Christy Moore, MHA: A Life-Long Learning Journey

Christy Moore (MHA 2010) is the vice president of capital and program planning at BJC HealthCare—one of the largest nonprofit health care integrated delivery organizations in the country.

For over a decade, Moore has been a vital part of the planning team that has supported a number of growth opportunities, including Memorial Hospital joining BJC, development of the new Barnes–Jewish West County Hospital and BJC Outpatient Centers, and expansion of BJC’s acute rehabilitation joint venture with Encompass Health into Illinois.

“Professionally I’ve been blessed to support a lot of projects that have been really impactful, and overall I’m just really happy to be a part of the growth of BJC,” Moore said.

With a team of about 10 that supports all of BJC HealthCare, Moore leads a small but mighty group that makes recommendations based on interpretations of data while fielding data-centric questions, many of which have complex answers.

Under Moore’s leadership, her team provides capital planning, market and volume analytics, and business case development that support decision points for BJC executives across the system.

One of the biggest tasks for Moore and her team is asking the right questions and having direct conversations with peers and leadership that translates into open, honest, and continuous dialogue to help problem solve.

Moore has been with BJC in a handful of capacities since graduating from Saint Louis University a little more than a decade ago. She began as an associate with the Strategic Planning team and through the opportunity to learn from leaders at all levels across BJC has grown into roles with increasing responsibility.

For me it’s been a part of a learning journey and what’s kept me interested in growth and BJC in planning is the opportunity to work on lots of projects at once,” she said.

“There’s not a day-to-day cadence where I know what’s coming, there’s always something new and different and that’s what’s kept me in planning for almost 12 years.”

The ability to navigate ambiguity and develop solutions are important traits that can help recent graduates and job candidates to stand out.

Thoroughly understanding the context behind what the planning team is asked to solve helps you to ask the right questions when supporting BJC’s leaders, Moore says.

“What I look for, above everything else, is somebody who can problem solve,” she said. “Do they have the ability to figure things out, and, if they do, that can take them very far.”

Something that has taken Moore far in her career was the foundation of knowledge she built through the MHA program at SLU.

Moore entered SLU with bits and pieces of knowledge about the health administration landscape and left with a well-rounded knowledge that was forged through access to experienced professors, strong mentors, and applicable real-world knowledge.

While working her way up the administration ladder, Moore has seen changes in the health care system and feels like there are limitless opportunities at BJC for women who aspire to join the field of health administration.

“I think I am very fortunate to work in the organization that I have been a part of because I have several supportive mentors,” she said. “The advice I would give is to build relationships with colleagues at all levels of the organization and to find mentors that are open to supporting your continued learning and development.”

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 and health administration.