Proposal for a New
Certificate Program in
Community
Health Center Administration
1.
The educational objectives of the program
The goal of this certificate program is to prepare a
workforce of individuals to administer, lead and develop community health
centers for North Carolina. The
objectives of the program, to be offered by the Department of Public Health and
the Department of Health Services and Information Management are: 1) provide a
15 credit hour curriculum specifically tailored to the unique challenges of creating
and administering federally-qualified rural and urban community health centers;
2) offer the curriculum in a hybrid, DE, and face-to-face format; 3) market the
program to existing and prospective administrators of community health centers;
and, 4) provide a cohesive set of courses that will be part of a focus area in public
health administration within the Master of Public Health program.
This certificate program has been developed in
collaboration with the North Carolina Community Health Center Association and
the North Carolina Office of Rural Health. The North Carolina Community Health
Center Association requested the creation of this curriculum and provided
financial support.
2.
Admission and retention standards for successful
completion of program
The certificate
program is open to any individual with an earned baccalaureate degree and an
interest in continuing or pursuing a professional career track in developing
and/or administering community health centers.
Demand for the
program is estimated to be on the order of 12 – 16 students per year based on
discussions with the Executive Director of the North Carolina Community Health
Center Association. A more specific estimate of demand within the state will be
established by a survey of North Carolina center directors to be completed by
the end of April 2010. Participation of Dr. Mansfield in the Leadership
Development Institute of the National Association of Community Health Centers
will provide linkages to regional and national markets.
Admission priority
will be given to individuals employed in community health centers or enrolled
in a graduate program related to community health center administration at an
accredited university.
Admission will
require:
a) an official
transcript from the each school from which the individual received a bachelor’s
or graduate degree;
b) a letter of
recommendation from an individual familiar with the applicant’s work experience,
achievements, and professional capabilities.
c) a resume; and,
d) a short essay (less
than 500 words) describing the applicant’s professional goals and aspirations.
For individuals
enrolled in a graduate program at an accredited university, documentation of
enrollment and an official record of the individual’s academic progress at time
of application to the certificate program may be submitted in lieu of
transcripts.
Application
deadlines are April 15 for fall or summer matriculation and October 15 for
spring matriculation. Admission will be decided by a committee of three faculty
appointed from the departments of Public Health and Health Services and
Information Management.
Students must
complete the course of study with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher to be
awarded the certificate in community health center administration.
Students enrolled in
the certificate program who are not also enrolled in an ECU graduate program
will not be eligible for graduate assistantships or financial aid. Students accepted into a graduate program at
ECU may transfer no more than 9 credit hours. Requests for transfer of credits toward
a graduate degree must be approved by individual graduate degree programs.
3.
Proposed course sequence associated with the certificate,
including titles and course descriptions for existing courses and new courses
that may be developed
The certificate will
require completion of 15 s.h. of graduate credit hours from the courses listed
below.
Course Current Course Schedule
MPH 6200 Community Health Organization and
Leadership Fall,
Spring, Summer
*COHE 6100 Community Health Administration
Fall, Spring
COHE 6600 Management of Health Care Operations Fall
COHE 6310, Health Care Accounting and Financial
Administration Fall
HIMA 5060, Health Informatics
Fall
*Also required in a recently revised
MPA/HSIM certificate program in community health administration
**DE courses are indicated by italics for the term offered
Individuals who are not enrolled in a
graduate program related to community health center administration or who do
not have significant work experience in a community health center are required
to take COHE 6000,or MPH 6000, or equivalent.
Course Descriptions
Existing Courses
COHE 6600.
Management of Health Care Operations (3) P: COHE 6000 or consent of instructor. Focus on day to day operational
aspects of managing health care organizations. Operational needs of various
health care providers. Emphasis on
legal, marketing, service, quality, and personnel issues.
COHE 6310. Health
Care Accounting and Financial Administration (3). Application of the theories, principles and
concepts of financial management and accounting to decision-making and accountability
in health care organizations.
HIMA 5060. Health
Informatics (3) P: Consent of instructor. Informatics in health
care delivery systems with a focus on the clinical, public health, and consumer
aspects.
COHE 6100. Community
Health Administration (3). P: COHE 6000 or MPH 6000, MPH6200 or consent
of instructor. Role and application of basic administrative theory and practice
in health service institutions and agencies.
New
course
MPH 6200 Community
Health Organization and Leadership (3). P: MPH 6000 or COHE 6000 or consent of
instructor. Leadership, community organization, planning, advocacy, and communication
skills for administration of community health centers and integrated health
care systems.
The
catalog copy for the certificate program;
Attached
4.
Statement of how the proposed course sequences
associated with the certificate will meet the stated educational objectives.
