Health Administration Alumni

Kinda is currently an Administrator in Training (AIT) at Mount St. Mary nursing home located in Wichita, KS. Kinda gets to spend her days working with different department heads to learn more about their positions and roles in the organizations. She loves learning about all the regulations and policies that affect long-term care industries. As for the MHA program, Kinda says that she loves the support that was provided throughout her journey, especially from the program coordinators. People from the MHA program helped her through classes and helped her find the current position she is in now.

If you would like to connect with Kinda, here is her LinkedIn profile: 

Kinda's LinkedIn

Amber currently works as the Director of Business Operations and HIPAA Compliance Officer at Kingman Healthcare Center. Kingman Healthcare Center is a critical access hospital that also oversees two rural health clinics. In her role, Amber is responsible for the oversight of the revenue cycle for the hospital and clinics which includes admissions/registration staff, health information staff, credentialing for providers and insurance, and the billing office. She also spends time overseeing the compliance of the HIPAA Security officer. The MHA program at WSU gave Amber the tools she needed to help continue to grow as a leader and support the hospital, clinics, and employees at her current place of work. She also loved the experience it gave her of making a deeper connection with the CEO of Kingman Healthcare Center during her applied learning experience.

If you would like to connect with Amber here is her LinkedIn profile: 

Amber's LinkedIn

Derik works for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) as the Director of the Bureau of Family Health. KDHE is the lead public health agency for the State of Kansas working as a cabinet agency with a secretary appointed by the governor. As the Director of the Bureau of Family Health, Derik oversees the programs within his Bureau including Child Care Licensing, Nutrition, and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children). Derik also spends time developing and recommending legislative initiatives and bill drafts to resolve policy issues, analyze legislation, calculate fiscal impacts, and write and present testimony. He represents the agency at public meetings, conventions, and other related functions. The last main part of Derik’s position is developing, directing, and monitoring the state and federal budgets to allocate staff resources and ensure compliance with program goals, and other federal/state statutes and plans.

The MHA program helped to shape Derik’s understanding of healthcare operations, both in a private and public health sense. The program also allowed him to make numerous connections that he utilized while in the program and now while out of the program. Derik left the program feeling like he had a well-rounded understanding of the ins and outs of healthcare finance that has helped him immensely in his current role. Even though Derik is working in public health, he believes the MHA program gave him a unique perspective on the private sector that has assisted him in attempting to bridge gaps and build collaborations between public health organizations and other health-related entities.

If you would like to connect with Derik here is his LinkedIn profile: 

Derik's LinkedIn

Alison serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Amberwell Health Hiawatha. Amberwell Health Hiawatha is a rural not-for-profit healthcare organization consisting of a critical access hospital and two rural health clinics. Her organization provides a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services with a focus on maintaining access to high-quality care close to home. In her daily work, Alison works to ensure smooth day-to-day operations and strives to make sure leaders and staff have what they need to provide the best care and services to the community they serve. The MHA program helped Alison to broaden her knowledge of healthcare beyond the walls of her organization. She was provided with new tools and resources as well as connections that have helped her to serve as a better leader in her organization.

If you would like to connect with Alison here is her LinkedIn profile: 

Alison's LinkedIn

Jamie previously worked as the Ethics and Compliance Officer for Wesley Healthcare, however after the pandemic, her position was removed due to budget cuts. Now, Jamie works for First Student which is the largest school transportation provider in North America. At First Student, Jamie is the Learning and Development Specialist on the Safety Team. Her job is to collaborate with the Safety training team to develop training focused on safety compliance, on-site location reviews, and federal, state, and provincial requirements. At Wichita State, the MHA program helped her learn not only healthcare-related leadership skills but also valuable leadership and business operations skills. Those skills have allowed her to succeed even in her current role outside of healthcare, while she waits for her perfect healthcare leadership role to present itself.

