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Since 2020, COVID-19 has altered the way we live, work, and communicate. For example, the shift to remote work has demonstrated a need for the development of alternative skill sets in order to sustain operations and effectiveness in a hybrid organizational environment. To keep pace with these changes in healthcare organizations, health administration programs must continue to evolve and train students with competencies that may be different than those of the pre-COVID era. Thus, it is important to involve our alumni practitioners, in the evolution of competency-based education. This study aims to engage our health administration alumni networks to identify themes related to competencies that have emerged, evolved, or are no longer relevant post-COVID. We performed focus groups with alumni from four top MHA, MPH, and MBA programs in health administration. Based on these interviews, we found four overarching themes related to competencies that evolved or emerged during and after COVID pandemic: people management, technology-enabled management, navigating change, and managing scarce resources. This research concludes by discussing lessons and hardships that alumni have had that may assist healthcare administration program directors and faculty members who are training the next generation of healthcare leaders in the post-COVID pandemic era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mentoring relationships contribute to the academic and career success of both undergraduate and graduate students. The field of health administration has long used mentorship as a leadership development tool, primarily through relationships established during administrative internship and residency programs. However, these relationships are short term in nature and often do not provide the broader benefits that longer term mentorship arrangements can provide. This article provides an overview of The Forge, a formalized mentorship program developed and implemented in the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Department of Health Services Administration. The program engaged alumni from multiple programs and disciplines as mentors for students in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Feedback from the initial year of The Forge indicates that requiring student participation, setting clear expectations for both mentors and mentees, and maintaining clear lines of communication among faculty, students, and alumni were associated with success. A more formalized, multidisciplinary mentorship program may cultivate lasting and meaningful relationships for graduate and undergraduate students and health care executives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proportion of children enrolled in Medicaid managed care arrangements has grown significantly over the past decade. Yet, few studies have attempted to assess differences in parental reports and ratings of care for children enrolled in different types of Medicaid managed care. We examine parental reports and ratings of care to explore whether and how patient and parent experiences vary by child health status and managed care plan type, including provider-sponsored specialized plans serving only children. Parents of children in a Florida Medicaid demonstration project in two counties over 3 years were surveyed using Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems surveys (n = 2,741-11,067). Ordered logistic regression models with interaction terms were used to assess relationships between plan type, presence of chronic condition, and measures of patient experience. Parents of children enrolled in provider-sponsored plans that focus on pediatrics were more likely to provide a positive rating for their doctor, health plan, and specialty care compared to parents of children in an health maintenance organization (HMO). Parents of children with a chronic condition were less likely than parents of children without a chronic condition to provide a favorable rating of overall health care, their doctor, or health plan. The interaction term that assessed whether patient experience by plan type was impacted by the child's health status was not statistically significant. Parents of Medicaid children may prefer provider-sponsored arrangements over HMOs. Findings can inform the future development of other integrated models of care involving provider-sponsored arrangements, such as pediatric Accountable Care Organizations and Patient-Centered Medical Homes. Keywords Medicaid * Managed care * Pediatrics * Satisfaction * Experiences, Introduction Although fee-for-service forms of Medicaid still exist, Medicaid managed care continues to grow [1]. States utilize a variety of managed care arrangements. However, few studies explore the extent to [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic had an immediate and enduring impact on society at-large and specifically on health administration education. Initially, the priority was to survive the pandemic by abandoning all levels of normalcy, and then, rather quickly, it shifted to finding new ways to maintain some level of normalcy as the higher education community transitioned to remote and hybrid modalities. The effects of this shift on health administration students were captured by Louis et al. (2021), and similar effects have been captured on health administration faculty as well (Brooks et al., 2021). But, as we have adapted to new ways of living during a pandemic, other societal forces and phenomena have begun to emerge that may prove to have durable effects on health administration education for decades to come. The following is the result of a discussion of a brain trust of health administration faculty, representing various health administration program levels (undergraduate, graduate, and executive) from various regions of the United States, who have enumerated areas of concern (and opportunity) for health administration education over the next 10 years. The topics discussed include (a) course delivery and modalities; (b) diversity, equity, inclusion and justice; (c) wellness and well-being; and (d) the evolving professional field of health administration in an effort to understand what the future may hold for health administration education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has infected millions of Americans. To combat the spread of the virus, state and local officials instituted social distancing guidelines that forced schools to shutter campuses and transition from in-person to remote learning. In this study, we examined health administration (HA) student perspectives on the transition from in-person to remote learning. We sought to understand how schools attempted to manage student concerns, how adaptations to remote learning were implemented, and what influences the transition had on student stress and anxiety. We used a mixed-methods study design that included (1) a survey of undergraduate and graduate students from six geographically diverse HA programs, and (2) a focus group with 6-10 students from each program. Our survey response rate was 52% (n=215). We found that students experienced five phases following the transition: grief, loss of engagement, fatigue, coping, and resilience. Focus groups also revealed stress and anxiety, as well as communication from leaders, as important themes. We present integrated survey and focus group findings, and supplement with exemplary quotes where applicable. We conclude by discussing a number of insights provided by HA students that may help guide program leadership and HA faculty who are teaching future remote courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reviews and synthesizes empirical research literature focusing on the relationship between boards of directors and organizational effectiveness of U.S. hospitals. The study examines literature published in scholarly journals during the period of 1991-2017. Fifty-one empirical articles were identified that met the study's inclusion criteria. A framework from the corporate governance and nonprofit governance literature is used to classify the articles according to level of analysis (individual actors, governing bodies, organizations, and networks, alliances and multiorganizational initiatives) and focus of research (formal structure and behavioral dynamics-including informal structures and processes). Results are discussed, emerging trends are identified, and recommendations are made for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) has increasingly been touted as one means of integrating behavioral health and primary care and more holistically caring for patients with chronic disease. With its whole person orientation, the PCMH presents an opportunity to reduce emergency department visits for patients with depression by focusing on the patient and his/her health care needs, facilitating communication among providers and patients, and improving patients' access to care providers across settings. This study examines the relationship between PCMH capacity – defined as the ability to offer a service identified as a component part of the PCMH – and the number of emergency department visits for patients with depression. Health plan claims data, self-report data from physician practices on their PCMH characteristics, and the Area Resource File were analyzed. Results show that overall PCMH capacity is associated with fewer emergency department visits for patients with depression, and interpersonal aspects of the PCMH in particular, were associated with fewer emergency department visits while technical capabilities were not. Interpersonal activities that facilitate care coordination, patient engagement, and connect patients with community resources might be more effective in keeping patients out of the emergency department for unnecessary reasons as compared to technical activities focused on reporting and information management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A community orientation strategy may be a socially responsible way for hospitals to simultaneously improve financial performance and community health, in accordance with the Affordable Care Act. Using data from the AHA Annual Survey, AHRF, and CMS Cost Reports, this study examined the association between hospital community orientation and three measures of financial performance, and whether that relationship differs for some types of hospitals. The analysis revealed that hospital community orientation was positively associated with total margin and that not-for-profit hospitals engaging in higher levels of community orientation experienced lower operating margins, on average, relative to for-profit hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses an analysis of the variation in organizational characteristics and fundraising performance among nonprofit acute care hospitals in the U.S. to identify and measure critical factors with respect to public support. Topics discussed include the strategic role of fundraising to enhance financial resources in an environment characterized by rising costs, shrinking reimbursements and limited access to capital and the importance of capitalizing on philanthropic activities.