Newswise — USP President Dr. Philip P. Gerbino announced Sept. 24 that University of the Sciences in Philadelphia's Board of Trustees approved the launch of a new college—the Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy. The new college—USP's fifth—will focus on preparing professionals to function in environments where legislative, regulatory, commercial, clinical and technological, and healthcare business issues converge.
The Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy will offer undergraduate and graduate students a unique integrated academic experience that will meet the evolving business, policy, and healthcare needs of the nation. Students in the new college will benefit from the region's rich life sciences economy, including the extensive network of healthcare, regulatory, pharmaceutical, and biotech industries.
"Graduates of the Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy will be uniquely prepared to address the complexities of healthcare business and policy in an industry that is rapidly changing and growing," said Gerbino. "Our research shows that the industry must have healthcare professionals who possess specific competencies and leadership skills in order to be effective. We expect that graduates of this college will be the innovators who will reshape the healthcare environment for the future."
New degree programs being developed to extend the programs of the college include:"¢ Long Term Care Facilities Management (Bachelor of Science)"¢ Regulatory Affairs and Compliance (Bachelor of Science)"¢ Global Healthcare Leadership (Master of Science)"¢ Health Sciences Management (PhD)
Current undergraduate and graduate programs within the new college include the MBA in pharmaceutical business, MS and PhD in health policy, MPH in public health, MS in biomedical writing, and BS in pharmaceutical marketing and management. The combination of these and other programs will enable the University to offer its students unique dual degree programs.
"The Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy will create opportunities for USP to develop joint programs that combine the business perspective with the technical and scientific side, such as a PharmD/MBA in Pharmaceutical Business or a professional master's in cell biology and biotechnology," said John Porter, PhD, president of USP's faculty council and biological science professor. "A message that we often hear from the corporate world is, 'We wish graduates had a little more business savvy when they came to us.' This is an opportunity to put those kinds of programs together to better prepare students for the careers they choose."
The new college is named for alumna and entrepreneur Dr. Kate Mayes who founded and was president of Applied Clinical Communications, Inc., of Parsippany, N.J. The company provided pharmaceutical consultant services specializing in medical education.
"USP develops healthcare professionals in many different professions, in allied professions as well as in pharmacy," said Mayes. "The university is leveraging what it does best to meet a crucial need. It is critical that we have strong policies and effective healthcare business-trained professionals to take care of our aging population."
With the over-65 population nearly tripling in the next two decades, new demands will be placed on an already challenged healthcare system. "Knowing that the Baby Boomer generation is expected to live longer and have more complex medical conditions, USP recognizes the need for a higher caliber of healthcare professional," said USP Provost Dr. M. Gary Sayed. "We are uniquely positioned to educate the next generation of healthcare professionals who will be faced with a diverse and complicated range of challenges."
The new college represents another milestone for USP, whose mission and focus is on science and healthcare education. As the nation's first College of Pharmacy, and for more than 185 years, the university has contributed to drug discovery and development, as well as the delivery of healthcare innovations. Its biomedical writing program, for example, is the first and only program of its kind in the nation. Ninety-two percent of its alumni are working in pharmacy, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and healthcare professions and business areas. This network of closely knit professionals has impacted healthcare from a number of important aspects.
Since 2001, the growth of the job market in the healthcare sector has continued to increase steadily. A Business Week Online article from September of last year stated that 1.7 million new jobs have been added to this sector which includes related industries such as pharmaceuticals and health insurance.
"USP's new college will help identify the inter-relationships and implications of policy and business on the healthcare system" said Dr. Schumarry H. Chao, USP Board of Trustees member and President of SHC & Associates. "USP students will be assessing policy in the context of its impact on stakeholder business models and from the standpoint of business as to implications of alternative policies. When you are looking to shape policy, you have to really think through the implications from the business perspective."
In addition to the academic programs, the Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy will house USP's existing Health Policy Institute and Advance Concepts Institute. The college will also launch a Leadership Institute with a global healthcare reach in 2008.
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia is a private, coeducational institution dedicated to education, research, and service. Comprising five colleges, including its new Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy, USP specializes in educating its 2,800 students for rewarding careers through its undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs in pharmacy, health and related sciences, and healthcare business and policy. Founded in 1821 as the nation's first college of pharmacy, it is where the founders of six of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world launched their futures.
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