Health Services/Health Services Administration

The Health Services Administration faculty welcomed more than 30 students into the graduate program this year. The students are a diverse group of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Nine of the new students arrived in late August from China. They are enrolled in English classes as well as HSA classes, which enriches our learning environment.

—

The annual Job Shadow event will be held during the week of Groundhog Day 2012. Many of our students have taken advantage of the opportunity to spend a day with a healthcare executive. Returning and new students are encouraged to participate in this activity. The event is sponsored by the Midwest Healthcare Executives Group and Associates. They support the UDM students through annual scholarships, funds to attend the annual American College of Healthcare Executive Congress and reduced prices for the local programs. This spring they provided partial funding for two students to attend the Congress where they were able to attend many sessions related to health administration.

—

The program is pleased to announce the hiring of two new full-time faculty. Dr. Thomas Fockler has previous experience in teaching at the University of Michigan Flint and is a past administrator in the Oakland County Health Department. Professor Ken Lipan has been an adjunct faculty member for UDM and joins the College as a full-time faculty member. His previous experience has included executive positions with Trinity Health, Bi-County Hospital and Sinai Grace.

—

The faculty and students in the Marketing and Strategic Planning course worked with the Wayne County Health Authority last year to provide them with data that was beneficial in their planning efforts. Also, students and faculty in the winter Capstone course worked with the McAuley Nurse Managed Clinic to provide them with information on the financial status of the clinic and suggest possible methods to increase the percentage of patients who come to the clinic and increase reimbursement.

—

The MHSA program is a member of the Association of University Programs in Healthcare Administration. One of the new benefits to members is the opportunity to take advantage of the new centralized admissions system. This new admissions process is in the initial stages and is considered an excellent vehicle to advertise the UDM program to applicants throughout the country and beyond.

McAuley School of Nursing

Gibson

Valerie Gibson, Chief Operating Officer for Harper University Hospital and Hutzel Women's Hospital and UDM Nursing Advisory Board member, was selected to participate in Leadership Detroit Class XXXIII, a year-long community leadership program to enhance leadership skills and gain insight and knowledge of regional issues among senior-level executives in southeast Michigan.

—

MSON was one of two private nursing schools selected for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing 2011 Innovations in Professional Nursing Education Award. This award recognizes the outstanding work of AACN-member schools to re-envision traditional models for nursing education and lead programmatic change.

—

Katy Hauschild ’11, was pictured in a full-page ad for Saint Mary Mercy Health in the Grand Rapids Press.

—

Assistant Professor of Nursing Lori Glenn, as part of the Domestic Violence Committee, sponsored the lecture, "Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Against Women:  Addressing Power Dynamics in Citizen-Immigrant Domestic Relationships," Oct. 20. Students, faculty and staff, along with the UDM community were invited to join a Candlelight Vigil immediately after the lecture and share stories, pictures, poetry and readings. For facts about domestic violence, visit the Domestic Violence Resource Center.

—

The Doctor of Nursing Practice program admitted a second cohort of 10 students in Fall 2011. The first cohort (Fall 2010) had a productive and exciting first year using the work in their doctoral courses to translate evidence for use in practice, advocate for policy changes, and initiate practice improvements. The group conducted a clinical inquiry project as part of their advanced statistics course and shared their findings in a poster presentation at UDM’s Celebration of Scholarly Achievement.

—

Four DNP students had individual poster presentations at both the UDM Scholarship celebration and Madonna University's Nursing Research Day in April 2011.

—

In August, DNP student Rachelle Gray was awarded funding from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners to attend their Annual Health Policy Institute in Washington D.C.

—

This fall, Associate Professors of Nursing Patricia Rouen and Janet Baiardi, along with six DNP students, attended the Fourth Annual Doctors of Nursing Practice conference in New Orleans, where the professors and DNP students Alisa Smith and Rachelle Gray presented posters.

—

In spring 2012, the DNP program will participate in an accreditation site visit from the Commission on Collegiate Education in Nursing.

Physician Assistant

Has it really been 40 years since the PA program started at Mercy College of Detroit? Save the date, April 21, 2012, to attend the PA 40th Anniversary Reception with a complimentary CME.

—

PA student Nour Saad was one of 30 students nationwide awarded a Physician Assistant Foundation 2011 scholarship based on academic achievement, financial need, professional and community service, issues in healthcare, and a final professional statement.

—

On Nov. 8, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed into law Senate Bill 384, the Michigan Patient Access to Care and Safety Initiative. The new law, effective immediately, addresses barriers to effective physician-PA team practice in the following areas:

• clarifies language to allow PAs to round on patients in public institutions including hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory care clinics and extended care facilities.
• allows physicians to delegate to PAs the prescribing of schedule II medications in all settings.
• permits physicians to delegate to PAs the ability to sign forms that typically require a physician’s signature (with the exception of death certificates).
• allows PAs to order restraints for patients in licensed health facilities.

Former PA Program Chair Suzanne York assisted in the passage of the bill during her tenure as president of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA).

—

PA faculty and students attended the Michigan Academy of Physician Assistants Fall Conference and hosted more than 100 alumni at a concurrent reception.  See pictures below.