School of Public Health

SPH students win ACHE Case Competition

December 16, 2013 • Uncategorized

UNT Health Science Center’s School of Public Health (SPH) student team recently won top honors at the fourth annual North Texas Case Study Competition of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).  Congratulations go to SPH team members Adedoyin Akinlonu, George Alaniz, Garrett Boland, Darin Maccatherine, Bhaavika Patel, Dante Ridgell, Zarna Shah and Matt Stabe, who are all graduate students in the school’s Master of Health Administration(MHA) program.

The competition challenges students to analyze and make investment, expenditure and leadership decisions on behalf of a reality-based hospital or healthcare system example. SPH faculty advisors and MHA coursework helped students prepare for the experience. The MHA program focuses on project management, change leadership, human resources and financials, analysis and strategic planning, information technology management, performance measurement, organizational awareness, process management and organizational design, in addition to other key leadership competencies. Students also gain hands-on experience through community and corporate healthcare internships that further strengthen their executive skills.

UNT Health Science Center’s MHA graduates pursue careers in a variety of leadership positions for hospitals; managed care, insurance and pharmaceutical companies; consulting firms; government agencies; and other for-profit and nonprofit health organizations.

The MHA program was recently reviewed for accreditation by CAHME, the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education, which is considered a benchmark of academic standards and integrity for schools in the U.S. and Canada, and will receive a decision from CAHME soon.