps which may serve to inhibit desired quality improvement activities. He recently led the evaluation of the AHRQ-funded TeamSTEPPS project in two community hospitals in Iowa. He is currently a co-investigator on the evaluation of a SAMSHA-funded Systems of Care program that supports wrap-around services for children with severe emotional disturbances in 10 NE Iowa counties. He is also an investigator on a study of implementing a pharmacist/physician collaborative model for blood pressure control in a national study of 27 clinics.  Dr. Vaughn received a Masters of Health Services Administration in 1978 and a Ph.D. in Health Services Organization and Policy in 1993 from the University of Michigan.