Lori S.R. Pelliccioni
President, HSAA

Opening Notes

Lori S.R. Pelliccioni, JD, PhD, 2001, MPH 1996

It is hard to believe that our flagship event HSAA’s 2004 Leaders of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow dinner is just a few weeks away on May 27, 2004 at UCLA’s Covel Commons. As you now, we are thrilled to honor Leonard Schaeffer, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of WellPoint. Mr. Schaeffer was selected by the Board based on his considerable contributions to the health care industry, including but not limited to, his government service as the Administrator for the Health Care Financing Association under President Carter, not-for-profit service as Blue Cross of California’s President and CEO, and of course, Chairman and CEO of one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health care companies, WellPoint.

I am equally excited to announce the inaugural Ira Alpert Service Award. Our first recipient is Bob Blair, Assistant Administrator at Southern California Permanente Medical Group in Riverside County. Bob was chosen for his many years of service to our students, the Department of Health Services and the HSAA. Please read on for more details on both our honorees. >/p>

The Board is hard at work developing some long-term goals for HSAA. We are excited about establishing some strategic goals for the Association future and look forward to sharing the final product with you in a future newsletter. >/p>

I hope to see you at the Dinner on May 27 and as always we look forward to your active participation!

Warm regards, Lori

Leonard D. Schaeffer is chairman and chief executive officer of WellPoint, the nation’s second largest publicly traded health care company. WellPoint serves 15.4 million medical members and 46 million specialty members. WellPoint's revenues for the 12 months ended March 30, 2004 were $21.2 billion. WellPoint employs more than 20,000 associates in more than 90 offices throughout the country.

Under his leadership, WellPoint has been selected by FORTUNE magazine as America’s “Most Admired Health Care Company” for an unprecedented six consecutive years and named in BusinessWeek’s “BW50” ranking of top performing public companies in the S&P 500 for three consecutive years, with a rank of #3 in 2004. WellPoint has also been named by Forbes magazine as America’s best large health insurance company. Schaeffer was selected by BusinessWeek magazine as one of the “Top 25 Managers of the Year” and by Worth magazine as one of the “50 Best CEOs in America.”

WellPoint has also been named one of America’s Top Public Companies for Executive Women and was awarded the 2003 Catalyst Award for outstanding initiatives that support women's career development and advancement. Catalyst also recognizes WellPoint on its list of Women Representation on a Corporate Board. Schaeffer is particularly proud of this recognition because of his strong belief that to serve our customers well, we have to understand them. Schaeffer notes that women usually have the greatest influence over the purchase of the kind of services our company offers. So, hiring, training and promoting women makes us a better company and gives us an important advantage in understanding and serving our customers.

Schaeffer was recruited to WellPoint’s predecessor, Blue Cross of California, as President and CEO in 1986 when the not-for-profit company had revenues of $2 billion and was near bankruptcy. He managed the turnaround of Blue Cross of California, the first Blue conversion to for-profit status and the IPO creating WellPoint in 1993. During that period, Schaeffer decided to buck conventional wisdom. He reorganized the Company by market segment instead of around product as other health plans did. By organizing around an identifiable segment of the market—individual and small groups, and large groups—the Company is able to create products and deliver services that meet the needs of the people in that segment. Since 1993, WellPoint’s medical membership has grown from 2.3 million to 15.4 million. WellPoint has also made 17 acquisitions totaling over $4 billion in value while its market capitalization has grown to over $18 billion.

In 1996, Schaeffer led the recapitalization of WellPoint, which also created America’s sixth largest philanthropy with an endowment of more than $4 billion. WellPoint subsequently increased the value of The Missouri Foundation for Health to nearly $1 billion, endowed a Georgia-based independent charitable foundation with more than $100 million and increased the value of the Wisconsin United for Health Foundation by approximately $500 million. The company also contributed over $120 million to the WellPoint Foundation which Schaeffer chairs. WellPoint’s commitment to social responsibility goes beyond philanthropy. It is an integral part of business practices at every level of the Company and is deeply imbedded in WellPoint’s corporate culture. By aligning WellPoint’s social investment goals with business objectives, WellPoint puts the full weight of the Company to work finding lasting solutions to the social issues we understand best—health care quality, affordability and accessibility. WellPoint’s initiatives include efforts to improve health, expand coverage, and encourage systemic change. WellPoint has developed a “Healthy Habits” nutrition guide for parents of overweight children and patient counseling toolkit for physicians; established “The Last Cigarette” smoking cessation program; launched the Physician Technology & Quality Initiative aimed at helping our network physicians participate in the electronic medical community; and is planning to introduce two programs to increase enrollment of eligible families into Medicaid and S-CHIP. In the federal government, Schaeffer served as the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget of the Department of Health and Human Services and as Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). As the first administrator of HCFA (now the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services), Schaeffer successfully combined the financing systems for Medicare and Medicaid. Previously, Schaeffer was Director of the Bureau of the Budget for the State of Illinois and also served as Chairman of the Illinois Capital Development Board and as Deputy Director for Management, Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Almost 40 years ago, as the first graduates of the department, Ira Alpert and another individual tenaciously achieved their goal of creating the department's alumni association despite the indifference and lack of support from UCLA. Through vision and perseverance, Ira Alpert did more than most to establish and strengthen today's Health Services Alumni Association, currently more than 1000 members strong. It is for this very reason that the HSAA wishes to honor Ira's effort and contribution by granting the Ira Alpert Service Award to an individual who has, in his or her own unique way, taken the time to help sustain, grow and broaden the leadership role of the Association.

