FAQ's

General

The College of St. Scholastica established The Center in 2005 in response to the crisis of cost and quality in American healthcare, and the national movement toward adopting the electronic health record. It was also a response to the unique challenges facing rural healthcare providers in adopting new technologies and methods for dealing with costs and quality challenges with limited resources. Leadership in healthcare is part of the College's heritage, and our governance and leaders wish it to be our legacy.

What is the Vision of the Center?

The Center's vision is to be nationally known for its leadership in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare professional education and the healthcare delivery system.

What is the Mission of the Center?

The Center's mission is to extend the College's leadership in the transformation of the nation's healthcare through entrepreneurial intitiatives in education, community partnerships, public policy, and applied research.

Can the Center Realistically Provide National Leadership in Healthcare?

Yes. The College has expertise in interdisciplinary education for the health professions and a history of successful collaboration with community organizations and medical and pharmacy schools. We are nationally recognized as a knowledge leader in rural health care and electronic health records. The College's Department of Health Informatics and Information Management was the first in the nation (1934) to offer an undergraduate degree and the first in the nation (2001) to offer a graduate degree. By linking closely with the Schools of Nursing, Health Sciences, and Business and Technology, the Center has the leadership and expertise to be creative, entrepreneurial and proactive in developing, implementing and evaluating efficient and effective ways to improve our healthcare and the education of healthcare professionals.

How is the Center Organized and Directed?

The Center is led by an Executive Director with policy direction from a Steering Committee composed of Deans and Administrators from The College of St. Scholastica as well as an Advisory Board of faculty and industry experts. Its work is performed by interdisciplinary project teams formed to address current and emerging trends within the healthcare industry. These teams change as trends change, but will always be composed of academics, consultants, and other private partners, all of whom are guided by the Center's mission and vision. Together, these resources create a viable and active Center that is focused on innovations in healthcare professional education and healthcare delivery.

What Is the Center´s Current Agenda?

The Center is currently working on the Academic EHR Subscription Service, rural EHR implementation and optimization research, the "healthcare home" initiative, interdisciplinary leadership in the health sciences, change leadership programs, and interdisciplinary initiatives in rural healthcare delivery.

What Additional Services Does the Center Have the Capability to Provide?

The Center is equipped to provide a wide variety of services related to healthcare. These include assessment of federal and private grant proposals in light of RFP criteria, assessment of organizational readiness for change, process consultation, delivery of on-site credit-bearing programs, raising public and professional awareness of emerging healthcare trends, and fostering dialog relating to new and/or revised public policies.

How does The College benefit from the Center's work?

The College stands to gain greater regional and national recognition that, in turn, will attract students, faculty, and benefactors. The Center also provides a non-tuition based revenue stream to give special support to the development of Nursing and Health Science facilities and technology, as well as innovative curriculum development, research, and community outreach efforts.

What other Areas of Distinction does the College have?

In addition to undergraduate curricula, the College has graduate programs in its Schools of Health Sciences, Nursing, and Business and Technology. The College's Department of Healthcare Informatics and Information Management is considered by many experts to be the "Harvard" of health information management education. The Health Sciences Division is the first in the nation to embed state-of-the-art electronic clinical information systems into its curricula as learning tools. The ATHENS Project was a 5-year initiative (2002-2007) - a first in the nation - focused on integrating hands-on experiences with state-of-the-art, computer-based clinical information system applications into health sciences and computer information systems curricula at the College of St. Scholastica. This award winning project led to the creation of the Academic Electronic Health Record Subscription Service, which extends this powerful teaching/learning tool to other academic institutions and to professional organizations. Our interdisciplinary approach to healthcare education is becoming an industry benchmark. Finally, the focus of The College's Management Department on change management and organizational development, combined with its strength in ethics and social justice, add dimensions that most educational institutions are unable to offer.