David DeJesus began his new role as director of Salve Regina University’s Office of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education’s program in health care administration in July. DeJesus comes to the university after 24 years as senior vice president of human resources at Southcoast Health. In addition to managing student recruitment for the program, he will also deliver lectures in the classroom.
DeJesus discusses how he plans to draw on his human resources background to help move Salve’s health care administration program forward as the industry experiences what he calls a “historical transformation.”
PBN: How do you think your background in human resources will help you in your new position?
DEJESUS: Throughout my career, I have seen that the people who are successful are those who stay current in their fields and current with developments in the health care field. Health care is going through transformative changes. Lifelong learners will continue to advance their careers and the programs at Salve will be catalysts for that advancement. Salve’s commitment, an excellent faculty, and my experiences and relationships within health care will keep our programs current and impactful for health care professionals.
PBN: What are some of the biggest transformations you see in the health care industry right now?
DEJESUS: The Affordable Care Act continues to be implemented throughout health care, resulting, in part, in changing reimbursement from episodic care that rewards volume to holistic care that keeps people healthy, and, for those in need of services, encourages the most effective care at the lowest cost. As a result, how health care is provided is also changing with more focus on wellness and preventative care. Within the industry, this shift is called moving from volume to value. Given the prominence of health care in political discussions, there likely will be more changes in the coming years.
PBN: Do you have any ideas on how education in health care administration needs to change in order to keep up with a changing industry?
DEJESUS: Salve recently added courses in cybersecurity to reflect a significant need within health care. We are presently reaching out to health care executives and physicians to get their view on current educational needs. We are also talking to our faculty members who are health care practitioners for their perspectives. We will make changes based on this feedback, and then we will continue that dialogue to ensure that our programs are current moving forward.
PBN: What are some of the most common challenges that you see health care executives regularly facing?
DEJESUS: As a health care human resources executive, I am sensitive to the people issues, and see two significant issues. The first is to successfully transition physicians from their historically independent practices into health care systems or large physician organizations while respecting doctors and their relationships with patients. The second people issue is to have employees who are caring, competent and engaged provide critical patient services in the midst of turbulent industry change. Another challenge is financial viability, which health care organizations and our society have been dealing with for more than 30 years.
PBN: What is the one thing you hope future health care administrators take away from your program?
DEJESUS: We hope they recognize that change will continue, and they will need to be lifelong learners to stay successful in their careers. And Salve will be there to assist them in a variety of ways: degree programs, certificate programs, health care consortiums and other forums.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN staff writer. Email her at Graham@PBN.com.