To Ira, the Association was the means to ensure that the Department endured over time. Ira and all the Department's alumni have a vested interest in the continuation of their graduate program, in the maintenance of its high quality standards, and in the accomplishments of its renowned faculty. Alumni continue to be interested in stimulating interest in the program from prospective students and in ensuring that the achievements of its alumni and the Department are recognized.

The origins of this award date to the HSAA 30th anniversary in 1992, when Ira Alpert was given the first Health Services Management Service Award to recognize his vision and long term commitment to the Health Services Alumni Association and to serving to improve and support the Department of Health Services, the School of Public Health and the UCLA Foundation. In receiving this original award, Ira set an example difficult to emulate. Today, Ira continues these activities by:

1. Guaranteeing that the Association maintains the highest level of standards. In accomplishing this, Ira held every one of the Association's elected officer roles and continues to serve as an active Board member to this day;
2. Serving the School of Public Health as Chair of the Dean's Council and continuing to assist and support those in this role. Ira also served on the Dean's Advisory Board for many years.
3. Being involved in the UCLA Foundation Board for more than 20 years, serving on multiple Boards of the Foundation and continuously support fund raising efforts on behalf of UCLA. This year, he was re-elected to serve another three year term on the UCLA Foundation Board of Directors.

This year, the HSAA will honor a fellow Alumnus, Bob Blair, as an individual who embodies the qualities and characteristics for which Ira was originally honored. This year, we are inaugurating the Ira Alpert Service Award to recognize an individual, who makes such a commitment of service and loyalty to the Health Services Alumni Association, to the Department of Health Services, to UCLA and/or the field of health services. Please read on about our first Ira Alpert Service Award recipient, Mr. Bob Blair.

For his unconditional support, we will recognize Bob Blair at the Dinner on May 27th as the first recipient to be recognized for service to the Alumni Association, to the Health Services Program, and to UCLA since Ira Alpert received the Service award in 1995.

Diana Hilberman, director MPH Program touts why Bob was selected:

"Bob has always been an avid supporter of the program. He has been an internship preceptor, an alumni mentor, a guest speaker, and through the executive officer ranks in the alumni association. Whenever I need anything, he is there to help and support us, whether it is with his time, his leadership or his financial contributions. It is not uncommon for him to drive 2 hours from Riverside in horrendous traffic to show up after work for a two hour session with the students. In the final analysis, for us it is about the students, and Bob is all about doing what is best for the students and the program."

Bob Blair is an assistant administrator in operations for Southern California Permanente Medical Group in Riverside County. Bob came to Kaiser Permanente in 1987 where he began his career in Health Administration as Director of Finance at Kaiser’s Bellflower Hospital. Bob is a Medical laboratory Scientist by background, and prior to that worked in a variety of health care professions.

Bob has been actively involved with a number of community organizations. Bob most recently served as scoutmaster for over 10 years with Boy Scouts of America and Vice President of Production for Riverside Childrens’ Theatre. Bob is a past Board Director of the Downey Chamber of Commerce. He resides with his wife and four boys in the City of Corona. Bob earned his BA degree in 1986 in Medical Technology from the University of Utah and his Master’s in Public Health from UCLA in 1988. Please join us in congratulating our friend and colleague, Bob Blair!

It’s Not Too Late to Renew your 2003-2004 Membership!

Membership is free for students!
Purpose of HSAA

The HSAA is open to all Alumni of the Department of Health Services. The Association is active in Department programs and in planning educational and networking events. We actively reach out to our alumni in all sectors of the health care industry. The result is a valuable integrated body of health care professionals who span the entire industry and provide incredible expertise and support to our program and Department of Health Services. The value of our Alumni Association is that it creates synergy among our diverse group of alumni.

One major initiative of the HSAA is to support the UCLA Great Futures Fund Raising Campaign to support an endowment for student scholarships and other program support. Our annual Spring Dinner, “Leaders of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow”, supports the campaign by honoring an alumni or industry leader.

We extend you an invitation to become part of this dynamic and influential group. Please complete a membership application and send it in today!

