Master of health administration degree receives full accreditation from CAHME        

We are excited to announce three new additions to the Department of Health Policy and Management. Katherine Drabiak and Rita DeBate join us as our most recent faculty and Sara Spear as our Academic Services Administrator.

Dr. Katherine Drabiak was hired through a search for a new position created by the College as the College’s emerging scientific and educational role with genomics emerges. Dr. Drabiak is an excellent legal scholar who is much published on issues related to genomics, intellectual property and the FDA and will help develop a curriculum around those issues. Her primary appointment is with HPM, while her secondary appointment is with Global Health.

Spring 2016 is on track to be just as engaging. In January, Jeffrey Serpico, director of Human Resources at Tampa General Hospital, presented an insider view at hiring and managing a staff of more than 7300 employees. In February, invited representatives from the VA, Tampa General Hospital, Locicero Medical Group, Parallon Business Solutions, and Carnahan Consulting were available for informal interviews and employment opportunity discussion during the highly anticipated Career Fair. 

To conclude the semester, HMSA is planning a field trip, a student networking happy hour, and officer elections! Get more information on HMSA.

This was Teena’s second year attending.  She described the event as “…a great networking opportunity and learning experience” and advises new students that “It is so important to have business cards on hand because you’ll never know who you will meet!” Anticipating that students will be attending next year’s congress, she recommended that they attend the Administrative Fellowships: What to Consider and How to Maximize Your Success seminar. She stated, “This was a very insightful seminar on the details and the process of applying for and gaining an administrative fellowship upon graduation.” 

For more information on the ACHE Congress click here.

From military officers to health system executives, HPM alumni are making an impact in the health care industry worldwide. 

Captain Robert S. Fry, Medical Service Corps, United States Navy, PhD, FACHE is a 2002 alumnus of the USF’s COPH Health Policy and Management doctoral program.  Raised in Northern Kentucky, Dr. Fry enlisted in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman in May 1981. He went to school at night and on weekends to complete his undergraduate degree in Health Care Management and graduate degree in Administration.  In 1990, he was commissioned as a Navy Healthcare Administrator.  After several significant assignments, he was selected for Navy Medicine’s Full Time Out Service training program to attend the University of South Florida to pursue his doctorate.  His dissertation studied the protective effects of physician and hospital volume on outcomes.  His research was highlighted during the 2002 COPH Research Day and he was selected as the 2002 HPM Student of the Year. 

Dr. Fry immediately applied his newly acquired knowledge and skills as the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Population Health Program Manager, collaborating with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to conduct data analysis of quality and patient safety indicators for the Military Health System (MHS).  Additionally, he led efforts to develop a MHS Portal to provide hospital and patient level population health metrics for the entire DoD.  Subsequently, he has had numerous assignments with increasing responsibilities from a Hospital Vice President for Administrative Services (Director for Administration) to a headquarters senior policy advisor for Manpower, Resources and Health Policy for the two previous Navy Surgeons General (both who are USF alumni). Most recently, he served as the United States Naval Academy Clinic’s chief operating officer (executive officer). 

While a HPM student, Dr. Fry stressed the importance of professional affiliation, quality education and life-long learning.  He is board certified in healthcare management and a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).  He served as the ACHE Navy Regent from 2008 to 2011 and on the ACHE Board of Governors from 2012 to 2015. 

Speaking highly of the College and HPM, Dr. Fry said, “I would like to congratulate the entire Health Policy and Management Department faculty, staff and students involved, but especially Dr. Barbara Orban for her leadership oversight, in achieving the seven year CAHME (Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education) accreditation.  I acknowledge this impressive achievement and believe it recognizes the quality education provided by the dedicated professionals at USF’s College of Public Health.”

Tom Gronow currently serves as chief operating officer (COO) at University of Colorado Hospital (UCH). A Florida native, he started his career in aviation and holds his commercial/multi-engine rating. His experience in aviation has enabled him to serve as a subject matter expert in communication, reliability, quality, and patient safety design. In his role as COO, Tom oversees key areas such as trauma, transplant, emergency, perioperative, oncology, ambulatory, and diagnostic services. He has been with UCH since 2014. Prior to that, Tom served as vice president of operations at UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh, PA. Tom started his health care career at UPMC as an administrative fellow in 2007.

Tom received a Master of Health Administration from University of South Florida and a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Tom also holds a certification as a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in human and organizational learning through George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development. His primary motivation to pursue this degree is to deepen his understanding of complex adaptive systems and how theories of leadership, learning, change, and culture impact organizational performance. Tom is working to develop leaders and teams to employ the concepts of emergence, sense-making, and complexity leadership at UCH in order to enable the organization to be more adaptive and flexible.

Outside of his professional work, Tom is a member of the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) accreditation committee, serving as a commissioner since 2012. He is passionate about health care education and serves as a leader for the fellowship and internship programs that are administered through UCH. He is also a board member for Donor Alliance whose mission is to save lives through organ and tissue donation and transplantation.