For Immediate Release April 19, 2005

For More Information Contact: Rich Schneider, 317-278-4564 rcschnei@iupui.edu

Programs Provides Hands-On Experience as It Prepares Future Health Facility Leaders

INDIANAPOLIS - Micheal Bowers has experienced what few health administration professionals ever have the chance to do - helping to open a new hospital - and he hasn't started his career yet.

Bowers, a graduate student in the Master of Health Administration program offered by the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI, is completing an internship at Clarian West Medical Center, a new hospital that opened last December in Hendricks County.

When he walked through the doors of the hospital to begin a 20-hour a week internship on November 30, 2004, Bowers was immediately put to work on an activation team, a group of people charged with the responsibility of getting the new facility ready to open to the public.

It was his first experience working in a health care setting. "One of the first things I did was work on a day-in-the-life exercise, testing hospital systems using mock patients," he said.

Since then Bowers has worked on several projects, including quality and risk management, budget reconciliation, and hazard vulnerability analysis, a task stemming from the 9-11 terrorist attack on the U.S.

"They give me projects and let me go do it," he said. "That helps me develop the skills I will need in the future to run a health care facility. That's the biggest thing about the internship, to get hands on experience on different challenges."

Providing students with the opportunity to gain hands-on health administration experience is an important feature of the program, said Greg Lindsey, Associate Dean and Professor, School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Interns spend at least half of their time working on projects that have special value to the health care facility, thereby benefiting the communities where the facilities are located, Lindsey noted.

Working with senior managers and executives at health care facilities, students graduating from the program are better prepared to become leaders in an economic sector that is of critical importance to Indiana, Lindsey added.

Seven additional students in the program will participate in internships this summer at Memorial Hospital in South Bend , Greater Lafayette Health Services, Methodist Medical Group, The Care Group, Hancock Memorial Hospital and Health Services, St. Vincent Health, and Clarian Health Partners. Their preceptors include the chief executive officers, chief operation officers, and chief financial officers at the health care facilities.

The Master of Health Administration (MHA) program prepares students to meet the challenges of the contemporary health care industry. Through a combination of outstanding faculty, professional integration, and strong business ethics, the graduate program trains students in areas such as health systems management, financing arrangements, and strategic management. It is the only Master of Health Administration program in Indiana accredited by the Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Administration (ACEHSA). The MHA program is also a member of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration. ###