Jefferson to Establish New School of Health Policy and Population Health
Robert
L. Barchi, M.D., Ph.D., President of Thomas Jefferson University
announced today the establishment of the Jefferson School of Health
Policy and Population Health (JSHPPH), which will begin enrolling
students for September 2009. David B. Nash, M.D., M.B.A., chair of the
Department of Health Policy at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas
Jefferson University, and a recognized national leader in this field,
will serve as the School’s founding dean. The interdisciplinary
curriculum design of the new School allows medical, nursing and allied
health students to take classes together to help them better prepare
for and understand areas of health policy, population health and
healthcare quality and safety. Recent college graduates and working
professionals will also benefit from the innovative curriculum.
Classes will be offered both online and in a traditional classroom
format.
“The
establishment of this new School builds on existing Jefferson strengths
in health policy and population health, and provides a venue for this
expertise that is recognized nationally and internationally,” says Dr.
Barchi. “It reaffirms Jefferson’s position as a leading, innovative
academic health center. It’s the right program at the right time.”
“The
need to address the healthcare crisis in the United States – its
quality, safety, affordability and accessibility, is incontrovertible,”
says Dr. Nash, who also serves as the Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N.
Grandon Professor of Health Policy. “It is no longer possible to
prepare high-quality healthcare providers and educators without
addressing these issues holistically from the perspective of population
health and with the tools of health policy analysis.”
Unique Programs Set New School Apart from OthersThe
mission of JSHPPH will be to prepare leaders with global vision to
develop, implement and evaluate health policies and systems that
improve the health of populations and thereby enhance overall quality
of life. The School will provide graduate academic programming,
continuing education courses and conferences, and sustained research
and consulting in areas of health policy, population health and
healthcare quality and safety.
Building
on the Master’s in Public Health (MPH) degree and certificate program
presently offered through Jefferson’s College of Graduate Studies, the
JSHPPH will create and offer programs that will differentiate its
graduates from those of other universities in Philadelphia and across
the nation.
Jefferson
will be the only university in the nation to offer a Master’s Degree in
Chronic Care Management. This program will prepare graduates to
develop, implement and evaluate coordinated, system-based strategies to
effectively prevent and manage complex health conditions of
populations; and to promote patient engagement in shared
decision-making.
The
Master’s in Healthcare Quality and Safety program will be the only one
of its kind in the region, and is designed to help healthcare systems
and providers meet the challenge of public accountability for improving
quality and safety. Graduates will learn how to analyze, measure and
monitor the performance of healthcare systems; to foster a culture of
safety; and to develop and implement effective quality and safety
improvement strategies and programs.
JSHPPH
will offer a Master’s Degree in Health Policy, as well as doctoral
programs in Health Policy (Ph.D. or Dr.HP.) and Population Health
Sciences (Ph.D.). Certificate programs will also be offered in each
area and new dual degree programs are planned as future additions to
the school.
Jefferson Addresses Healthcare Crisis“Establishing
a School of Health Policy and Population Health is in keeping with
Jefferson’s historic tradition of clinical excellence and service to
the community,” says Dr. Nash. “In order to maintain our high level of
scholarly integrity, we must make health policy a central focus in the
education of our students in medicine and all the related health
professions.”
The need to establish the new School is clear given the critical state of the healthcare system in the United States:
- Chronic illness is epidemic and poorly managed, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all healthcare spending and affecting
133 million Americans;
- Health insurance premiums have risen almost 90 percent since 2000;
- 47 million Americans are uninsured and 16 millions are underinsured;
- Poor and minority populations have limited or no access to healthcare;
- The aging of the population is increasing demands on all sectors of the healthcare system;
- The Institute of Medicine estimates that almost 100,000 patients die annually due to medical errors;
- The failure to incorporate the latest in evidence-based practice leads to misdiagnosis and inappropriate care; and
- Threats of national disasters and global epidemics are ever-present and can easily overwhelm local or national healthcare
resources.
The
establishment of the School of Health Policy and Population Health will
enable Jefferson to maintain and enhance its position as a leading
academic health center and to expand its influence and contributions to
the global community.
Media Only Contact:
Ed Federicoe
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Phone: (215) 955-6300
Published: 9/22/2008