Skip to main content

SLU Team Takes Home Second in National Healthcare Case Competition

11/03/2017

On Oct. 20, three Master of Health Administration students took home second place in the National Association of Health Services Executives’ (NAHSE) 22nd annual Everett V. Fox Student Case Competition. Brianna Clare, M.H.A. ‘18, and Kwamane Liddell, J.D./M.H.A. ‘18, also earned two of the three national student scholarships awarded during the NAHSE conference.

Left to right: Brianna Clare, Matt Glassman and Kwamane Liddell hold their plaques from the NAHSE student case competition.

From left to right: Brianna Clare, Matt Glassman and Kwamane Liddell pose with their plaques from the National Association of Health Services Executives case competition. Photo by Kim Donoghue

Clare, Liddell, and Matt Glassman, M.H.A. ‘18, competed against 30 schools across the country. They credit their success to their ability to work together as team and support from their coach, Kimberly Enard, Ph.D., assistant professor of health management and policy at Saint Louis University’s College for Public Health and Social Justice.

The team brainstormed how to improve health care in the city of Oakland, California, and came up with “The Oath” or the Oakland Alliance for Total Health. The name was fitting for an organization that promises to reach beyond the hospital’s walls to improve patient’s social determinants of health. By combining the Center for Medicare and Medicaid’s Accountable Health Community model with the Collective Impact framework, The Oath uses patient navigators to link clinical and social services to better address health-related social needs including food insecurity, violence, and poverty. Their model incorporates social needs screenings and a web-based interface to allow clinical providers and community organizations to collaborate in improving health outcomes throughout the community.

In addition to the case competition, the team was able to develop relationships with health care executives.

“NAHSE accelerated my development because it is more than a case competition: leaders from across the country take part in the competition as judges. Many take time to critique and mentor us after the conference. It also give us an opportunity to develop lasting relationships with students from other schools,” says Liddell.

Two first-year students, Tariq Mahmood, JD/M.H.A. ‘20, and Ariah Suek, JD/M.H.A. ‘20, observed the entire process from preparation to execution; hopefully, that insight will give them a leg-up in next year’s contest.

After last year’s competition, Clare and Liddell created a case competition seminar to prepare themselves and other case teams at SLU. Since then, the idea has evolved and SLU’s Department of Health Management and Policy recently applied for –and received–a $3,660 CAHME/Aramark Innovation Grant.

“With the funding, we are going to implement an innovative case competition training curriculum that focuses on health care management analytics competencies and presentation skills,” says Rhonda BeLue, Ph.D., department chair.

###

About the Department of Health Management and Policy

Saint Louis University’s Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.) program is celebrating its 70th year, a milestone that sets it apart as one of the oldest M.H.A. programs in the world. The program was started in 1947.

SLU's M.H.A. is ranked No. 7 nationally by U.S. News & World Report. Learn more about the full-time master's program and the executive track option for working professionals.