"I'd like to thank each and everyone of you for your ongoing support and participation as we honored both the graduating class of 2000 and Diana M. Bonta, the Director of the California Department of Health Services, at our 2000 HPMAA Leader of Today Leaders of Tomorrow Dinner."

Rosalind Essner
President, HPMAA

Dear Fellow Alumnus,

Welcome to the Fall Edition of the HPMAA Newsletter. It is an honor and a privilege to serve as President of your Alumni Association in this - the millennium year.

Once again, our Leaders of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow Dinner, on June 7, 2000, was a tremendous success. I'd like to thank each and everyone of you for your ongoing support and participation as we honored both the graduating class of 2000 and Diana M. Bonta, the Director of the California Department of Health Services, our 2000 HPMAA Leader of Today Leaders of Tomorrow Dinner. About 220 Alumni and friends attended the dinner to honor Diana and to support the Program and the students. My special thanks to Christy Beaudin, the dinner chair, and to all her committee members for all their hard work and commitment to make this a successful and enjoyable dinner.

Due to your generous support, HPMAA awarded its second annual student scholarship this year to Luella Penserga, a '93 graduate of Oberlin College. The scholarship funds one year of tuition and books for an incoming student and is based on both academic performance and leadership potential. Luella was most recently Program Coordinator at APIA Health Forum, a national advocacy and policy organization focusing on Asian and Pacific Islander health issues in the Bay area. Congratulations to Ms. Penserga!

The incoming Board has been working diligently to provide added value to the alumni and students. We recently established an HPMAA Job Line. We have already had one event - a mixer on the first evening of classes for incoming students, the Board, and alumni at the Westwood Brewing Company. Our next event, a first-ever Tailgate Party at Homecoming (UCLA vs. Stanford) was held on November 4 th . An article on this event will be included in the next newsletter.

Please mark your calendar now and plan to attend your 2001 Leaders of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow Dinner, on Thursday, June 7, 2001. We are one of the most active and successful alumni support groups at UCLA. We couldn't do it without you!

Please, please your Board and I welcome suggestions and feedback. Please contact me, or any of your Board members, to share your views, ideas and suggestions.

The Health Policy and Management Alumni Association is fortunate to have Rosalind Essner (MPH '88) as its incoming President.  Roz, as she is commonly known, continues to be an active and loyal supporter of the Program, faculty, students and alumni. Her Board service began in 1986, when she was selected as a Student Representative. She has served continuously since then both as an At Large member and for the last couple of years as an Executive Board member.

In addition to her participation on the Board, Roz has also been active in the Student Mentor program. She has been paired with a Student each year since the program's inception in 1990.

Roz was born in Chicago and the eldest of three children. Upon graduating high school, she went to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she earned her BA in English Literature. Roz went on to perform graduate work in Library Science at the University of Chicago and she worked for ten years as a school librarian.

Roz enjoyed the sense of doing "public good" as a public school teacher, but had always wanted to pursue an MBA. Her former husband was working in the pharmaceutical industry, so Roz was aware of the changes that were occurring in healthcare in the mid 1980s. She thought that a degree in Health Services Management would allow her to combine her desire to move into the business world with her wish to do dome measure of "public good."

After graduating in 1988, she worked in Business Development for several Los Angeles area hospitals. Roz also gained managed care experience while working for FHP and as a consultant. Currently Roz is a Principal with Greater Pacific Medical Management, a boutique IPA management company that she co-founded in 1997.

Roz has two daughters. Elizabeth works for the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and Emily is a sophomore at Mount Holyoke College in S. Hadley, Massachusetts. In her spare time, Roz enjoys gourmet cooking and collecting mid-20h century furnishings.

Roz's chief goals for the year are to implement ideas that were developed last year, including the annual Board Retreat, the student/alumni mixer, and the tailgate party, and to standardize their planning so that they become regular events each year. Roz would also like to explore new areas of focus for the HPMAA's fundraising efforts, now that the student scholarship is fully funded.

HPMAAJOB_NET@hotmail.com - this is the address of your alumni association's new e-job net. Many of you have already applied for new positions or received applicant resumes for jobs advertised through this new service. The success of this service testifies to the value your alumni association is providing.

As an employer, remember to submit your open positions to this e-job net where you will find your largest distribution of qualified applicants. Already other community health care organizations are sharing their openings with us, giving our alumni a competitive advantage in this tight market for talented and skilled health care managers, planners, policy folks, and researchers.

This job service is available through the year 2000 to all graduates of the Department of Health Services. Beginning in January of 200 1, the Job Net will be a benefit for dues paying members of HPMAA. We encourage you to join your alumni association and benefit professionally and personally from the services provided. To join the Health Policy and Management Alumni Association (HPMAA), contact Michelle at (562) 423-8346 or visit our web site at http://www.ph.ucla.edu/hs.