Benefits of Membership

• Rich networking opportunities with Alumni and other industry leaders
• Reduction in fees to HSAA-sponsored events
• The HSAA Journal which informs about the current state of our organization, our Department and provide profiles of key Alumni and faculty members
• Access to our membership directory; an invaluable resource of networking and contact with other peer professionals
• The Association offers Alumni a variety of opportunities to interact and share their experiences with students and faculty from the Department of Health Services
• Access to the HSAA e-job bank

Annual Dues

• Inside Southern California (Santa Barbara County south): $75
• Outside Southern California: $25
• First three years post-graduation: $25
• Health Services masters and doctoral students: Free with submission of application

Remembering the 2003 Annual Leaders of Today… Leaders of Tomorrow Dinner

Avram Kaplan, 2003 Dinner Chair fondly recalls how the UCLA HSAA and over 300 guests became keenly aware of the influential activities of Carl I. Weissburg, Esq., the 2003 Leaders of Today… Leaders of Tomorrow Dinner Honoree. Carl's speech was like reading pages from California and Federal health care law books, with one action more superlative than the last. We are grateful that Mr. Weissburg chose to invest his time and energy into health care law and advocacy. We are proud that he has taken such an exuberant interest in the UCLA Department of Health Services. Among his many contributions, of special note are his law firm’s two annual Foley & Lardner student scholarships. The evening’s success was capped by the $28,000 in proceeds that benefit our Department and students.

Alumni Spotlight:
Mildred Goeke Sterz, RN, MPH HP ’01 and 2004 Dinner Chair

By Pavani Guntur, 2nd Yr MPH Student

Mildred Goeke Sterz who is better known as Millie by her friends and colleagues is a woman who wears many different hats. She is a nurse, a research coordinator, a HSAA committee chair, a wife, a mother, a sister, and a friend to all.

Millie is a native of New Jersey who moved to southern California relatively early in her life. Her husband is in private medical practice and she has two sons who both live in California. As the eldest of eight children Millie is still able to keep in close contact with her siblings.

Millie’s involvement with UCLA began close to three decades ago. After obtaining a diploma in nursing from Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital School of Nursing in Camden, New Jersey, Millie began working as a critical care nurse in New Jersey and even shortly after moving to southern California. When Millie’s husband began medical school and they had their first son, Millie decided to look for a job at an outpatient facility so that she could focus more time and energy on her family. Millie’s experiences at UCLA began as an Outpatient Surgical Nurse which gave her insight into how patients transitioned from a critical state back into society. She continued her clinical work at UCLA in the Division of Surgical Oncology before moving to the Division of Neurosurgery. Assuming the position of Senior Supervising Nurse Coordinator at the Division of Rheumatology gave Millie more administrative responsibilities which led to her interest in health care management. While working part-time, Millie enrolled in the MPH Program at UCLA with a concentration in Health Services. Six months before graduating from the program Millie assumed her current position as a National Coordinator of the Scleroderma Lung study in the Departments of Medicine and Mathematics. After being able to secure funding from the National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute and coordinate the participation of eleven medical centers across the country, Millie has ensured the success of phase I of the study which is expected to commence in January 2006. Her efforts in Scleroderma research will be recognized in November for she is the inaugural recipient for the Scleroderma Foundation Janie Benner Spirit Award. Millie hopes to move into a more global effort regarding clinical research in the future.

Beyond her professional work, Millie is actively involved in a number of organizations and activities. As a board member of HSAA, Millie has spent a tremendous amount of time successfully planning the Leaders of Tomorrow dinner for two years. Although she wishes she could spend more time doing community service work, Millie has definitely been active in giving back to the community. She was a member of the steering committee for the Hollywood Multipurpose Senior Center, and an ALSC representative for the City of Los Angeles Council on Aging, just to name a few. Mille also started taking golf lessons after graduating from the MPH program and hopes to get more actively involved with women’s golf groups.

For those of you who personally know Millie, you will probably agree that she is one of the most vibrant and charming people at UCLA. Her ability to interact and really relate to everyone around her is a gift that many people are not lucky enough to possess. Her level of passion for Scleroderma research and coordinating research teams from across the country is something that everyone hopes they will find in their professional lives. Her patience and creativity in planning the Leaders of Tomorrow Dinner are attributes that often cannot be acquired. Millie’s positive energy and hard work make her invaluable to the UCLA community, the global health industry, and everyone who is lucky enough to know her.

Faculty Spotlight: Lester Breslow, MD, MPH, ScD (hon.)

By Derek Lowe, 2nd Yr MPH Student

Dr. Lester Breslow, Professor Emeritus of Health Services and Dean Emeritus, delivered for the first time the speech named in his honor to celebrate of the 30th Annual Lester Breslow Distinguished Lecture this past April. The inspiring evening opened with a touching video tribute to honored speaker followed by his keynote address, “The Third Revolution in Health.” In contrast to the first revolution against communicable diseases and the second against non-communicable, chronic illnesses, Dr. Breslow described this revolution according to the WHO definition in the 1986 Ottawa Charter as a "resource for every day life…a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources as well as physical capabilities” and “not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.” Dr. Breslow perceives this notion of health as the third revolution due to its broad-based recognition among health care professionals and organized public health as a whole. Furthermore, it is the measurement of health and the tracking of further progress in health in this next era that is the focus of his current work. Nonetheless, “Mr. Public Health,” as Dr. Breslow is often affectionately referred to in the profession, is currently active as a professor emeritus in Health Services and as a member of UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. He also currently sits on the five-member Commission on Public Health for LA County and serves on the State Medicine/Public Health Committee.

