Fall 2008
Jennifer Blasko, treasurer of ACHCA student chapter and chair of A Day in the Park event, socializes with nursing home residents during Bingo. Blasko, along with other students volunteered during the September 20th event in conjunction with the Alzheimer's Memory Walk at Eau Claire's Carson Park.
Practicum Students Strengthen Leadership Skills Through Canoe Trip
Before heading off to their respective sites, 20 health care administration practicum students took an overnight trip near the mouth of the Chippewa River for their leadership retreat in August.
The students tent camped at a nearby campground near Tiffany Bottoms Wildlife Refuge where Justin Gardner, coordinator of Leadership Institute program through the UW-Eau Claire College of Business, gave presentations on topics in leadership.
The retreat gave students the opportunity to learn the basics of leadership through canoeing, camping and outdoor skills. Gardner said the idea came from his own experiences from planning activities for the Leadership Institute, a three day camp for incoming freshmen to UW-Eau Claire.
After success with the practicum students, Gardner said that he will use this trip as a model to open up opportunities for canoe trips to more groups throughout the university.
Dr. Douglas Olson, the Director of CHASE, said, “The Center supported this more adventurous approach to the retreat this year to see if the extra bonding time for the students would jumpstart their networking together. The early results for the students at their twenty different sites across four different states is that this innovative experiment has worked pretty well!â€
Before heading off to their respective sites, 20 health care administration practicum students hit the water in canoes. The overnight camping trip was part of a retreat and leadership seminar.
Students Attend American College of Health Care Administrators Convocation
This past May, officers from the student chapter of the American College of Health Care Administrators, consisting of president Patrick Senzig, vice president McKenzie Johnson, treasurer Jennifer Blasko and secretary Talia Aramalay, along with Douglas Olson associate professor of health care administration, attended the organization’s 2008 convocation.
Held at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Area Convention Center near downtown Cincinnati, the four day event consisted of many different educational sessions for professionals and students, a riverboat cruise fundraiser for ACHCA, and various opportunities to connect and interact with other members of the organization. This year’s convocation was monumental for students, as the national board supported the concept of electing a student to the national executive board—something that has never been a part of ACHCA’s history.
Preceptor News
This year, many exciting changes have occurred in the practicum experience for the health care administration program. There has been a transition to more web-based functions, allowing for convenient and enhanced learning experiences.
"We are excited to roll out our new approach to the practicum experience this year," said Dr. Jennifer Johs-Artisensi. "Although the practicum experience for the Health Care Administration program has maintained much of the same content, we have made many changes in the delivery method of the coursework, allowing us to use our web-based capabilities to enhance interaction opportunities with students. Additionally, as part of curriculum changes, we will be the first University in the country to pilot the new NAB practice exam to help students consider how they will focus their experiences."
As a reminder, the program will begin a single practicum cohort in August, 2009. Recruitment for practicum sites will begin at the Practicum Open House, in conjunction with the Spring Banquet on April 2, 2009.
Last, the program is implementing alternative methods to provide resources to preceptors and practicum sites. On April 2nd, there will be a seminar for preceptors focused on mentoring skills for the practicum experience. Look for more information about this seminar in the next issue of the CHASE News.
CHASE Hosts Pay For Performance Discussion
The Center for Health and Aging Services Excellence hosted the Pay For Performance Discussion Forum on October 23 in the Davies Center at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Over 100 people attended the forum to learn about this system. Also known as value-based purchasing, Pay For Performance rewards providers for meeting performance measures for quality and efficiency on the job. Panelists included Brad Shiverick, Vice President of Quality for MyInnerView, Robert Held, Director of Nursing Facility Rates and Policy Division at the Minnesota Department of Human Services, David Mills, Vice President for Midwest Operations of Golden Living, and Duncan McDougall, Managing Partner of Pathway Health Services. Douglas Olson moderated the discussion.
Meet Dean Eide: Executive-In-Residence for Health Care Administration
Dean Eide joins the department of management and marketing as Executive-in-Residence for the health care administration program. Mr. Eide will be coordinating practicum field experience and related coursework, as well as the development of the new certificate program in health and aging services administration. Dean received his B.S. degree from UW-La Crosse and his M.B.A. from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.
Dean has comprehensive experience in operations, administration and management for a wide array of healthcare facilities, with full responsibility for start-ups and strategic planning. Furthermore, Dean has been an instructor for a Marketing Analysis 730 on-line course for University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium and instructor for Business to Business Marketing 437 class for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the fall of 2007.
For the past 17 years, he has worked at Trempealeau County Health Care Center and has served as administrator to the skilled nursing home facility, facility for the developmentally disabled, behavioral health clinic, adult family homes, and assisted living facilities such as RCAC and CBRF’s. His wife Laura is a school counselor at Whitehall High School. They have three children: Sarah age 14, Luke age 12 and Grace age 8. When not working, Dean enjoys participating in both mountain bike and road bike races.