The first American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) student chapter meeting of the 00-01 academic year was held on October 11, 2000. We are pleased to have a large and enthusiastic membership.

As Co- Presidents of the 2000-2001 UCLA student chapter of ACHE, we would like to express how honored we are to be part of this organization. This year, the ACHE student chapter has many events planned for our members including: Brown Bag lunches focusing on Health Care Topics, Networking events, a Student/Executive Forum at Cedars-Sinai Health System, case analysis sessions to improve consulting skills, professional and personal enhancement seminars, and our major yearly fundraising event - an end of the year raffle.

If you would like to come and speak to our student membership on issues in Healthcare and Management or have any suggestions for events, we welcome your expertise and advice. Contact Marcus Fong at couscous@mindspring.com.

It is somewhat unanticipated but still a privilege to return as chair of the Department after four years of outstanding leadership from Tom Rice. A significant benefit of being chair is the opportunity to work with our active and supportive HPMAA to continually improve the curriculum and professional development of our students.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Linda Rosenstock, the new Dean of our School who will be assuming her position in November. Dr. Rosenstock is currently the Director of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Dr. Rosenstock received her MD and MPH degrees from Johns Hopkins University. She was chief resident in Internal Medicine and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Washington where she became Professor of Environmental Health. In 1994, she became Director of NIOSH. During her tenure at NIOSH, the scope and budget of the Institute expanded greatly. Our Department enjoyed excellent relationships with retiring Dean Afifi and we look forward to establishing similarly productive relationships with Dean Rosenstock.

The Department full-time faculty has expanded considerably and attractively this academic year with the addition of three new, full-time assistant professors: Dr. Patricia Parkerton joins us with teaching and research interests in health services management, operations and regulation of managed health care. Pat received both her MPH and PhD in Health Services Organization and Policy from the University of Michigan. Previously, she spent 20 years as a medical administrator in both a community hospital and an academic medical center, developed an IPA model HMO, was vice president of a staff model HMO and, most recently, managed the Connecticut operations for the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan. Dr. Amardeep Thind's research interests include access to health care services in developing countries and the role of the public and private sectors in health care delivery. He is teaching courses in health systems organization and financing for the regular (day) program as well as the weekend MPH Program for Health Professionals. Amardeep received his MD degree from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi, India and his PhD in Health Services Research from UCLA. Prior to his appointment at UCLA, he was a Research Associate in the Department of Tropical Hygiene and Public Health at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Dr. Fred Hagigi's research interests are in the area of performance measurements and marketing strategies in public-private partnerships. He is teaching courses in Financial and Managerial Accounting, Financial Management of Healthcare Organizations, Process Improvement and the Field Studies Course for the MPH for Health Professionals program. Fred received his BS degrees in Finance and Industrial Engineering/Management from the University of Utah, his MBA from Texas A&M and his MPH and DrPH in Health Services Management from UCLA. He previously worked as an accountant and consultant and taught at the University of Utah Graduate School of Business.

We have a fine new entering class of some 80 students enrolled in one of our seven Masters and Doctoral Programs. A major source of support for our doctoral students is the DHHS/Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Doctoral/ Postdoctoral training grant, which will provide over $425,000 dollars this academic year in direct support of 13 trainees. The HPMAA scholarship support for our masters students is greatly appreciated (by the Department and the students) especially, because we do not have the same level of outside support for the masters programs as for the doctoral programs.

I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible this year at mentoring events, the annual Leaders of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow Dinner and where ever our paths may cross - especially at the HPMAA tailgate party for the homecoming football game with Stanford on November 4. After suffering through the Cal game, I see that the Bruins will need all the help we can give them! GO BRUINS!

Stepping down after 15 years of service as Dean of the UCLA School of Public Health, Dr. Abdelmomen Afifi passes the leadership of the School to Dr. Linda Rosenstock. Coming to UCLA after six and a half years as Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Dr. Rosenstock assumes responsibilities to propel the UCLA School of Public Health into the 2 1st Century. Dr. Rosenstock was born and raised in New York City. She earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from Brandeis University in 197 1. She studied medicine at Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her M.D. and master's degree in public health in 1977. The UCLA HPMAA looks forward ' to working with Dean Rosenstock toward a mutual goal; attain world-class reputation and status for the Department of Health Services and the School of Public Health.