A one-page summary does not do justice to Dr. Breslow’s lifetime of contributions to the field of Public Health. A pioneer of modern thinking about public health, he accomplished much of his greatest work during the 22 years of leadership and public service with the California Department of Public Health. During this time, Dr. Breslow successfully lobbied for the establishment of a state tumor registry and later provided evidence to US Surgeon General’s landmark 1964 report linking smoking to cancer. Among many of his career highlights was having established the first chronic disease program in 1946, which addressed the second revolution in health against non-communicable diseases. It was also during his tenure in the 1960s when his milestone studies culminated in the dissemination of “Seven Healthy Habits,” which asserted simple lifestyle habits that could significantly extend and enhance life. In 1968, Dr. Breslow began his affiliation with UCLA as a professor, and in 1972 he became Dean of the School of Public Health.

Professor Breslow’s leadership has spanned many of the most prestigious and respected public health organizations. To name a few, he is founding editor of the Annual Review of Public Health, editor in chief the Encyclopedia of Public Health, a member of the Institute of Medicine, a former president of the International Epidemiology Association, former President of the American Public Health Association, and former president of the Association of Schools of Public Health.

In addition to his lifelong crusade to promote healthy living, Dr. Breslow is a loving, nurturing great grandfather of two. He has been an avid gardener for over 20 years, and together with his wife walk 2.5 miles, five days a week. Dr. Breslow’s leadership has helped set the course for modern thinking about health and continues to be a role model for others in public health.

Department Notes

Diana Hilberman, DrPH, ’98 HSAA Faculty Liaison
Director, MPH Program

This has been a very busy year for the Department, and as the academic years draws to a close, here is a brief review of some of the major activities we've done. Our new Chair, Dr. Robert Kaplan, will be officially joining the faculty in September, 2004. Dr. Kaplan, whose doctoral degree is in the field of psychology, is a highly regarded administrator and researcher. He is currently the Chair of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at UCSD Medical School where he is responsible for over 700 employees on both the academic side and the physician practice side. Dr. Kaplan will be in Los Angeles and joining us for the annual Leaders' Dinner on May 27th. We hope that you will all come by, introduce yourselves, and welcome him to our Department and Program

Toni Yancey, MD, MPH is also a new addition to our faculty. She has joined the faculty as an Associate Professor with tenure. Dr. Yancey is the Director of the Dr.PH program and spearheaded the changes to our program noted below. Dr. Yancey's areas of expertise focus on disparities in health delivery as well as obesity in children and minority populations.

Dr. Patti Ganz received a Distinguished UCLA Alumni Association Award for Professional Achievement. Even as I write this, her picture highlights the UCLA home page at . Please see the article elsewhere in this issue.

As a result of our 8-year academic senate review last year, we spent much time reviewing and revising two of our programs. The DrPH Program was strengthened and more emphasis was given to core curriculum directed toward leadership in public health and health care management practice. A new DrPH seminar was created specifically to address the career goals of those with a leadership and practice orientation.

The academic senate review also strongly recommended that we expand our MPH policy track to have a more national perspective rather than a regional or local one. The MPH Policy track now features a three course series consisting of American Political Institutions and Health Policy, Politics of Health, and Health Policy Analysis. In addition, we have reached out to our contacts in Washington DC to expand the summer internship opportunities for students interested in policy. In Summer of 2003, four of our students spent the summer in Washington. This year, we again will have several students. If any of our alumni have policy or management contacts in Washington, DC that might be developed into summer internship opportunities, we would love to hear about them.

Finally, as you will have read elsewhere in this journal issue, our Alumni Association honoree for the 2004 Leaders of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow Dinner is Leonard Schaeffer, President and CEO or Wellpoint Health Networks, Inc. We are thrilled to have such a distinguished leader in the field be our honoree this year. Mr. Schaeffer is an outstanding and highly regarded speaker and his keynote presentation will top off our wonderful evening. We hope you will be there to celebrate his achievements and to hear him speak.

I was delighted to hear that the Alumni Association has chosen to honor Bob Blair as its recipient of the 2004 Ira Alpert Services Award. Our Department is thrilled. Bob, our heartiest congratulations to you on this wonderful achievement. You have been a true friend to the Department and to the students.

Update: Adrienne Sweet 2003 HSAA Scholarship Awardee

The 2003 HPMAA (now HSAA) Scholarship recipient, Adrienne Sweet, has been having a great time in the program. Expanding her horizons, she was admitted to the Anderson School and begins the concurrent program and her goal of a joint MPH/MBA in the Fall of 2004. Adrienne has been working part-time with the Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting firm in Westwood (Richard ’77, Greg ’01), and will continue there for her summer internship. She says

“Things are going really well, and the year seems to fly by! I keep very busy learning about health care management, and applying the concepts I've learned in class at my part-time job at Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting. The HSAA has been extremely supportive and helpful throughout the year, and I (along with my classmates!) truly appreciate all the time, support, mentorship, and helpful advice the alumni enthusiastically devote to the program.”

