BA, SUNY, Potsdam, NY, 1987
MS, Central Michigan Univ., MI, 1995
MHA, Baylor Univ., Waco, TX, 1997
Ph.D., Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Richmond, VA, 2003
Faculty, Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX, 2008 to present
Program Director, U.S. Army-Baylor Univ., AMEDD Center & School, Fort Sam Houston, TX, 2005-08
Faculty, U.S. Army-Baylor Univ., AMEDD Center & School, Fort Sam Houston, TX, 2003-08
Chief, Clin. Spt. Div., 121st General Hospital, Seoul, Korea, 1999-2000
Career Mgr., PERSCOM, Alexandria, VA, 1997-99
Resident, Managed Care, OTSG, Washington, D.C., 1996-97
I recall the first day of classes at Baylor. I had met Captain Sharon Pacchiana the day before and she saved me a seat next to her. Sharon sat to my right and Captain Karen Plante sat to my left. Twelve months later, Sharon would end up being the number one class honor graduate, and Karen would be number three. I graduated Baylor with a high GPA, but I remember getting class assignments back that first semester and Sharon to my right would get a 99%, Karen to my left would get a 98%, and I'd get the proverbial 95%. Back in 1995, the grade structure was set up so that a 96% and above was an "A," and 85%-95% was a "B," so getting even a 95% on a paper would mean you were running a "B" average in the class. This basically went on for two semesters and I don't think I ever got a single paper, quiz or test back that had a higher grade than Sharon or Karen.
One day during the third semester, I forgot my glasses at home and moved to a different seat in the back row that was farther way from the blackboard, but was closer to one of the overhead monitors so I could see. I sat next to Major Steve Carpenter and was close to Major John Lee and Captain Steve Hale. We had an assignment handed back that day, and; as usual, there was my 95%, "thanks for your efforts" grade. But much to my surprise, Steve Carpenter, Steve Hale and John Lee got the same grade back. I immediately associated moving my seat with feeling smarter! I stayed in the back row for the next two semesters and had a 4.0 GPA for my last 30 credits or so - go figure!
We started calling ourselves the "back row boys" and probably had more fun than anything else. Unbeknownst to the faculty, John Lee became the "Mario Andretti" of a racecar game he had downloaded off the internet onto his laptop. He'd keep the sound off and run his car around the track during class. Steve Carpenter and I would always laugh as we'd hear, "dam-it" whispered out of John's mouth after he crashed his car in the middle of someone's lecture. John came to Baylor a Certified Healthcare Executive and a super smart guy - I can't blame him for being board sometimes.
Steve Carpenter and I became good friends that year and remain so to this day. Steve and I had a routine where we would meet at the University of Texas Health Science Center every Saturday morning at about 0730. We'd reserve a study room and be there for the next nine hours completing Dr Holmes' infamous financial spreadsheet assignments, trying to figure out the correct Poisson distribution in one of Dr Kennedy's Decision Science algorithms, and working on SPSS projects for Dr. Mangelsdorff. The assignments weren't always that hard, but doing them on the computer was sometimes challenging.
It's hard to think of 1995 as being "a long time ago," but back in 1995, the wide spread personal use of computers were still very new. In preparation for Baylor, I had bought my first computer. A DX6-66MHZ Packard Bell with a 730MB hard drive and 14.4 modem for $2,400 from Best Buy. I had experimented with word processing and America Online, and had some experience with Harvard Graphics from previous assignments, but had never worked with spreadsheets or even heard of SPSS.
When I got to Baylor, they gave us all laptops and e-mail accounts. Most of the class had never had an e-mail account or even used a computer before they got to Baylor. The simplest things like installing a program, sending an e-mail, doing word processing and creating presentations on Harvard Graphics were cumbersome to most people. The Baylor faculty conducted separate and mandatory labs to teach everyone the basics. However, for the computer challenged, learning the principals of "net present value" (NPV) was one thing; however, trying to figure out the appropriate function in Quattro Pro to get a NPV proved frustrating sometimes. But 1995 was a cutting edge year. Just a few classes before us students were still typing, or handwriting assignments and sending them out to pay-service computer word processing services. I can't imagine functioning without a computer now, although I made it through high school, college, most of one master's degree and about six years of active duty without one.
The OJ Simpson trial was going on during my tenure as a Baylor Student and there was a small faction of us who were following it closely. I remember being on a class break one day and one of the Navy students, Lieutenant Dave Page, had his SONY Walkman in his bag from PT that morning. We stood outside class on the second floor the day the verdict was announced, and Dave gave us all play-by-play commentary because the little Walkman did not have an individual speaker. So Dave stood there with this big yellow headphone on in his white Navy uniform reciting the words of Judge Ito and the jury as the verdict came in. There was (perhaps) about ten of us standing around listening to the play-by-play. We eventually missed the first few minutes of class. I can't recall the class professor now, but when we walked back in, everyone wanted to know how it came out, so we told the rest of the class. It's been a few years now, but I remember the OJ trial dominated a lot of discussion back then, especially in the Health Law class with Dr Zucker.
