SPH Introduces Inaugural MHA Executive in Residence
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The School of Public Health welcomed Karen C. Teitelbaum, president and CEO of Sinai Health System, as the inaugural Executive in Residence with its Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) program in the division of health policy and administration. The MHA program, which began in 2005, was developed with an educational philosophy that students need to learn not only healthcare management theories and concepts but to develop the skill set to apply them in a real-world healthcare environment.
“Healthcare practitioners have played an integral role within the program and have been instrumental in this approach by serving as faculty instructors and preceptors in the programs 12-month preceptorship program,” said Larry Wrobel, PhD, director of the MHA program. “The new Executive in Residence position is an extension of this concept where a seasoned healthcare executive can mentor students, provide career advancement advice and represent the MHA program to other healthcare organizations in the Chicago market to create an awareness of how the UIC program can lead to a fulfilling career as a leader in the healthcare industry.”
The Executive in Residence is a senior healthcare leader with a distinguished career of leading transformational change in the healthcare industry. They are uniquely positioned within the healthcare administration program to foster professional relationships with key external stakeholders, serve as a practitioner resource to faculty in their healthcare research efforts, and contribute to students’ career development. This role is also designed to ensure that the MHA course curriculum addresses relevant trends and issues and prepares students to enter the healthcare industry as future leaders.
“I’ve been privileged to serve as a preceptor at Sinai Chicago for UIC MHA student interns, and I am consistently impressed by the caliber of the students coming out of the UIC MHA program,” Teitelbaum said. “We have hired a number of them as interns, and they are superstars.”
An experienced executive, Teitelbaum has spent her career in leadership positions with some of the most industry-challenged healthcare delivery organizations. Experienced in business development, strategy, turnaround, and advocacy, she is a nationally recognized leader focused on ensuring corporate viability and growth in the health services arena.
Teitelbaum is an influential participant in state and national legislative policy-making agendas, working with legislators of both the State and Congress. She has formed strategic relationships with non-healthcare partners, including a major academic institution and a real estate development firm, in order to train the next generation of professionals and create assets in urban areas. She serves on civic, state and national boards, including serving as the Board Chair for the Illinois Health and Hospital Association and the Chicago-Cook County Innovation Workforce development board as a mayoral appointee.
“What I find most exciting about UIC’s MHA program is its innovative thinking and vision, a real focus around what we in the healthcare industry need to be imparting to students in order to have the next generation of excellence in healthcare administration and health delivery,” Teitelbaum said. “This program is a pace setter for ensuring our future healthcare professionals are exquisitely prepared for the challenges and opportunities of our field.”