UB School of Management certifies inaugural Health Care Management class

By Kevin Manne

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Thirteen medical professionals are now equipped with the skills to save costs without impacting quality of care, negotiate better outcomes, make sound financial decisions and effectively manage others as graduates of the first-ever Executive Development in Health Care Management Certificate program.

Graduates of the new University at Buffalo School of Management program were certified at a ceremony on May 8 at the UB Downtown Gateway building.

The graduates are: Tiffany Anderson, RN, RN household team leader, The Rouse Estate; Smita Bakhai, MD, FACP, MPH, medical director, internal medicine clinic, Erie County Medical Center; Rebecca Calabrese, MD, director of hospital medicine, UBMD Internal Medicine; Michael Chaskes, MD, vice chair, department of medicine, UBMD Cardiology; Susanna Hummel, director, social services, The Rouse Estate; David Mattson, MD, assistant professor, department of radiation medicine, Roswell Park Cancer Institute; Henry McWilliams, CPA, CFO and COO, UBMD Family Medicine and UBMD Internal Medicine.

Also, Joseph Mure, MD, medical director and vice chair of clinical services, UBMD Family Medicine; Mandip Panesar, MD, medical director - dialysis, Erie County Medical Center and associate professor of medicine, UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; Dheerendra Prasad, MD, medical director, department of radiation medicine, Roswell Park Cancer Institute; Thomas Russo, MD, vice chair for business operations and professor of medicine, UB Department of Medicine; Sanjay Sethi, MD, FACP, chief, division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine, Buffalo VA Medical Center; and Casey Walters, RN, adult day service administrator/RN, the Rouse Estate.

“We’re seeing an increasing number of health care professionals who want to add business skills to their clinical expertise to increase patient satisfaction and manage costs of care,” says Courtney J. Walsh, assistant dean for executive education in the School of Management. “Congratulations to these trailblazing graduates on their accomplishment.”

The Executive Development in Health Care Management Certificate is a four-part program that develops the business skills of physicians and other clinicians from health care delivery organizations. Participants develop and apply their knowledge to improve the patient experience and the value of care delivered in their organizations at biweekly, half-day sessions from September to May.

Throughout the program, participants receive an overview of the main challenges and trends in the health care industry. Additional sessions cover budgeting and accounting, marketing, communicating with patients, organizational strategy and design, negotiation and information technology. In addition, participants learn to identify their strengths and limitations and to better motivate and manage those around them.

The program was launched in September and is part of a growing portfolio of health care management offerings from the School of Management that contribute to UB’s overall theme of health. Other school initiatives include a new Accelerated MBA for Medical Residents/Fellows program, several dual and collaborative programs with the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, a health care management concentration for full-time and Professional MBA students, and customized corporate programs in health care.

The next session of the Executive Development in Health Care Management Certificate program begins in September. For more information, contact the School of Management Center for Executive Development by phone at 716-645-3200, by email at mgt-ced@buffalo.edu or visit mgt.buffalo.edu/exechealth.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school also has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes and U.S. News & World Report for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York. UB’s nearly 30,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.