After graduating from the didactic program, I was selected to go to the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) for my residency. A few of us had competed for that job as residents, and I am not sure why I was selected. Probably because I had just come from DC/WRAMC, and OTSG wanted someone who "knew their way around the beltway." When I got to OTSG there were about eighty Colonels, about thirty Lieutenant Colonels, a couple Majors, and one other captain who was the Surgeon General's aid-de-camp. Today, I would describe it as a good residency; however, at the time, I was flipping a lot of slides for various senior colonels, and preparing all sorts of briefings and working papers. I spent a lot of time at the copy machine and was using my own car to shuttle people back and forth to the Pentagon. I felt like a "Kelly-Girl." However, in hindsight, each morning I was the only Captain in the beltway that got to sit in on the Surgeon General's morning report where I watched generals and senior colonels craft policy and discuss the future of the AMEDD - something I won't get a chance to do again for a few more years. Army Surgeon General, LTG Blank and Deputy Surgeon General, MG Cuddy were masters at executing their vision and agenda. It was really a privilege to see how they worked and guided their staff. A unique opportunity for a company grade officer!
My preceptor at OTSG was Col Dan Blum. Col Blum was a Syracuse MBA graduate and had never been to Baylor, so OTSG co-workers, and BU Grads, Col Tom Broyles and LTC Joel Bales adopted me and helped me write my Graduate Management Project (Joel would later be a groomsman in my wedding and Col Broyles my commander in Korea!). It wasn't that Col Blum was an uninterested preceptor, but he was more interested in having me "integrate" into the activities of the Surgeon General's office. As a result, I was often "loaned out" to other offices and departments at OTSG as an "assistant project officer." I also got to be the stand-in for anyone who could not go to a meeting at the Pentagon. One day I went to the Pentagon representing the office of managed care, the next day I was back at the Pentagon representing the Surgeon General's XO. At the time it seemed burdensome and a waste of time. Today I am thankful for the opportunity.
My hours were the same as Col Blum, about 0630 to about 1930 each evening (although he often came in earlier and stayed later than that). When I was not assisting other OTSG staff officers, Col Blum expected me to be at my desk writing my GMP. He mandated I get my project done by Christmas (in about six months). I sent off my "final draft" to my reader, USAF LTC Bernie Kerr after the new year. LTC Kerr had some revisions and recommendations and my final GMP went back to Baylor and was accepted sometime in February 1997. My GMP was later nominated for the Boone Powell Award, which made Col Blum happy. At about that same time, Col Blum cut me loose from what I had begun to call my indentured servitude at OTSG. Col Blum introduced me to Dr Peter Kongstvedt from Ernst and Young Healthcare Consulting Practice and allowed me to spend the next four months working in DC for Peter. I wore a coat and tie and worked in a civilian office building. 1996-1997 was a tremendous time of change in managed care and it was a unique opportunity to work with Peter for all those weeks. I helped write a few papers, co-developed a software program and was a team member on several projects and initiatives.
When I returned to OTSG for my last thirty days or so, I attended one meeting at the White House and a few more in Congress. When it came time for me to move on, I felt very ready and capable of returning to a hospital or healthcare environment and exercising all my newly honed and developed healthcare skills. However, my branch manger called me (LTC Rosaline [Jordan] Cardarelli, a BU Grad too), and wanted to know if I was interested in working at PERSCOM. It was a personnel job, and had little to do with healthcare, but it was an honor to be asked and general officer nominated, so I took the job. Two yeas later, I sent myself to Korea and the 121st General Hospital to work for Col Broyles. Col Broyles was selected as the very first MSC officer to command the 121 General Hospital. The 121 General Hospital was my first healthcare job post Baylor. However, I felt infinitely prepared and had a successful and rewarding year as the Chief, Clinical Support Division.
While in Korea, I was selected for a PhD slot and AMEDD scholarship. I left Korea to come to the Virginia Commonwealth University, at the Medical College of Virginia Campus to get a degree in Health Service Organizations and Research. It's an interdisciplinary degree emphasizing statistics, theory and healthcare administration. I'm slotted to go back to Baylor this summer as an instructor and help begin the cycle all over again for some new BU students. It will be a unique opportunity to help develop stronger roots with a program I wanted so badly to be a part of back in 1993 when I first applied, but was not accepted. I am looking forward to the experience.