Dr. Peggy Choong, director of Niagara University's MBA program, shares the details of a new health care administration concentration that will begin this fall at the university.
Niagara University and Catholic Health are teaming up on an educational initiative designed to prepare professionals for leadership positions in the health care industry. The partnership, which begins in the fall semester, will enable MBA students in Niagara’s newly established health care administration concentration to gain valuable work experience through field placements and mentorship opportunities within Catholic Health.
“We are extremely excited about this partnership on two levels,” said Dr. Peggy Choong, director of the MBA program. “The first is that Catholic Health and Niagara have a congruence of mission that embraces the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul. The second is that this new concentration in health care administration in the MBA program fulfills a need in the market place. Our partnership with Catholic Health will enable us to provide exceptional training to our students and develop effective leaders in the health care industry.”
Catholic Health executives worked closely with Choong for more than a year to develop the health care concentration, which is unique in this region. It will provide students with a rigorous and in-depth understanding of managerial science with practical and strategic applications in the health care industry. Students will be mentored by top-level Catholic Health executives in a variety of health care settings within the health system.
A unique aspect of the new program is the opportunity for graduate students to join volunteers on medical missions to Jamaica under the auspices of Catholic Health’s parent organization, Catholic Health East’s Global Health Ministry. Students will accompany John Davanzo, Catholic Health’s senior vice president of regional development, each January for approximately two weeks to assist U.S. health care professionals as they work among the poor in that country.
“Putting their skills to work in a developing country can help business students on many levels. It can be a personally transforming leadership experience as they work with people marginalized by poverty,” Davanzo added. “This type of field placement also offers an appreciation of the scale and complexity of health care delivery on a global level, while at the same time, a greater understanding of the values of unselfish service that are such an important part of the Vincentian tradition.”
The health care administration concentration is one of several offered by Niagara University’s AACSB International-accredited MBA program. The program, which can be completed in as little as 16 months with convenient weekday evening or Saturday classes, features a nationally acclaimed faculty and a practice-oriented curriculum. For more information about Niagara University’s MBA program, call 716.286.8051, or email ude.aragainnull@abm.