The core curriculum is similar to the focus and
sequence of core courses in many graduate health administration programs. All students
will take five courses. Community Health Organization and Leadership
(MPH 6200) is a foundation course
followed by Community
Health Administration (COHE 6100).
Community
Health Organization and Leadership will
provide the context and essential conceptual framework for the Community Health
Administration course, in which the specific
challenges of managing the activities of community health centers will be
addressed. The Health
Informatics (HIMA 5060) course will provide
students with an understanding of how data and technology of electronic health
records are structured and employed to inform effective management of the delivery,
quality and cost of services; essential concepts taught in Management of Health
Care Operations (COHE 6600) and Health Care
Accounting and Financial Administration (COHE 6310).
5.
Statement of the need for the proposed program and the
basis for such a need, supported by either externally or internally derived
data.
North Carolina has
an extensive array of rural and community health centers that have evolved from
the mid-1970s. There are now 125 clinical sites operated by 27 community health
centers (CHCs) providing care to over 400,000 patients. These centers serve as
the focus of primary care and safety-net services in communities across the
state. These clinics operating on fees, public funds, and grants are augmented
by many rural health centers that could potentially become CHCs. Virtually all
of these centers were created to serve populations designated as medically
underserved. CHCs are here defined as Federally Qualified Health Centers
(FQHCs) and FQHC look-a-likes. East Carolina University, working with the North
Carolina Office of Rural Health in the 1970s and 80s assisted in developing
many of the CHCs in the eastern region of the state; and with the growth of the
medical school, nursing and allied health programs, ECU has supplied many of
the doctors, nurses and other health personnel to provide clinical operations. The
CHC component of North Carolina’s health care system has grown dramatically and
recent federal policy has provided resources for many new community health
centers to be started. Nationwide, the number of federally qualified health
centers has increased from 750 to over 1,200 from 2001 to 2007. Expansion is
expected to continue, creating a need for additional administrators at a time
when many are reaching retirement. In addition to the need for additional
personnel, there is also a need for new skills and abilities. Complexity has
increased and new technologies have emerged requiring additional competencies
for successful administration.
In spring 2009, the
North Carolina Community Health Center Association (NCCHA) approached faculty
at ECU to request that ECU develop a certificate program to provide training
for the administrators necessary to operate these health centers. (see
Attachment 1) Recognizing that ECU had faculty talents across disciplines and
departments, and experience in previous collaborations to meet needs such as
this one, the Department of Public Health (Brody School of Medicine) and the
Department of Health Services and Information Management (College of Allied
Health Sciences) responded to the request and received a grant of $50,000 from
NCCHA to develop the curriculum.
We began by seeking
advice from the practitioners who operate community health centers about what
was needed in such a curriculum. Chris
Mansfield, Professor in the Department of Public Health, conducted an executive
interview with Benjamin Money, MPH, Chief Executive Officer of NCCHA about the
competency areas perceived to be of highest importance. Dr. Mansfield also participated at Mr.
Money’s request on a panel of faculty from other universities and state-level
associations convened by National Association of Community Health Centers
(NACHC) to define competencies. This panel, called the Leadership Development
Institute (LDI), is a network of faculty in health administration programs and
practitioners to create model curricula. Members of that panel shared surveys
that were used in other regions to develop curricula and the format of delivery
of programs similar to the one being developed at ECU. The LDI envisions both
local and nationally coordinated certificate programs for which it will develop
competency standards, model curricula, and intensive short courses offered
nationally. The creators of this “hub-and-spoke” model have provided ECU an
opportunity to be spoke in the wheel without having to re-invent it.
With two surveys
used in other regions as a beginning, we then conducted a literature review of
competencies have been determined in other health administration programs. The
literature review was done by a graduate student in the MPH program and will be
part of the student’s professional paper which is an “Assessment of Demand and
Curriculum Components Needed for Development of a Competency-Based Certificate
Program in Community Health Center Administration.” Working with Professors Chris
Mansfield and Elizabeth Layman, the student developed an inventory of
competencies grouped in 6 domains. This inventory was reviewed by faculty in
the Department of Health Services and Information Management for construct
validity. It was then reviewed by Mr.
Money and Mr. John Price, Director of the North Carolina Office of Rural Health
for content and construct validity. The competencies were then listed in a
survey to be ranked by CEOs and CFOs of CHCs in North Carolina. The survey was
pilot tested with four CHC administrators, refined and then distributed as an
internet-based assessment that asked CHC administrators to rank the importance
of competencies and indicate how they preferred the program to be delivered.
The survey also
asked about their preferences for program delivery, e.g. face to face versus
DE, preferred times and days of scheduling, and whether their clinic facilities
were available for DE instruction. (see Attachment 2).
6. Names of the faculty associated with
or contributing to the certificate program, either by teaching one or more of
the courses associated with the program or participating in the design of the
course sequence.
