Florida International University Healthcare MBA Program

November 4, 2021

Re: Florida International University Healthcare MBA Program Application

CAHME/George and Reggie Herzlinger Innovation Education Award

Dear Panel:

Thank you for the opportunity to submit this application for consideration by the panel.

The Florida International University Healthcare Master’s in Business Administration

(FIU HCMBA) is both a hybrid and online program. Both programs are CAHME and

AACSB accredited. Also, FIU HCMBA is a member of the prestigious CAHME

Mentorship Circle. Most notably, at the university level, FIU was recently ranked as the

most innovative university in the U.S. by U.S. News and World Report.

The FIU HCMBA curriculum integrates concepts of innovation in healthcare

management education and practice to better prepare our students for marketplace. The

attached application expands on these innovations, and they are briefly summarized in

this letter. There are two courses, Marketing Management (MAR 6805) and Master’s

Project in Management (MAN 6974), that illustrate the true uniqueness and innovative

qualities of our program. Specifically, the curriculum in MAR 6805 is designed for

students to provide actual marketing plans for use by West Kendall Baptist Hospital (part

of the Baptist Health South family) and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital,

respectively. These two local hospitals are the first to enter into partnerships with the

FIU HCMBA program to implement the marketing strategy curriculum. We expect to

expand the program to other local hospitals as well (See Attachment A: example of a

student team-based marketing plan presented to the hospital).

In MAN 6974, the Academic Director has co-authored and published three healthcare

case studies with healthcare professionals and administrators at two local hospitals,

Cleveland Clinic and Baptist Health South Florida. The case studies are used by the

students in MAN 6974 to design a consulting project for these hospitals and present their

findings to the hospital administrators and healthcare professionals as part of the

experiential portion of the capstone course. These cases are also used nationally by other

healthcare programs. The most recent published case can be found on the Harvard

Business Publishing website (See Attachment B).

These courses are complimented by several certificates that must be completed by all

students in the three residency programs which include Lean Six Sigma yellow and green

belts; Tableaux data analytics certification; CMS fraud and abuse certification; and the

Advanced Certificate in Global Healthcare Administration (elective) (See Attachment C).

These courses and certificates provide our students with cutting edge innovative

instruction and increase their competitive edge in the marketplace.

The most recent educational innovation is the Administrative Fellowship Program created

in partnership with Baptist Health South Florida, the largest healthcare provider in South

Florida. Through this partnership, one Administrative Fellowship position is dedicated

annually to a FIU HCMBA graduate.

Additionally, faculty research also provides examples of best innovative practices in the

program. Examples of innovative faculty research, funded by contributions to the FIU

HCBMA program, are attached in Attachment D. One recent publication addresses

health disparities during COVID published by Cambridge University Press/Boston

University. The program funds three annual faculty research grants in healthcare

research.

If our program receives the award, we agree to specifically designate the award to fund

faculty research grants and student scholarships as more particularly described in the

application.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Best,

Miriam F. Weismann

Dr. Miriam F. Weismann

Florida International University

Academic Director Healthcare MBA

APPLICATION

CAHME/ George and Regi Herzlinger Innovation Education Award

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY HEALTHCARE MASTER’S IN

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (FIU HCMBA)

Program Background

The Florida International University Healthcare Master’s in Business Administration (FIU

HCMBA) is both a hybrid and online delivery program. Both programs are CAHME and AACSB

accredited. Also, FIU HCMBA is a member of the prestigious CAHME Mentorship Circle.

FIU’s national rankings for innovation are impressive. FIU was recently ranked as the 17

most

innovative university in the U.S. by U.S. News and World Report. As explained in College of

Business Dean William Hardin’s letter (Attachment E), the ranking is based on the overall

initiatives implemented at the university level and from college and program level additions and

improvements to curriculum. This is reflected in the FIU HCMBA program, not only in its

curriculum, but also in its commitment to developing our students as leaders with competencies

and skills related to innovation.