Kudos: Dr. Patti Ganz

Kudos to Dr. Patti Ganz, who has been awarded a 2004 UCLA Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement. Dr. Ganz is a pioneer in the study of quality of life for cancer survivors, quality of care for cancer patients and cancer prevention. Patti is the founding Director of UCLA’s Family Cancer Registry, where individuals with genetic and family predispositions can enroll and have access to testing and updates on prevention trials. She is also Director of the Division of Cancer Control and Prevention of the Jonsson Cancer Center here at UCLA. In addition to this award, Patti has received numerous recognitions of her contributions to cancer prevention research including being one of eight people nationwide to hold the American Cancer Society clinical research professorship, the Komen Foundation’s first Professorship of Survivorship, the American Cancer Society Professor of Clinical Research Award and the Avon Breast Cancer Leadership Award. (Modified from the UCLA Home Page www.ucla.edu, 4/28/04).

Dr. Ganz is an integral part of the Department of Health Services. She is currently Chair of our Finance Committee and was previously Co-Chair of the Department. She teaches courses in quality and variations of care. Congratulations, Patti! You done good.

Health Services Student Alumni Mentor Program Turns 15

The 2003-2004 Student- Alumni Mentor Program had its 15th birthday this academic year. We are really pleased that it has been so successful. This year, we have 15 matched alumni-student pairs, one for each year of its history. The mentor program now includes many graduates from all of our programs that return to mentor younger students. We have doctoral graduates, MPH HP graduates and one and two year MPH grads. Our three doctoral graduates who are mentoring this year’s class are Frank Matricardi, Bruce Davidson and Kevin Heslin. This year’s alumni who are graduates of the concurrent MPH/MBA program are Dorothy Seleski and Nancy Monk. In addition, alumni from our Executive Program, such as Ross Miller and Navid Rastein, have also joined the program as mentors to our two-year entry students. Welcome to first time mentor, Neal Kaufman. We have a wonderful mix or PhD., MD, MPH, and MBAs.

ACHE Student Chapter Notes

By: Jessica Louie and Janet Wang, UCLA ACHE Co-Presidents

As we reflect on our experiences over the past academic year, we realize that much has been accomplished in a short amount of time. Committed to the goals of sponsoring and organizing student career development, education and training, community service, social activities, and leadership development in the field of health care management, it has truly been a successful and busy year for our organization and student members.

Winter quarter 2004 began with a student mixer for second year mentors and their first year mentees at Q’s Bar in Westwood. A summer internship information panel was coordinated for first year health services students, in order to gain perspectives from second year students about their recent summer experience. In February, our organization sponsored a Brown Bag session with fellow alum Dr. Ross Miller, director of the LA Free Clinic, to share with students his experiences of pursuing a career in public health. Our community service team coordinated a group of student volunteers to help out at the Breesee Foundation children’s fingerprinting event at a local elementary school. Finally rounding out the end of winter quarter ACHE co-sponsored and coordinated a highly engaging and popular Student Executive Forum at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Students participated in lively discussions with the CEO, and line managers and lead administrators at the hospital.

This quarter has proved to be just as busy to say the least! In early April, our second Student Executive Forum was held at Cedars Sinai Healthcare System and sponsored by the Business Development office. This was a unique experience for students because part of their day was focused on the application of a simulated case study at Cedars. In what has become an annual tradition and collaboration, ACHE is collaborated with The Healthcare Collaborative to host the third annual, "Your Healthcare Career is a Marathon: How to Win," which featured a panel of highly seasoned experts in the industry: Bill Noce, Jeanne Flores, Dennis Petterson, and Annette Walker.

Some of our upcoming events include: volunteering at Breesee Foundation fingerprinting event, sponsoring a team for UCLA’s first annual “Relay for Life,” benefiting the American Cancer Society, and coordinating a public health outreach event for undergraduate students considering the pursuit of a career in health care.

We realize that a great majority of the events and programs that our organization has sponsored could not have been accomplished without the active support of the Health Services Alumni Association (HSAA) and thank them for their generous and consistent support of our student endeavors. We also recognize the dedicated leadership and motivation of our fellow officers and members in pursuing and accomplishing, with vigor, the vision and goals of the ACHE student chapter. Finally, we want to recognize the “spirit” behind our organization, our faculty advisor, Dr. Diana Hilberman.

ACHE Day on the Job
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles By Katie Wood, 2nd Yr MPH Student

By Katie Wood, 2nd Yr MPH Student

On Friday, February 29, 2003, the UCLA ACHE Student Chapter held its first “Day on the Job” for the 2003-2004 school year at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in Hollywood. The event was coordinated by Julie Croner, Administrator for the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, in conjunction with Katie Wood, the Center’s Summer Intern and ACHE VP Programming.

Ten speakers with both clinical and administrative backgrounds spoke about both management and policy issues within a hospital setting. Several health services alumni spoke at the event, including Bill Noce, CEO, Julie Croner, Administrator, Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, Krisianna Lee, and Mae Fay Yeh. These speakers covered a variety of topics, some of which included: career paths and goals, “real world application of an MPH degree”, strategic planning, financial planning, unique issues facing a children’s hospital, and “doctoring in today’s Health care market.”

