MHA Students Win 10th Annual University of Kansas Medical Center Health Management and Policy Case Competition
A team of Saint Louis University First-Year MHA students won the 10th annual University of Kansas Medical Center Health Management and Policy case competition this Fall.
The team of Rania Mahrous, Chesna Panicker, and Yesha Patel, one of the three SLU teams to compete, won the competition while facing this year’s case topic of “Addressing Access to Care from a Rural Economic Development Perspective.”
“I think we gained a lot of experience in teamwork, collaboration, and applying what we learned in class to the real world,” said the winning team.
“We also had the opportunity to present in front of health administrators, who really forced us to think critically about our strategic approach to increase access to a rural community.”
The KU Case Competition provides an opportunity for students to apply the skills they are learning in the classroom to a real-world situation. The case focuses on finance, patient populations, strategic partnerships, and key stakeholders. Students practice working together in teams and creating and following project deadlines while learning. The competition also teaches participants how to work well with others under pressure. These are all important skills to learn before entering into the healthcare administration field.
MHA programs from the states surrounding Kansas were invited to attend the competition, including Iowa State, Oklahoma State, The University of Texas at Tyler, Arkansas State, University of Missouri, Missouri State, and Kansas University with one month to review and create a solution to the case.
The team of Jacob Ip, Clare Kessler, and Sohil Swaminathan also made it into the top three and was not far behind the first-place team in points.
Destanie Garrett, Max Martin, Geoff Ramirez, and Meghan Weihmuller rounded out SLU’s group of three teams and also presented a strong case at the competition.
After finishing in first place and bringing a strong force into the competition, the three teams were a strong representation of Saint Louis University and the College for Public Health and Social Justice.
College for Public Health and Social Justice
The Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice is the only academic unit of its kind, studying social, environmental and physical influences that together determine the health and well-being of people and communities. It also is the only accredited school or college of public health among nearly 250 Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States.
Guided by a mission of social justice and focus on finding innovative and collaborative solutions for complex health problems, the College offers nationally recognized programs in public health, social work, health administration, applied behavior analysis, and criminology and criminal justice.