Executive Education celebrates 25th anniversary of IHA Management Institute

Posted on October 15, 2015 by O'Neill at IUPUI

Tom DeCoster, Executive Education and IHA Management Institute Instructor | Photo by Kelley Jordan

IHA Management Institute — Kevin Strahan, Regional Manager, Jay/Randolf Meridian Health Services | Photo by Kelley Jordan

Sara Johnson, Director of Executive Education | Photo by Kelley Jordan

The 2015 Management Institute Class | Photo by Kelley Jordan

As the Manager of Patient Services at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, Sara Beal has a lot on her plate. She manages three RN case managers, four social work case managers and a nursing home program that employs contracted and full-time physicians and nurse practitioners. Just two years ago, Sara had never managed anyone in her life. “I went from being a co-worker of everyone in my department to being the manager. I wondered how I could maintain friendships with my employees and yet still be their leader.” (more…)

Executive Education’s intense training develops nonprofit leaders

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Michael L. Jackson

In the complex world of nonprofit management, today’s leaders must possess a unique set of skills in order to navigate the industry’s challenging landscape. Whether it’s working with board members, leading a group of volunteers, or competing for fundraising dollars, those charged with running the organization need a broad array of skills.

The Executive Education division of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) partners with The Fundraising School at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy to provide leaders with the critical tools needed to run a successful nonprofit. Through the Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership program, the two schools have developed a four-course program that delivers intense training for real-world impact.

“Leadership of nonprofit organizations is pretty unique,” said Sara Johnson, director of Executive Education at SPEA. “One of the things considered when putting this program together was, “What specific skills like developing and assessing a nonprofit board of directors, do these executives need to have in order to lead that type of organization?’” (more…)

SPEA professor’s heroin overdose research leads to life-saving policy changes

Posted on June 15, 2015 by O'Neill at IUPUI

By Liz Joss

When Brad Ray was 22 years old, he was with a relative who appeared to be very ill. The man was hiccupping, gasping for air, yet completely unresponsive. “We picked him up, dropped him, and he had zero response,” Ray recalls. “So we looked in his pockets and found little pouches of powder. I called 911.”

Emergency medical personnel arrived and recognized the powder as heroin and the illness as an overdose. “We had no idea he used heroin,” Ray says. An EMS worker injected the man with naloxone, and saved his life.

“He literally came back to life, and from that moment on, I realized there was an antidote for heroin overdose,” says Ray, an assistant professor in criminal justice at SPEA IUPUI. And that set the course for research that is changing Indiana policies statewide and contributing to a national conversation about treating opioid overdose. (more…)

SPEA alumnus Lee Christenson prepares Indiana for emergencies

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Jaclyn Lansbery

If Ebola, or any number of natural and manmade disasters, comes to Indiana, the state is prepared, thanks to SPEA alumnus Lee Christenson. Christenson, director of the Public Health Preparedness and Emergency Response Division at the Indiana State Department of Health, collaborated with partners throughout the state and country to prepare Indiana for Ebola when the outbreak began in early 2014.

Working with hospitals and local health departments, emergency management, law enforcement, environmental management, first response and federal partners, Christenson knows the job is never done.

“Our team spends about 95 percent of our time preparing for emergencies and about five percent actually responding to them,” Christenson says. “When it comes to disease, whether it was H1N1 or Ebola, the question is not if it will show up here, but when.” (more…)

SPEA research shows ‘total cost of ownership’ information gives hybrid and plug-in vehicles a boost

Posted on January 26, 2015 by O'Neill at IUPUI

Sales of hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles have slumped, but new Indiana University research shows some consumers are more likely to buy when they see data that shows the total cost of owning a hybrid or plug-in electric vehicle compared to a conventional car.

The researchers surveyed car shoppers online, asking them to react to a variety of EPA fuel economy labels for generic cars with no brand names attached. Those in the market for a mid-sized car weren’t influenced by the current EPA labels that show only that electric vehicles use less fuel. But when the labels added total cost-of-ownership information summarizing financing, depreciation, registration, maintenance and insurance costs, consumers saw hybrids and plug-in electric vehicles in a new light.

“Consumers have been slow to buy hybrids and plug-ins because they cost more initially than conventional cars,” said Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis professor Jerome Dumortier, one of the authors of the study. “Our research indicates car shoppers are less hesitant when they see the big picture, what it really costs to own a vehicle over 10 years.” (more…)