Healthcare Administration

Degrees

Graduate Certificate–Healthcare Administration

Required courses in these programs of study may have prerequisites. Reference the course description section for clarification.

Undergraduate Programs

The Healthcare Administration (HCAD) program is accredited by the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB). This interdisciplinary program is designed for students interested in a variety of careers in the field of healthcare administration. Positions are with long term care facilities, health maintenance organizations, health insurance companies, health systems, and hospitals.

The required courses are in the areas of healthcare administration.

Upon acceptance to the program, students must complete at least 100 credit hours. A 200-hour internship is a required part of the program.

Community service is considered a part of the HCAD program.

Professional Membership Requirements

Every student graduating in Healthcare Administration must be a student member of a professional organization at least by their senior year.

Work Experience Recommendations

It is strongly advised that all students seek as much practical experience as possible in a healthcare setting, whether voluntary or paid. Students are urged to consult with their advisors in order to plan their program. Certified Nursing Assistant training is highly recommended.

Graduate Program

The College of Health Science & Public Health through its Healthcare Administration and Public Health programs, offers graduate courses and a graduate level certificate in public health leadership. Courses from healthcare administration and public health are often included in a variety of undergraduate health disciplines and graduate programs. The graduate courses are designed to expand one’s understanding of the challenges that impact the successful delivery of health services. Individual courses focus on organizational issues that impact health delivery. The topics covered in these courses will be useful to health-related professionals who have specialty expertise in a health discipline and desire a greater understanding of the legal, fiscal, managerial, and leadership aspects of delivering health care in several different environments. These courses will also help non health professionals who wish more knowledge of financing and delivery of public, private and not-for-profit health services.

The graduate certificate supports the goals of the college and the university by providing opportunities for people to expand their leadership, management, critical, and systems thinking skills. Students who successfully complete a certificate offered by this program will become more effective managers or collaborators within the health delivery system. The program believes in the concept that health is an interprofessional, team process and is committed to providing education, research, and service opportunities for students to become effective in both public and private health settings.

Admission Requirements/Preparation

The identification of necessary prerequisites would occur through a review of transcripts and other application material by the program director.

Program Requirements

Two copies of official transcripts for all college work completed.
Meet graduate program admission requirements.
A letter describing one’s background and experience in the health delivery system and how the Healthcare Administration program fits into one's professional goals.
Application materials should be sent directly to the Graduate Programs Office, 206 Showalter, Eastern Washington University.

Application Deadline

The Healthcare Administration and Public Health programs accept students into courses at any time.

Healthcare Administration Courses

HCAD 300. INTRODUCTION TO HEALTHCARE ADMINISTRATION. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course provides an introduction to healthcare administration. Reviewed are leading practices in healthcare leadership and management. The focus is on the components of these systems, how they interact, and their internal and external controls.

HCAD 302. HEALTHCARE LEADERSHIP. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course focuses on how supervisors and managers of healthcare administration accomplish their tasks and build effective teams. Examined are models of supervision, leadership styles, impact of personal values, relationships, and medical staff management. Emphasis is on how to build teams and evaluate performance.

HCAD 303. HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOR. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course provides an introduction to organizational behavior. Identified and reviewed are skills commonly associated with professional behavior critical to establishing and demonstrating competence in young professionals. The focus is developing and enhancing professional behavior.

HCAD 304. HEALTHCARE COMMUNICATIONS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course focuses on communicating topics related to health through an examination of theoretical frameworks, communication techniques, and different technologies including ehealth and mhealth. Topics include clinician to client communication, peer to peer communication, health literacy, health in the media, and effective healthcare communication.

HCAD 305. HEALTHCARE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–diversity.
This course introduces the concept of health equity and social determinants of health. This course analyses gaps in the delivery of healthcare related to race, ethnicity, social class, gender, nationality, and migration status. This course helps students gain an understanding of health disparities and interventions that promote health equity by overcoming social barriers.

HCAD 306. BUDGETS AND POLICY FOR HEALTHCARE ADMINISTRATION. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course introduces a variety of types of budgets used in healthcare administration. Also covered is the impact of health policy and health economics as considerations to the budget process. Students gain a working knowledge of the components, assumptions, and complexity of the budget process in health organizations.