The twenty five first and second year health services students who attended found the event to be very informative and valuable to their career building processes. Positive feedback from Helene Smith, a first year health services student said it best when she replied “the visit to Children's [was] such an amazing experience. We got to see a really positive integration of a staff working together for a common goal, to provide care for children in need. Most impressive, however, was the quality and prominence of the speakers. It was really reinforced that the material we are studying and the career path we are following is a valued and important one.” The Day on the Job at CHLA was a wonderful event and a great way to kick off future career days, including the one at Cedars-Sinai Health System in April.

Cedars-Sinai Health System Hosts Executive Career Day

By Janet Wang, 2nd Yr MPH Student

On April 14, 2004 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center hosted an Executive Career Day for over twenty UCLA students from the School of Public Health and several students from the Health Administration Program at USC . The event was organized by Cedars-Sinai and UCLA’s student ACHE chapter. In the morning the students listened and interacted with top executive at Cedars-Sinai. The executives discussed the current healthcare industry, their job positions, the organization and mission of Cedars-Sinai, and gave career advice. During lunch the students had the opportunity to eat lunch with executives, UCLA alumni, and staff from various departments. The day wrapped up with a case study.

Tom Gordon, CEO of Medical Delivery Network, started the day outlining five key aspects of management: leadership, staffing, organizing, planning, and control. He also emphasized the importance of building relationships. Mark Gavens, the COO Vice President for Clinical Operations, discussed the importance of understanding an organization's structure and behavior. Dr. Neil Romanoff, Vice President for Medical Affairs, pointed out the current and future issues of health care which include: patient safety, IOM work, monetary resources, and changing physician and nursing roles. Richard Jacobs, Senior Vice President for System Development, listed more healthcare issues: the uninsured, access, influence of unions, emergency care and the breakdown of the financial structure. Tom Priselac, President and CEO, gave career advice to the students. He encouraged them to build a network, follow their hearts, and to find mentors. Priselec also emphasized the importance of education. Dr. Linda Procci, Vice President for Medicine and Surgery, talked about the importance of finding time for people. She believes that every second a manager spends with other people are key to successful management and relationship building. The overall theme of all the speakers was the importance of relationships.

During lunch, students sat and ate with executives and staff members from various departments at Cedars-Sinai. Students and Cedars-Sinai employees discussed careers, the healthcare industry, and exchanged advice. One important theme that came out of these sessions was to "be flexible!"

The day concluded with a hospital case study on the Institute for Spinal Disorders. The students learned about Cedars-Sinai’s business development process, which includes business plans, cost-benefit analysis, program reviews, and strategic planning. The students were also walked through the four phases of business development: proposal scoping, plan development, review and approval, and implementation.

The UCLA ACHE chapter has an Executive Career Day three times a year. If your organization is interested in hosting a day on the job or career day, please contact Diana Hilberman, director MPH Program at 310-206-6322.

Alumni Notes: Second Careers

By Captain David Anderson, MPH ‘67

From Naples, Italy to downtown Washington, D.C., Captain David Anderson, USN had over 26 exciting years in the Medical Service Corps of the Navy. Dave came into the Navy almost right out UCLA's MPH program in 1968. In 1994 at the ripe old age of 52, he retired as a Captain having served two overseas tours, one hospital ship and 5 stateside locations. Dave returned to Eugene, Oregon with his wife Carol to build their dream home and put down some roots. However, by the end of 1995, having built the new house and put in the yard and fence, Dave was anxious to find a "real" job again. He soon found out that the local hospital was downsizing the hospital administration staff. However, they did offer Dave a job as an Assistant to the Director of the Research Department. The job was not very hard in terms of what Dave had done in the Navy over the years, but his boss appreciated Dave's willingness to accomplish the work and take on any assignments given. Over the next year or so, Dave developed a friendship with a man who worked for SmithKlineBeecham (SKB) Pharmaceuticals. This gentleman was assigned to monitor SKB's clinical drug research projects at the Research Department where Dave worked. In July of 1997, a temporary position as a Clinical Research Assistant opened up at SKB. Dave was hired. Several years ago, SKB merged with Glaxo-Wellcome and a new company named GlaxoSmithKline was born. Dave is now one of the Senior Clinical Research Associates assigned to monitor clinical drug research projects for the company. Dave feels that there really is life after that first career, but like most things in life, its some good luck, some hard work and some fortunate networking that generally gets you to the end result.

Note: Dave is a 1967 graduate of the MPH program at UCLA, a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Certified Clinical Research Associate in the Association of Clinical Research Professionals.

Alumns on the Move

Sharon A. Ashley MD is Associate Dean for GME; Chief, Pediatric Anesthesiology at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science

Richard Barfield is Territory Manager at Ameripath Inc

Elaine Batchlor MD is Chief Medical Officer at LA Care Health Plan

Michelle Leigh Datwyler is Project Manager, Strategic Development at CalOptima

Diana Hilberman, DrPH Assistant to Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health Services, School of Public Health.