In Memoriam: Dr. Joel Kovner

Joel Wyatt Kover died on 22 September 2000. Joel earned a Dr.P.H. from the Department of Health Services in the School of Public Health in 1968, specializing in Medical Care Administration and Economics. He had earned his BA degree in history from Cornell University in 194 1. From 1969 to 1982, Joel was Vice President of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Health Plan. From 1982 to 1995, he was President and CEO of First Professional Bankcorp. Using his expertise in both healthcare and finance, Joel was responsible for the overall management of this unique "health care bank" catering to the special needs of physicians and other health professionals.

From performing government audits to teaching business classes to maximum- security prisoners, Dr. Hagigi has applied his financial skills to a wide range of situations. He now brings these skills and his love of teaching to the Health Policy and Management Program as its newest faculty member, and is looking forward to working with its inspirational students and professors.

Dr. Hagigi's primary career has been providing and coordinating consulting services in accounting, finance, taxes, and operations management for companies in many different industries. In addition, he has pursued many other interesting projects over the years. For example, he participated in a U.S. Department of Energy contract to provide an Energy Audit of local manufacturing, warehouses and restaurants. He also taught small business college courses to degree candidate inmates in the State of Utah's maximum security facility. When asked why he took on these diverse challenges in such different settings, he said, "Education doesn't just happen in the academic setting, [it happens] in the work setting". Dr. Hagigi has undertaken many challenges not because they will advance his career but because he was simply curious about the circumstance or community. Dr. Hagigi is a true "poster-child of continuous learning" and wishes to impart his own "thirst for curiosity" to the students.

Despite his rich background in different industries, Dr. Hagigi has chosen to be a part of the School of Public Health for several reasons. In part, family members who are in the health care industry have influenced him. His father, a hospital administrator, and his brother, a physician, have demonstrated the impact of truly serving others within the health care industry. He also enjoys the intellectual atmosphere of the School of Public

Health, where he has found a "cooperative nature" among students and faculty unparalleled in any School of Business. He is continually inspired by faculty members who demonstrate a love of the students. Most of all, he came to extend his life a generation or two by teaching students who will hopefully remember the knowledge he imparted.

Many of us get so caught up in day-to-day business that we begin to see only short-term goals and lose sight of the true meaning of success. Often, we feel good as long as we're making money hand over fist or feel the rush of a "win". We forget that doing better business is having a heart in the community. Dr. Hagigi was reminded of this principle when his father, a well-respected member of his community, passed away. This caused Dr. Hagigi to reflect on his own life and think about how he will be remembered when his time passes. He believes that teaching is a way of serving the community by imparting skills and knowledge, and that his own life is extended through the ideas that flourish within the minds of generations to come.

Dr. Hagigi's approach to teaching is simple-teach the skills and share the insights to empower students to better understand the best way to use their talents to help others. A student, often idealistic and impressionable, can bring the energy to create change, but often he or she needs the insights that only someone who has been in the industry for many years can bring. Dr. Hagigi believes that "a teacher is supposed to be a good facilitator to provide the environment for learning". He aspires to do three things as a new member of the faculty. First, he plans to share his industry experience to help the Program and students think outside the box. Second, he would like to contribute his thoughts to improve the Program or revamp the curriculum. Finally, he hopes to build bridges between the clinicians and non-clinicians as well as between the apprentices and the experienced, enhancing the educational experience for both students and faculty.

Dr. Hagigi would like to convey this message to the alumni of the Health Management and Policy Program: "When you reflect upon your accomplishments, your greatest accomplishments are often not done by yourself, rather those are achieved through others." He believes that students bring an idealistic and visionary energy and enthusiasm to the field, and that this energy, combined with the industry experience of faculty and alumni, can lead to exciting solutions to the challenges of this rapidly changing industry

For the first time ever, the HPMAA Board of Directors participated in a Board Retreat in September at Bruin Woods on Lake Arrowhead. The purpose of the event was to provide orientation for new board members, to help us insure a smooth transition from one year to the next and to set strategic goals and plans for the next several years. Planning events of interest to our alumni membership and identifying ways to enhance the membership were two of the major topics of discussion. Your board is working very hard to plan for the next Annual Dinner and numerous other events that will provide both networking and educational opportunities to HPMAA alums during the coming year. I hope that the beauty and peacefulness of Bruin Woods also provided a thank you to a great group of your fellow alumni who work very hard to continually make HPMAA a great organization.

Robert Neal from UCLA to Kaiser Permanente
Liz Major from St. Jude's to Cedars-Sinai
Rick Kiel to Kaiser Permanente
Brenda Merz to Dept of Agricultural & Resource Economics, University of California, Davis
Jim Larson to Moreno Valley Community Hospital
Addie Hernandez to HerAssociates Inc.
Walter Rehberg to IGES-Institute/ Health & Social Research
Jim Brown from Harriman Jones to La Vida Medical Group and IPA

Our graduates have moved on and found highly rewarding positions in the exciting field of health care management and policy. Here is the most current listing of our students' whereabouts. If they are in your organization, be sure to look them up and welcome them.