HCAD 310. HEALTHCARE RESEARCH AND DESIGN. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course covers the methods used in healthcare research and evaluation which includes research designs, measurement, methods of analysis, and evaluation of published literature. The objective is to provide an understanding of the research process and evidence-based research as it relates to healthcare.

HCAD 311. INTRODUCTION TO HEALTHCARE ADMINISTRATION HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course covers human resource management (HRM) as an ongoing process consisting of various critical functions including human resource planning, recruitment, selection, training and development, job analysis, performance appraisal, compensation, health, and safety. Various external forces that constrain managerial decision-making are considered including laws and regulations dealing with equal opportunity, workplace diversity and multiculturalism, especially as these impact HR policies.

HCAD 320. HEALTHCARE STRATEGIC PLANNING. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course presents an overview of the strategic planning process components in public, private, and government organizations. Components explored include mission, vision and value review, environmental analysis, identification of assumptions and premises, internal assessment, customer/market analysis both internal and external, critical strategic issues, and plan operationalization. Students complete a strategic planning process/project with a community organization.

HCAD 350. INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
This course examines factors that impact global health systems, analysis of healthcare delivery systems and influential governmental, economic, social, and political forces. Consideration of healthcare resource development and allocation.

HCAD 395. INTERNSHIP. 1-5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of the instructor, department chair and college dean.
Internship.

HCAD 399. DIRECTED STUDY. 1-10 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of the instructor, department chair and college dean.
Subjects vary according to faculty and student interest and need.

HCAD 401. HEALTHCARE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course introduces the information technology used in healthcare for administrative, clinical, and facility needs. Support systems for healthcare are also discussed. This is an overview to become familiar with the breadth and scope of technology in healthcare and its impact on patients, providers, and payers.

HCAD 402. FINANCE IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course focuses on the practical application of healthcare finance theory as it applies to the current healthcare environment. Revenue cycle and expense applications are explored in depth, particularly in relationship to the delivery of health care services. Private and public healthcare funding are explored. Specific emphasis is placed on understanding components of the income statement and balance sheet, developing a budget, and using these statements for analyzing operational change.

HCAD 410. QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course examines the application of quality management strategies by utilizing process improvement in healthcare settings. There is a focus on problem solving methodologies that utilizes team facilitation skills. Students incorporate tools for communication, relationship-building, coordination, and collaboration that focus on quality patient-centered care with safety as an imperative. Exposure to leadership models with opportunities for hands-on projects.

HCAD 411. RISK MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course introduces the roles of local, state, and federal regulatory agencies and accrediting bodies; the enforcement of federal guidelines, standards, and regulations; and the issues and demands of the regulatory environment that affect healthcare risks and operations in the United States.

HCAD 412. HEALTHCARE LAW, REGULATIONS & ETHICS. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
This course is an introduction to health-related legislation, regulation, and ethics in healthcare administration. The legal and ethical implications for providers and consumers of health care are explored. Topics covered include contracts, fraud, and abuse, antitrust and corporate, criminal and tax law, informed consent, patient rights, medical worker issues, and conflict of interest. Ethics, risk management, and corporate compliance are discussed.

HCAD 440. HEALTHCARE MARKETING. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: junior standing.
Introduction to contemporary marketing theory, strategies, and implementation processes in healthcare organizations. Focus on identification of market opportunity, communication, planning and promotion, pricing decision-making, and development of distribution channels and service designs.

HCAD 460. LONG TERM CARE ADMINISTRATION. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: HCAD 300 or permission of the instructor.
This course explores the administrative aspects of service delivery in the long term care continuum. Covered are types of administrative needs, organizations and facilities, financial, regulatory, policy and maintenance impacts.

HCAD 486. LONG TERM PRACTICUM 1. 5-12 Credits.

Notes: HCAD 302, HCAD 303, HCAD 304, HCAD 305, HCAD 310, HCAD 311, HCAD 320, HCAD 411 must be completed.
Pre-requisites: permission of the department chair.
The practicum in the long term care option of the HCAD program serves as a culminating experience for students intending to work in long term care. The practicum is a series of courses that meet the national standards of the National Association of Boards of Examiners for Long Term Care Administrators (NAB) and the Washington State Department of Health Board of Nursing Home Administrators. This course is part of a series of practicum courses for students to complete 1000 hours.