Ramogi Huma is Chairman at The Collegiate Athletes Coalition

Harold R. Hunter is Visiting Professor at Georgetown University

Janice Janek is Director of Partnerships at Health Technology Center

Paula Kirchner is Network Manager at Blue Shield of California.

Ned Laubacher is Regional Vice President at Alliance Imaging, Inc.

Jung Lee is at DaVita

Ariel Linden DrPH, MS is President at Linden Consulting Group

Richard Lipeles is at Heritage Provider Network

Joseph Marichalar is Financial Consultant, National Contracting and Purchasing Department at Kaiser Permanente

Denise Mathes RN is Clinical Program Manager at Guilford Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Joshua J. Ofman MD is Head of US Health Economics & Outcomes Research at Amgen, Inc.

Margaret Patricelli is a Consultant

Tracey Pham is Disease Management Analyst at Universal Care, Disease Management Dept

Anthony Rodgers is Director at Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System

Cheryl Rudy is Study Coordinator, Birth and Infant Health Registry, DoD Center for Deployment Health Research at Naval Health Research Center

Elizabeth Major Shelor is Administrator at Southern California Reproductive Center

Gustavo Valdespino is President & CEO at St. Vincent Medical Center

Catharina Wong is Manager, Disease Management at Universal Care

Marc Allen Wynne is Director, Sales, Marketing and Product Development at Healthcare Group of Arizona

Missing Alums - Do you know
where they are now?

	Jane  Aftorra RN		Barbara Flack
	GY 1974		GY 1994
	Martha Coupe Alben		Yvonne Flores
	GY 1984 MPH		GY 1995 MPH
	John C. Bartlett		Kenneth Teh-Hui Fong
	GY 1982		GY 1997
	Bryan Brekenridge		Maria Del Carmen Gonzalez
	GY 1970		GY 1992 MPH
	Rus  Billimoria MD		Robert C. Gordon
	GY 1990 MPH		GY 1975 MPH
	Bruce  Binder		Andrew Guy
	GY 1972		GY 1965
	Bonnie  Birnbaum DrPH		David Haley
	GY 1972 DrPH		GY 1971
	Harry  Boyett		Mamoudou Harona MD
	GY 1969		GY 1997
	Diane Miller- Brazas		Rosemarie M. Jackson
	GY 1980		GY 1991 MPH
	Susan L. Brown		Michael Kalonick
	GY 1991 MPH		GY 1996 MPH
	Cynthia  Campbell		Debra L. Kellog
	GY 1997 MPH		GY 1979
	Quan Vinh Doan		Cecilia Kennedy
	2003 MSHS		GY 1971
	Benjamin Cantler		John Klover PhD
	GY 1964		GY 1962
	Bjorn J. Carlen		Robyn Sato Kyomi
	GY 1977		GY 1977
	Tracy  Chang		Carey Lee
	GY 1996 MPH		GY 1984
	Marcella  Chang		Karl A. Lorenz
	GY 1996		GY 2001 MSHS
	Saima I. Chaudry		Meredith Manning
	GY 2001 MSHS		GY 1990
	Maria  Chen		Kimbelry J. Jinnette
	GY 1992 MPH		GY 1990 MPH
	Cammy  Chen		Dean Morris DrPH
	GY 1999 MPH		GY 1989 DrPH
	Baljinder K. Chohan		Kyle Murphy
	GY 1991 MPH		GY 1992 MPH
	Vicki  Clevenger		Andrew S. Myers
	GY 1998 MPH		GY 1978
	Dan  Cole MD		Fabiola De A Nunez
	GY 1997 MPH HP		GY 1973
	Que Hansen		Ernesto O. Parra MD
	1964 MPH		GY 1990
	Mary  Cotti		Heather Pierce
	GY 1992 MPH		GY 1996 MPH
	Donald J. Elggren		Dana Lynn Pitts
	GY 1970		GY 1993 MPH
	John Hutchins		Barbara Reinsvold
	GY 1970		GY 1986
	Erik Orlando Fernandez		Ronald L. Sackett
	GY 2000 MPH		GY 1972 MPH
	Tena  Fikru		Don A. Saroff MD, MSHS
	GY 1969		GY 2000 MSHS
	Neil  Sawyers		Edward G. Schroeder
	GY 1968 MPH		GY 1968
	Leah Lachoff Silbert		Seung-Ouk Kim
	GY 1994 MPH		GY 2003 MPH
	Laura  Targownik		leana Vargas Umana
	GY 2003 MSHS		GY 1993
	Lydia Judith Vaias MD		David Jakway
	GY 2000 MPH		GY 1983
	Steven  Volla		Alvin Walker
	GY 1970		GY 1966
	Keith W. Walley		Bruce A. Walter MD
	GY 1978		GY 1962
	Andrette I. Ward		Angela Kuo
	GY 1999 MPH		GY 2003 MPH
	John Leighton		Chrizil Mangaliag
	GY 19979 MPH		GY 2003 MPH
	Larry Nanney		Kathleen Nitta
	GY 1970 MPH		GY 1971 MSHS
	John Relic		Carol Anne Roeloff, MD
	GY 1983 MPH		GY 2002 MSHS
	Kenneth Rogers		Kelly Rowell
	GY 1996 MSHS		GY 1985
	Daniel Ruben, MD		Christopher Saigal
	GY 19979 MPH		GY 2001 MPH
	Natalie Sanders, MD		Neal Sawyers
	GY 1995 MPH		GY 1968
	Janet Pagan Sutton, PhD		Laura Targownik
	GY 1989 MS		GY 2003 MSHS
	Deborah Rickerl Varner		Stephen Wall
	GY 1987 MPH		GY 2003 MSHS
	Jane Chan
	GY 1979

