It is with great pleasure that I announce our team has won the 2019 Everett V. Fox Student Case Competition. Congratulations on a job well done!
The team consisted of three students, all of whom are scheduled to graduate this spring: Erika Garrison (MHA/MBA), Ilham Abdi (MHA), and Terrence Litam (MHA). They did an amazing job of preparing a creative and comprehensive solution, delivering their presentation in a very professional manner, and adeptly navigating through the multiple rounds of Q&A. Laura Griffin (MHA ’13) served as the team’s primary faculty coach, and she did a wonderful job of helping make sure the team was fully prepared for the competition. Jacob Wiersch also attended the competition as a first-year student observer, and we will certainly have him on one of our teams for a future competition.
This case competition is hosted annually by the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE). This year’s competition was held from Oct. 8-11 in Washington, DC. A total of 29 teams, including all of the top programs from around the nation, competed in the event. The case required the teams to develop a solution for a healthcare organization faced with the challenge of addressing the healthcare needs of San Francisco’s homeless population. The competition consisted of three stages, held over two days. On Wednesday morning, six panels of judges selected 10 teams to advance into the semi-finals. Later that afternoon, two new panels of judges selected 5 teams to advance into the finals. The Thursday morning finals included a large panel of new judges, many of whom were executives from organizations operating within the Northern California market. The audience for the finals also included conference attendees, as well as many of the students from teams that were already eliminated teams from the competition (big crowd!).
The final results were announced at a Friday night dinner gala:
- 1st place – University of Pittsburgh
- 2nd place – University of Michigan
- 3rd place – University of Minnesota
- 4th place – George Washington University
- 5th place – Rush University
The crowd went wild when our team was announced as the winners (including a whole table of conference attendees from UPMC). It was a very exciting evening for the Pitt family!
Kevin Broom
Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management
Vice Chair for Education and Director, MHA and MHA/MBA Programs
10/14/2019