HCAD 487. LONG TERM PRACTICUM 2. 5-12 Credits.

Notes: completion of HCAD 486 is required.
Pre-requisites: permission of the department chair.
The practicum in the long term care option of the HCAD program serves as a culminating experience for students intending to work in long term care. The practicum is a series of courses that meet the national standards of the National Association of Boards of Examiners for Long Term Care Administrators (NAB) and the Washington State Department of Health Board of Nursing Home Administrators. This course is the second part of a series of practicum courses for students to complete 1000 hours.

HCAD 488. LONG TERM PRACTICUM 3. 5-12 Credits.

Notes: completion of HCAD 487 is required.
Pre-requisites: permission of the department chair.
The practicum in the long term care option of the HCAD program serves as a culminating experience for students intending to work in long term care. The practicum is a series of courses that meet the national standards of the National Association of Boards of Examiners for Long Term Care Administrators (NAB) and the Washington State Department of Health Board of Nursing Home Administrators. This course is the third part of a series of practicum courses for students to complete 1000 hours.

HCAD 489. AGING AND LONG-TERM CARE. 5 Credits.

Notes: must be taken in the senior year before capstone.
Pre-requisites: HCAD 350, HCAD 402, HCAD 410, HCAD 412, HCAD 486, HCAD 487.
This course reviews biopsychosocial dimensions of aging, with both its challenges and adjustments. It also provides an overview of unique social problems that remain hidden in this population. Assessments, interventions, and ethical issues that emerge when working with older adults are reviewed.

HCAD 490. HEALTHCARE ADMINISTRATION CAPSTONE. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: senior standing, must be taken concurrently with HCAD 495.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–senior capstone.
This course examines global and United States health care issues. This information is put forth in a context that allows healthcare administration seniors to better plan, design, and implement programs that are sensitive to the health needs of diverse populations. This course synthesizes knowledge and experience to identify better ways to implement health care delivery in a variety of settings.

HCAD 495. INTERNSHIP IN HEALTHCARE ADMINISTRATION. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: senior standing.
This internship serves as a culminating experience for students in the Healthcare Administration program. The organization at which the internship experience occurs is chosen based on the student's goals and the organization's needs. Students learn the day-to-day operation of a healthcare organization by spending 20 hours a week on-site under direct supervision.

HCAD 496. EXPERIMENTAL COURSE. 1-5 Credits.

Experimental.

HCAD 497. WORKSHOP, SHORT COURSE, CONFERENCE, SEMINAR. 1-5 Credits.

HCAD 498. SEMINAR. 1-5 Credits.

Seminar.

HCAD 499. DIRECTED STUDY. 1-5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: permission of the instructor, department chair and college dean.
Directed study.

HCAD 500. U.S. HEALTH SYSTEMS. 4 Credits.

Cross-listed: PUBH 500.
Pre-requisites: graduate standing.
This course introduces health delivery systems. Topics covered include various health services delivery models and standards that impact population health, experience of care and per capita costs. Current practices are reviewed.

HCAD 510. HEALTH LAW AND HUMAN RESOURCES. 4 Credits.

Pre-requisites: graduate standing.
This course explores health law, regulatory and human resources. Topics include an introduction to our legal system, professional liability issues related to providers, legal issues in the operation and regulation of healthcare institutions, and institution patient relationships, institution physician relationship as well as institution employee relationships.

HCAD 520. HEALTH SYSTEMS FINANCE AND GOVERNANCE. 4 Credits.

Cross-listed: PUBH 519.
Pre-requisites: graduate standing.
This course challenges students to understand both the healthcare financial responsibilities and governance oversight for health systems. The student will learn the financial operations and governance to help any organization be successful. The modules, taking a practical approach, will cover subject matters such as; financial operations, revenue cycle management, budgeting, hierarchical reporting process and expectations, governance and regulatory compliance.

HCAD 545. BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE IN HEALTH SYSTEMS. 4 Credits.

Pre-requisites: graduate standing.
This course is designed to explore information as a strategic resource in an organization wide framework for supporting a health system’s strategic operations, regulatory, legal, risk and environmental requirements. Review of current health systems implementation and impact on decision making for management and finance are evaluated.

HCAD 595. INTERNSHIP. 1-5 Credits.