If you can help - please email phone number, email or address to mtui@comcast.net or fax to (909) 272-8101, or US mail to 1348 Radcliffe Circle, Corona, CA 92881. Thank you!!!

2003-2004 Board of Directors

President
Lori S. R. Pelliccioni
VP and Chief Compliance Officer
DaVita, Inc.
310/750-2236
lpelliccioni@davita.com

President-Elect
David Krasnow
Managing Director
Vista Health Care Group
310/276-5333      
drkrasnow@yahoo.com

Treasurer
Susan Klein
Benefits Manager 
American Golf Corporation
310/664-4085
sklein@americangolf.com

Secretary
Ayako Utsumi
Manager, Business Development
Cedars-Sinai Health System
310/423-3243
utsumia@cshs.org

Immediate Past-President
Dan Groszkruger
of Counsel (Attorney)
DiCaro, Coppo & Popcke, Attorneys at Law
760/918-0500  
dgroszkruger@dnclifeplan.com

Faculty Liason
Diana Hilberman DrPH
Director/Program in Health Policy & Management 
UCLA School of Public Health Department of Health Services
310/206-6322
hilberma@ucla.edu

Tom Rice, PhD
Chair, UCLA School of Public Health DHS
trice@ucla.edu

Directors-at-large

Directors-at-large
Ira R. Alpert
President
Wilshire Foundation, Inc.
805/547-7025 
ialpert@arrival.net

Julie Croner
Administrator, Cancer Center
Childrens Hospital, Los Angeles
323/669-5653 
JCRONER@chla.usc.edu

Avram Kaplan
Executive Director
Saddleback Physician Services
949/452-3103	
akaplan@memorialcare.org

Jeanne Flores
Senior Vice President of Human Resources
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
626/301-8206 
floresjr@cshs.org

Joon Lee
Assistant Director, Internal Audit
QTC Management, Inc.
909/859-2166 
jlee@qtcm.com
	
Dr. Ross Miller
Chief Medical Officer
Los Angeles Free Clinic
323/330-1669
rmiller@lafreeclinic.org

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

Mildred Goeke Sterz, RN
Project Manager
UCLA Dept of Medicine & Biomathematics
310/825-7425 
msterz@mednet.ucla.edu

Mark Wittman
Managing Director
COLDWATER ASSOCIATES, LLC
310/423-5841
mwittman3@aol.com

Greg Zeisler      
Project Manager II
Southern California Permanente Medical Group
626/405-7965      
Greg.L.Zeisler@kp.org

Student Representative
Student Representatives
Jessica Louie, jess@ucla.edu
Jane Wang, Jwang888@aol.com

Administrative Support
Administrative Support
Michelle Tuimaualuga, 909-272-8101
mtui@comcast.net

UCLA Foundation Liason
UCLA Foundation Liaison 
Susan Kanowith-Klein
skklein@support.ucla.edu

Closing Notes

By Secretary, Ayako Utsumi, MPH 1995

I hope you have enjoyed reading about our 2004 Dinner Honoree Leonard Schaeffer and the inaugural Ira Alpert Service Award Recipient Bob Blair! Among our other featured celebrities Millie Sterz, 2004 dinner chair, Dr. Lester Breslow, our students, our scholarship awardee, Dr. Patti Ganz and the many progressive activities of our department, you can see that each year we continually raise the bar of excellence for our school, our association and the greater healthcare community.

I’d like to thank all the contributing writers to this edition of The Journal: Diana Hilberman, Joon Lee, Jessica Louie, Janet Wang, Lori Pelliccioni, Greg Zeisler, Pavani Guntur, Derek Lowe and Katie Wood. Last but not least, many thanks to Michelle Tuimaualuga who keeps us all organized and coordinated!

In future editions of The Journal please look for:

• A special summer edition so we can wax poetically about the 2004 Leaders of Today… Leaders of Tomorrow Dinner and the wonderful 2003-2004 year.
• Greater membership value! Look for more ways to be involved with fellow alumni, the UCLA SPH Department of Health Services, students and the healthcare community.
• Look what we’ve done! We’d like to bring you updates on our past accomplishments for a walk down memory lane!

Any comments or suggestions for improvement for The Journal, please do not hesitate of contact me or any one of the Board of Directors listed on the previous page.