Concordia Master of Healthcare Administration Students are First Team in University History to Compete in Statewide Competition
IRVINE, CA (May 10, 2021)—Graduate students from Concordia University Irvine’s (CUI) Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) program recently competed in CUI’s first-ever entry in the 2021 Healthcare Executives of Southern California College Bowl. Students from the liberal arts university faced teams from private and public universities across the state.
“We’re extremely proud of the work that our students poured into this competition,” said CUI MHA Academic Program Director and Associate Professor Catherine Sinardi, MFT, Ed.D. “For being new to the competition, competing against seasoned teams, while holding down jobs and internships in healthcare, and going to school, our students held their own,” said Sinardi.
Concordia Irvine’s team consisted of four MHA graduate students which included Reanna Benton of Whittier, CA and a Health Coordinator at Titanium Healthcare; John Tecuautzin of La Puente, CA, Gabriela Garduno of Mission Viejo, CA and Keya Gupta of Santa Clarita, CA. According to Gupta, a program and outreach coordinator for the Down Syndrome Association of Orange County, “I’m passionate about the healthcare system’s transition to value-based care and I want to be at the forefront of advocacy and patient experience.”
Teams from graduate schools were judged on their ability to analyze, solve, and present their executive summary of a real-life case study, and field questions from a panel of judges made up of CEOs, Vice Presidents, and Executive Directors of hospital systems, medical centers, and university hospitals from around California.
Teams had a month to build their entry from the time they received the prompter, with minimal assistance from faculty advisors. Universities represented in this year’s virtual competition included USC, Loma Linda University, San Diego State University, and California State Universities from Los Angeles, Long Beach, Northridge, and other institutions. Winning teams received cash prizes. Since 2015, the annual College Bowl is an academic competition for graduate students enrolled in healthcare degree programs that are part of the American College of Healthcare Executives higher education network.
Launched in 2016, Concordia Irvine’s online Master of Healthcare Administration program emphasizes leadership, practical application, and professional development. Professors in CUI’s MHA program have backgrounds in various sectors of healthcare administration, while many work as practitioners or consultants in the healthcare industry. Currently under candidate status, CUI MHA administrators anticipate Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) accreditation by late 2021.
About Concordia University Irvine
Concordia University Irvine (CUI) is a non-profit Christian liberal arts university governed by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). Preparing students for their vocations—their callings in life—Concordia offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs through its six schools—Arts & Sciences, Business & Economics, Christ College, Education, Health & Human Sciences, and the Townsend Institute. Nationally, its undergraduate core curriculum program, Enduring Questions & Ideas, has earned public recognition. Concordia is a U.S. News Top Tier Regional University and has been named by The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the fastest growing private nonprofit master's institutions. The only NCAA DII university in Orange County, Concordia enrolls about 4,000 students annually, and is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).