Xiaoming Zeng, MD, PhD. HIMA 5060
Michael H. Kennedy, PhD. COHE 6310
Tom Ross, PhD. COHE
6310
Robert Kulesher, PhD. COHE 6600
Elizabeth B. Layman, PhD. COHE 6100
Paul D. Bell, PhD. COHE
6100
Chris Mansfield, PhD. MPH 6200, COHE 6100
7. Name and curriculum vita of the
faculty member who will be designated as the coordinator of the program for
purposes of communication with the Graduate School.
Chris Mansfield, Professor, Department of Public
Health (CV is Attachment 3)
8.
If
the proposed graduate certificate program contains no new courses, no new
faculty, no additional costs, and maintains the admissions and academic
standing requirements of a related degree program, the proposal will be given
expedited review in the approval process.
One new course will be developed for the certificate program – MPH 6200.
No new faculty or additional resources are needed. The current faculty in the
Departments of Health Services and Information Management and Public Health will
teach the proposed courses. Affiliate faculty who are current or recently
retired administrators of CHCs may be recruited to teach specialized topics.
9.
The
unit offering the certificate program must specify what professional license,
if any, for which the certificate qualifies.
None
10.
CIP code: 51.0701
Health/Health Care Administration/Management
11.
Minimum number of weeks of instruction:
30
Appendix E
THE
UNC institutions planning to offer a sequence of courses
for certification, licensure, etc., should notify the Division of Academic
Affairs in advance so that information on these activities can be made
accessible through an inventory maintained by the Office of the President.
Date: February 17, 2010
Constituent Institution: East
Carolina University
CIP
Discipline Specialty Title: Health/Health Care Administration/ Management
CIP
Discipline Specialty Number: 51.0701 Level:
Graduate
Title
of the Proposed Sequence: Certificate in Community Health Center
Administration
Date of Initiation:
January 2011
Will this program be completely individual access (e.g., Internet, videocassette)? Yes
If “yes,” primary mode of delivery: Internet
If cohort-based, length
of time to complete the sequence (e.g., 1 year, 18 mos.): NA
1. Briefly describe the proposed program and
intended audience.
The
proposed program prepares a workforce of individuals to administer, lead, and
develop community health centers for North Carolina. The curriculum is specifically tailored to
address the unique challenges of creating and administering federally-qualified
rural and urban community health centers.
The certificate comprises 15 semester hours in the areas of community
health organization and leadership, community health administration, management
of health care operations, health care accounting and financial administration,
and health informatics. The intended
audiences are the (1) population of students in the master of public health
(MPH) program at East Carolina University (ECU) and (2) distance education (DE)
students who are currently employed in community health centers or who have an
interest in continuing or pursuing a professional career track in the
administration of community health centers.
The Department of Health Services and Information Management (HSIM) and
the Department of Public Health (DPH) in the Colleges of Allied Health Sciences
and the Brody School of Medicine respectively desire to offer the course work
of the certificate both face-to-face and on-line via the Internet.
2. Describe the proposed instructional delivery
systems (e.g., on-site instruction by faculty, interactive video, Internet,
etc.).
The proposed
Certificate in Community Health Center Administration will be offered both
face-to-face at East Carolina University and on-line via the Internet.
3. Describe need for the program (referencing
results of surveys or special studies).
In spring 2009, the North Carolina Community Health
Center Association (NCCHA) approached faculty at ECU to request that ECU
develop a certificate program to provide training for the administrators
necessary to operate these health centers.
The Department of Public Health (Brody School of Medicine) and the
Department of Health Services and Information Management (College of Allied
Health Sciences) responded to the request and received a grant of $50,000 from
NCCHA to develop the curriculum.
Potential
students come from an extensive array of rural and community health centers
(CHCs) in North Carolina; 125 clinical sites operated by 27 CHCs providing care
to over 400,000 patients. Nationally, the number of federally qualified health
centers has increased from 750 in 2001 to over 1,200 in 2007. Expansion is
expected to continue, creating a need for additional administrators at a time
when many are reaching retirement. In addition to the need for additional
personnel, there is also a need for new skills and abilities. Complexity has
increased and new technologies have emerged requiring additional competencies
for successful administration. Thus,
there may be a national audience for this certificate.
The
Department of Public Health and the Department of Health Services and
Information Management conducted a survey to validate the knowledge domains of
the certificate and to obtain information about the desired format of
delivery. Six domains of competencies
were validated and significant interest in on-line delivery was indicated.
4. Projected total annual enrollment: Years
1 _4____ 2__6___ 3_8____
4 _10____ 5 _12____
Name, title,
telephone, and e-mail of contact person to respond to questions:
Dr.Lloyd F. Novick,
Chair
Department of Public
Health
(252) 744-6177