Public Health Concentration

This course focuses on the communication and use of financial information for the purpose of making sound economic decisions. Students learn to read and analyze financial information as presented in a firms annual report and SEC 10K with a concentration on Financial Statements, Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Statement of Cash Flow. Financial analysis techniques are used to interpret this information and evaluate the performance and financial health of a business. Students will examine the financial decision-making processes to determine capital budget project selection and capital budget financing. This course emphasizes analysis, real-world application, and communication.

This course discusses ways for healthcare management personnel to provide service in a competitive marketplace. Students will analyze theories, methods, and techniques with regard to strategy, staffing, and systems. Topics discussed will include areas such as building a customer service culture; training, motivating, and empowering staff; measuring service quality; managing service waits; and recovering from a service failure.

This course addresses the legal issues that are most prevalent in the delivery of healthcare. Emphasis will be on the common issues that healthcare professionals encounter. The student will be introduced to various legal terms, policy and statutes and their relationship to the healthcare system process. Additionally the student will be provided with foundational knowledge regarding healthcare law and ethics and the effect on healthcare policy.

This course provides information on the importance and process of strategic planning in response to the rapid transformation in healthcare delivery. Students will examine and formulate strategies to assist in analyzing their organizational factors critical to strategic planning in order to achieve the organization’s mission.

This course will explore organizational theory and behavior within the context of the health care environment. Health care organizations are ultimately driven by a mission of care and service, have a distinct culture and approach to meeting the complex and ever-changing needs of the healthcare consumer. Content will examine the culture of health care and how it impacts the way in which health care organizations and the people who work within health care interrelate. Health care organizations will be viewed from the system, organizational, group, and individual levels. Students will focus on the practical applications of theories and concepts of behavior within health care organizations.

This course discusses the complex organizational dynamics and structures that dictate the interactions among the major components of the US. Healthcare System. The course will also investigate best practices and information related to providing excellence in service.

As a member of a Six Sigma project team, students will learn how to lead and executive process-level improvement projects. They will develop process flow charts, collect and analyze data, develop hypotheses, and use basic statistical tools to determine optimum ways to reduce cost, improve processes and increase customer/client satisfaction. Where applicable, students will design simple experiments to validate theories. This hands-on class will focus on projects to eliminate waste and defects by applying lean and Six Sigma methodology. In-class case studies will focus on Healthcare issues.

To remain competitive, organizations must continuously seek new ways to be efficient and effective in their work processes. The tools and techniques taught in this course can be applied to any type of organization including: for-profit organization, nonprofit organization or government agency. In this course, students will learn the following continuous improvement tools: Cause and Effect Diagrams, Flow Charts, Checklists, Pareto Charts, SWOT Analysis, Brainstorming Techniques, the 5 Ys, Root Cause Analysis, and Corrective Action Techniques.

The objective of this course is to provide an understanding of the importance of integrating change management and project management activities. Typically, the study of project management focuses on the tasks and activities needed to accomplish a project: who, what, when and how. It provides project structure and addresses the actions, deliverables and outcomes. However, change management focuses on the people impacted by the change and ways to reduce resistance to change and to elicit behaviors to support change. Although change management is critical to the success of any change intuitive, it is often forgotten and not integrated into project management theory. This course stresses the importance of addressing the “people” aspect of a change project.

This course will provide an overview of the key factors affecting the economic and financial management of healthcare organizations in today’s environment and provide the knowledge necessary for health service managers to apply financial management theory and principles to help make decisions to promote the financial well-being of the organization.

This is the introductory course to the theory and practice of negotiations and will serve as one of the foundational classes for the degree. Students will learn the history, development and evolution, core theories, and varying frameworks in the field. They will also have the opportunity to engage in experiential activities that will provide them with practice developing their skills.

This course provides a foundation for effective financial nonprofit decision making to promote the financial sustainability of nonprofit organizations in these challenging times. Upon completion of the course the student will: possess an understanding of financial systems as they apply to nonprofit organization; be able to analyze and evaluate the financial health of a nonprofit organization and determine its financial strengths and weaknesses; and use a variety of strategies to improve the financial condition of a nonprofit organization including “quick analysis”, budgeting and cost controls, understanding the nonprofit’s “economic engine,” and developing “unrestricted” funding streams.

Students are introduced to public health concepts and practice. This course provides a broad overview of the field of public health and a focused look at the core areas of epidemiology and biostatistics, health promotion, environmental health, and health care administration in the public health arena. It is designed to lay the groundwork for all future coursework and introduce students to specialty areas within public health.

This course will examine both analytical and practical approaches to cultural competency in public health. Concepts, models, frameworks, and communication that occur in cross-cultural health situations will be discussed, but also the application of these concepts in real interventions and programs.

This course will introduce the key terms and concepts of epidemiology with an emphasis on application for public health practice and utilizing epidemiology to increase understanding of current population health issues. Students will gain knowledge preparing them to calculate and interpret descriptive epidemiology terms such as of prevalence, incidence, and relative risk rates. Students will use epidemiology to better understand, characterize, and promote health at a population level.

Students will explore the history and current applications of social and behavioral sciences as they are applied to public health practice and research. The course analyzes social and behavioral science models, theories, and approaches that inform public health and their philosophical roots. The course also examines social and behavioral determinants of health equity across the ecological spectrum.

This course provides an examination of the research process, statistical analysis, and evidence-based practice with applicability to public health practice. Attention is given to critical research methods, analysis, and ethical aspects of scholarly inquiry. Emphasis on how research contributes to the development of public health knowledge, improves population health, and enhances the education and professional accountability of public health professionals is presented.

This course is designed to provide graduate students with an introduction and overview of the key areas of environmental health. Using the perspectives of the population and community, the course will cover factors associated with the development of environmental health problems while providing an opportunity to think creatively about solutions to the complex issues.

This course is designed to provide graduate students with an introduction and overview of the key areas of environmental health. Using the perspectives of the population and community, the course will cover factors associated with the development of environmental health problems while providing an opportunity to think creatively about solutions to the complex issues.