Program Philosophy and Mission

The FIU HCMBA program philosophy is “Dreaming, Learning, Doing and Becoming.” This

mission philosophy derives from a quote by President John Adams: “If your actions inspire others

to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” The required courses in

the program curriculum (Attachment F) and the required three residency programs (Attachment

G) aim to inspire and create innovative leaders to address the complex problem in healthcare

today. Our mission embraces diversity, a commitment to the local healthcare organizations, and

to improve population health in our community. South Florida is richly diverse but has many

underserved populations in terms of healthcare and other community services. The FIU HCMBA

mission states: “The mission of the Healthcare MBA Program at Florida International University

is to improve the delivery of health services through the education of healthcare managers,

service to the community and the profession, and research. The Program provides educational

opportunity with a special commitment to multicultural and working students. The educational

mission is to provide early to mid-level career path students with professional knowledge and

with conceptual, analytical, technical, and ethical skills to manage healthcare systems

collaboratively with competency, sound decision-making, and integrity.”

Program Curriculum Innovations Through Community Partnerships

Due to time and space limitations, three course innovations are highlighted showing student team

innovation projects directly linked to innovative experiential learning in the healthcare

community. The first course is Marketing Management (MAR 6805). In early 2020, the FIU

HCMBA was contacted by Baptist Health South Florida (BHSF). BHSF needed assistance to

market its new population health initiatives. BHSF asked if the FIU HCMBA could assist in

preparing a marketing plan design. We agreed. We also thought this would be a good opportunity

to redesign the marketing curriculum to make this type of team project a permanent feature of the

program and offer marketing assistance to multiple hospitals in South Florida. Specifically, the

curriculum in MAR 6805 is designed for students to provide actual marketing plans for use by

West Kendall Baptist Hospital (part of the BHSF family) and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital,

respectively. The Chief Medical Officer of Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital, Dr. Ronald

Ford, is an alumnus of the FIU HCMBA program and a member of the FIU HCMBA Advisory

Board. These two local hospitals are the first to enter partnerships with the FIU HCMBA program

to implement the marketing strategy curriculum. We expect to expand the program to other local

hospitals as well. (See Attachment A: examples of student team-based marketing plans).

The Master’s Project in Management (MAN 6974), is the capstone course in the FIU HCMBA.

Students are required to write an individual thesis in the form of a health policy analysis report.

The thesis is data based. Students use research studies and/or original survey research to create

health policy solutions to a selected problem. The second capstone requirement is a team-based

consulting project where students are assigned to a case study that was co-authored and published

with a local hospital in South Florida. The Academic Director co-authored and published three

such healthcare case studies with healthcare professionals and administrators at two local

hospitals, Cleveland Clinic and Baptist Health South Florida (Attachment B). The case studies

are used by the students in MAN 6974 to design a consulting project for these hospitals and

present their findings to the hospital administrators and healthcare professionals as part of the

experiential portion of the capstone course. These cases can be accessed from the publishers and

are used nationally by other healthcare programs as well. The case studies address issues such as

value-based purchasing and its implications for patient satisfaction and reimbursement; the

problem of emergency room overuse; and developing cultural competencies to deliver improved

patient care.

Finally, Management of Healthcare Finance and Reimbursement (MAN 6098), applies finance

principles directly to healthcare delivery. Harold Vera, an alumnus and BHSF/FIU HCMBA

Administrative Fellow explains: “The program [FIU HCMBA] understands the disruptive nature

of innovation and incorporates coursework that foster innovative thinking. Management of

Healthcare Finance and Reimbursement gives students that opportunity to assess how healthcare

innovation affects the healthcare industry and government policy through lectures, class

discussions, exercises, case studies, and simulations. On the other hand, Strategic Management

explores how healthcare organizations foster innovations to sustain a competitive advantage in a

volatile, reimbursement driven industry. Topics include external and internal environmental

analysis, strategy formulation, and the impact of mergers and alliances on industry performance.

Courses integrate learning from accounting, finance, marketing, organizational behavior, and

other industries to better understand innovation and innovative thinking” (Attachment E).