Profile of the 2000-2001 Incoming Class

President
Rosalind Essner
Principal Greater Pacific Medical Management 714-901-4834 fax 714-901-3417 ressner8@aol.com

President-Elect
Thanh-Nghia Nguyen
Senior Consultant Deloitte & Touche 213-553-1633 fax 213-694-5952
thanh-nghia.nguyen.2001 @anderson.ucla.edu

Treasurer
Laura Snow
Associate Director, Planning & Development UCLA Medical Group 310-825-5471 fax 310-825-9690 Isnow@mednet.ucla.edu

Secretary
Dan Groszkruger
of Counsel (Attorney) Chapin, Flemin, McNift Shea & Carter 619-237-0956 fax 619-232-4840 DGroszkruger@chapinlaw.com

Immediate Past-President
Robert Blair
Assistant Medical Group Administrator Kaiser Permanente 909-353-4580 fax 909-353-4611 Robert. D. Blair@kp.org

Directors-at-large

Marilyn Grunzweig
President WebCVO 310-258-0430 fax 310-642-0488 marilyn@medpay.com

Lori S. R. Pelliccioni
Director of Health Care Fraud Consultant Financial Advisory Services PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 213-452-7986 fax 213-452-7820 lori.pelliccioni@us.pwcglobal.com

Mike Shead Sr.
Auditor UCLA Audit and Advisory Services 310-794-6110 fax 310-794-8536 mshead@ucla.edu

Jeff Conklin
Vice President, Inter-Community Services Citrus Valley Health Partners 626-974-0440 x222 fax 626-974-0450 jmcics@aol.com

Ira R. Alpert
President Wilshire Foundation, Inc. 805-547-7025 fax 805-547-7029 iralpert@aol.com

Elisabeth Hansen-Ramirez
Senior Contract Consultant SCPMG Affiliated Provider Services Southern Cal Permanente Medical Group 626-405.5011 fax 626-405-2599 Elisabeth.X.Hansen-Ramirez@kp.org

Richard Kiel
Division Consultant Kaiser Permanente (626) 405-5593 fax (626) 405-6356 Richard. K. Kiel@kp.org

Paula Wilkinson
Managed Care Specialist CHW, St. Vincent Medical Center (323) 436-7533 fax (213) 207-5759 pwilkinson@chw.edu

Dr. Ross Miller
Medical Director, Quality Management Cigna HealthCare ross.miller@cigna.com

Christine Dobak Rogen RN
Implementation Consultant - Care Management Kaiser Permanente Christine.d.rogen@kp.org

Dr. Michelle Bholat
UCLA School of Medicine, Dept. of Fam. Medicine 310-825-7166 mabmd@aol.com

Can you name the alumni and the graduation year of the class in this historic picture? Help us unravel the mystery. The alumnus or alumna who names the year of the graduating class and the most graduates in this picture will win a wonderful basket of UCLA Alumni accessories and paraphernalia and be recognized in our next HPMAA Newsletter. Names must be identified with specific individuals in the photograph by row and position from the left. Please send your responses to Michelle by January 15, 2001 at mtui@attbi.com or fax at (562) 423-8346.

Having served on the Board since 1996, 1 have witnessed the recent growth and gains in stature accomplished by our Alumni Association. As your incoming Secretary, I am proud to serve as an officer of such a dynamic and energetic organization. At the same time, I feel challenged by the high standards set by my predecessors, and by the many ambitious future goals set by our Board. This is an exciting time for us as individuals, for our Alumni Association, and for our healthcare industry, in general.

The year 2000 has brought many changes, and 2001 promises more of the same. As professionals in the healthcare delivery field, we must embrace and manage change, as our most demanding taskmaster, and as our constant companion. Change, of course, is inherently uncertain and intimidating. But, change can also provide a bountiful source of energy and creativity. The quotation "necessity is the mother of invention " has never been more apt than today. During my thirty years in this industry, I have never experienced a more stimulating and challenging healthcare environment, nor one offering so many and varied opportunities for the creative and ambitious.

We intend to make our HPMAA Newsletter a vehicle for helping alumni keep up with the fast-paced environment within which we all strive. We hope to build on past successes, but not to become complacent. That is, we hope to improve our Newsletter, and to make it more and more relevant and useful for our members. In order to accomplish this, we need your assistance and support. Please call me at (619) 237-0956 or e-mail your comments and suggestions to me at dgroszkruger@chapinlaw.com. I need your help to improve our Newsletter, and to ensure that your connection to our Alumni Association grows stronger.