Bailey Myers, MHA
Director of Operations at Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital, Newport News, VA.

In my role as Director of Operations, I am responsible for Environmental Services, Safety, Security, Transport, Linen, Food/Nutrition, Case Management, and the Gift Shop. I also manage various administrative projects for the executive team, such as construction, length of stay, and business development initiatives. Each day looks a little different for me: I typically have project-focused meetings, attend huddles, spend time doing rounds, and help to support my teams to address different challenges that arise.

One project I have found especially exciting is around facility construction and renovation work. We are renovating our Birth Place and Emergency Department, and I am in charge of project managing this work – things like design, funding, contracting, phasing, and then prepping or helping to coordinate with the teams for go-live when we have to shut down rooms and change patient flow. I have also recently worked on a process improvement project to decrease the time it takes our ED providers to receive STAT radiology results, which involved mapping out current state, meeting with radiology techs, ED nurses, and providers to understand pain points and reasons for delays. I also helped implement some recommended changes that decreased overall turnaround times by 10%. I am also working on patient flow initiatives and strategy work aimed at enhancing our women’s services offering and improving patient satisfaction.

There are so many things that the VCU MHA program did to help prepare me for my current role. The curriculum itself was challenging and applicable to the work I now do on a day-to-day basis – from organizational behavior, to healthcare finance, to epidemiology. The professors at the VCU MHA program are some of the best in the country and taught me how to think critically when various situations arise in a hospital setting. VCU’s specific focus on leadership development has been one of the most tangible benefits of my education. I completed my residency within the Bon Secours Hampton Roads market, which was a truly amazing experience, and I am so thrilled that I have been able to continue my relationship with Bon Secours after graduation. I look forward to continuing to learn, work with great people, and make a difference in healthcare as I move forward in my career!

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Amy SM Paul, M.D., MSHA

This past spring as I was completing the VCU MSHA program, I had an idea that I wanted to see if I could develop. So I joined the VCU Pre-Accelerator Program, and I took part in Demo Day at the da Vinci Center for Innovation where I practiced pitching my business. I won The Todd Allen Phillips Memorial Award because of my spirit of entrepreneurship, which was amazing. That experience taught me to not only believe in my ideas, but also my abilities to excel at projects I work hard on, even if they are not thought of as formally “medical” in nature. After this, I applied for the Activation Capital/Opportunity Hub business boot camp and was one of the finalists in that program as well. I was awarded a scholarship to the Startup Virginia high-growth business incubator and will begin my time working with them this September.

My company is called The Children’s Soap Company of Virginia, and its mission is to
develop handwashing tools specifically for the unique needs of children (especially those with allergies and various skin conditions). I am currently formulating and building the first product that's set for testing this fall.

My exposure to the world of design and innovation at the da Vinci Center has really opened up my creative mind and fueled my deep desire to dream big expansive dreams. I’m excited about merging this with my health administration education. The amount of growth, personal and professional, I have had between these two programs is exciting to me as I now have an abundance of paths my career can take. I feel adequately prepared for a career that leverages my knowledge of designing products and services with the end user in mind, building and scaling a high-growth business, and managing it. My time at VCU working clinically as a Geriatric House Calls Physician, in addition to my MSHA and my newfound love for innovation, has given me a unique skill set that I am so thrilled to utilize my career!

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Thomas Thorup, MHA
Administrator for the Red Rocks Surgery Center, HCA Healthcare, Golden, CO

As the only non-clinical operator at the Red Rocks Surgery Center, I am involved in every aspect of the center’s operations. Throughout the day, I work on issues related to staffing, finances, physician relations, regulations, strategy, and facilities. It’s a very holistic position that allows me to work on the micro and macro details and to interface with people in so many different areas of the center. My education in the Health Administration department at VCU was a vital step in my path into this role. During my course of study, I interned at VCU Health at the Hume-Lee Transplant Center. This experience, coupled with my didactic work, provided me the tools necessary to problem-solve issues quickly and effectively. These problem-solving skills have been invaluable during my time at Red Rocks Surgery Center, as the center has experienced some financial hardships due to several key physicians leaving the practice in 2020. Along with the Covid-related challenges that the entire field is facing (staffing, equipment/supply concerns, pharmaceutical issues), I’ve been able to take my VCU education and apply it firsthand in my work. At the moment, my highest priority project is to market the center to new prospective surgeons and grow our pool of physician investors. This project’s linchpin for success will be centered around governance restructuring and equity offerings. I’m looking forward to supporting the center during this crucial time of transition and growth.