Program Residency Innovations: Problem Solving and Analytics

The three residency programs likewise provide the students an opportunity to master innovations

in problem solving, data analytics and healthcare experiential learning. First, every student

graduates with Lean Six Sigma yellow and green belts. Some of the most prestigious healthcare

organizations in the U.S., including The Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Mt. Sinai, BHSF and

others, (https://www.isixsigma.com/industries/healthcare/5-tips-applying-six-sigma-three-top-

hospitals/) have become “Lean” problem solving organizations. Our students bring this training

to the marketplace and make them more competitive in terms of promotion and initial job

placement. In fact, Dr. Irving Jorge, Head of Acute Care Surgery, Mayo Clinic Phoenix, FIU

HCMBA alum, and FIU HCMBA Advisory Board Member, credits his LSS training as one factor

in his job placement at Mayo Clinic (Attachment E). The FIU HCMBA program has designed its

own green belt certification project to train our students (Attachment C).

The residency programs also include, among other profession development seminars, a data

analytics certification in Tableau and training in the Malcolm Baldridge transformative

management model known as “communities of excellence.” Because of the expense of global

travel, the Advanced Certificate in global Healthcare Administration is the only elective in the

program. The program does provide scholarship assistance to deserving students and part of this

award would be used for that purpose. The program is open to current students and alumnae.

Since 2015, students have visited healthcare systems in China, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand,

The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Western Europe. Students are required to prepare a health

policy analysis report based on an observed healthcare problem or issue during the visit.

Parenthetically, students also receive scholarships to attend annual conferences including ACHE,

and to participate in case competitions. Funds from the award will also be earmarked for these

student activities.

Innovation Through Institutional Collaboration

Collaboration informs innovation. To that end, the FIU HCMBA offers dual degrees with the

FIU Wertheim Medical School (MD/MBA) and with the FIU Department of Informatics

(HCMBA/Master’s in Healthcare Informatics). Also, the HCMBA partners with local hospitals to

increase student experiential learning opportunities and to contribute to local healthcare systems.

This includes partnering with local hospitals to provide marketing and business consulting as

explained in detail above and in training administrative fellows. FIU HCMBA students study

global healthcare systems while sharing our own national experience with teaching professionals

abroad. In short, the FIU HCMBA is a critical partner in the healthcare community locally,

nationally, and globally.

Innovation Through Faculty Research

Finally, the FIU HCMBA faculty is committed to high quality research. In the Carnegie

Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, FIU retained its highest classification as a

R1University. Examples of the faculty related healthcare publications are included in Attachment

D. The HCMBA offers three faculty research grants, each in the amount of $2500, to fund

healthcare research annually. This award would enable the program to expand the research grant

opportunities to faculty. The quality of the attached articles speaks to the important contribution

made by this research to healthcare policy and innovative initiatives (Attachment D).

Application Attachments

Attachment A: MAR 6805 Student Marketing Plans 2021

• Experiential Project Marketing Strategy (Spring 2021)

• Winner (Spring 2021): Final Report (Team Touch Point Healthcare Consulting)

• Experiential Project Marketing Strategy (Fall 2021)

• Winner (Fall 2021): Final Report (Team Blue Horizon Marketing Agency)

Attachment B: Published Case Studies co-authored with Baptist Health South Florida and

Cleveland Clinic, respectively

• West Kendall Baptist Hospital: meeting the demand of community-based healthcare in

the new (and stormy) regulatory environment

• The Overuse of Hospital Emergency Departments for Primary Care

• Cleveland Clinic Florida “pay-for performance” reimbursement: why the best care does

not always make the happiest patients

Attachment C: Green Belt Case designed for students in the FIU HCMBA

Attachment D: Recent faculty healthcare related publications

Attachment E: Letters

• Alumnus: Harold Vera, Dr. Irving Jorge

• University: Dean William Hardin, FIU College of Business

• Students: Benito Yon, Zachary Pierce

• Example of Team Based business plan for healthcare innovation: See attachment A (Four

plans attached for 2021)

Attachment F: Curriculum schedule

Attachment G: Residency schedule

• Residency 1

• Residency 2

• Residency 3