If you would like to connect with Jamie here is her LinkedIn profile: 

Jamie's LinkedIn

Brooke works in the Supply Chain Operations division of HealthTrust Performance Group, which is a subsidiary of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). Her current title is Financial Analyst, but she has duties and responsibilities that extend beyond just financials. She spends a lot of her time working on special projects that help make the duties of the supply chain management staff more efficient which in turn benefits her clinical staff tenfold. Her job also allows her to travel to the organization’s headquarters in Denver monthly, where she gets to work alongside leaders and employees of all levels. Brooke says she wouldn’t be where she is today without the MHA program. The knowledge and experiences she gained, along with all the connections she created, made enrolling in the MHA program the best decision for her career and her future endeavors.

 If you would like to connect with Brooke here is her LinkedIn profile: 

Brooke's LinkedIn

Catherine is employed at Oracle Cerner as a Senior Project Manager for their US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) project. She leads project teams at VA hospitals all across the country to ensure each site has its full EHR suite. Increasing access to a functional and efficient EHR system is critical for Catherine’s organization to provide the best, high-quality care for their veterans. This project also created a means for veterans to access their own health data and patient information allowing them to take full control of their healthcare journey and participate in their own care.

Receiving an MHA created many opportunities for Catherine to accelerate her career. She is able to lead initiatives for quality improvement with the foundation of knowledge provided to her by her coursework. Similarly, the prestige of an MHA reminds the administrators she works with that she is one of them too. Working towards receiving her MHA was simultaneously the hardest thing Catherine has ever done and the best decision she ever made. She recommends this program to anyone who wants to be a successful healthcare leader.

If you would like to connect with Catherine here is her LinkedIn profile: 

Catherine's LinkedIn

Max currently works for Andover Court Assisted Living as the Business Office Director. In this position, Max manages the accounts payable, accounts receivable, human resources, and the business office for the facility. The MHA program allowed Max to gain the necessary administrative tools to succeed in his current position. With his MHA, Max feels like a more proficient member of the administrative team at his place of work.

Trish serves as the Director of Correctional Health at Community Health Center Southeast Kansas. Her organization is a federally qualified health center that serves community members regardless of their ability to pay for care. In her role, Trish develops, implements, and monitors quality within the correctional health program. In addition, she also manages and develops the clinical team members. Wichita State’s MHA program helped Trish lay the fundamental groundwork to excel in a leadership position within larger organizations.

If you would like to connect with Trisha here is her LinkedIn profile: 

Trisha's LinkedIn

Daisy is the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) Community Strategist at Aetna Better Health of KS. This organization is a managed care organization (MCO) in Kansas that provides Medicaid insurance. Daisy works with the south-central and southwest regions of Kansas to identify social determinants of health gaps. She also works to help fill those gaps through a variety of partnerships. Her MHA experience allowed her to obtain an internship at the Sedgwick County Manager's Office where she worked with the Health Department in public health. The understanding of health disparities, drivers of health, and community health improvement plans she got in this position led her to her current role.

If you would like to connect with Daisy here is her LinkedIn profile: 

Daisy's LinkedIn

Shelby is currently serving as an Academic Advisor for Galen College of Nursing. Galen College of Nursing is a private college that solely focuses on nursing education and is a partner with HCA hospitals. She also works part-time as an adjunct faculty member for the Public Health Sciences Department at Wichita State University. In her role at Galen, Shelby works with nursing students to connect them with resources and help them throughout their program and into their full-time nursing careers. Galen has many non-traditional students, so Shelby works with these students on time management and helps them adjust to higher education. After graduating with her MHA, Shelby managed a housekeeping department and then realized she had a passion for working with future healthcare professionals that was not being fulfilled by working as a manager in that role. Ever since she has worked in post-secondary education and has used her education from WSU each day to help educate and assist future healthcare professionals who are currently on their own journey through school.

If you would like to connect with Shelby here is her LinkedIn profile: 

Shelby's LinkedIn

Are you are proud Masters in Health Administration Alum? Reach out to us! Take a moment to share your story about how you are putting your degree into action. We would love to hear from you and highlight your story.

Share Your Story     Update Your Contact Information