From a very young age, James G. Demetriades ’00 was influenced by his grandmother, who was a nurse. Although he did not want to be a clinician, Demetriades was drawn to careers that help support the mission of health care.
“Listening to my grandmother’s stories gave me an appreciation for the impact that the health care profession can have in people’s lives,” he said.
Eventually, he realized there was another pathway, via the business side. That led him to The University of Scranton and its venerable health administration program.
Today, Demetriades serves as CEO of Penn Medicine Princeton Health, part of the University of Pennsylvania’s world-class health care system.
Demetriades is one of many graduates of the health administration programs making a difference in today’s highly com-plex, ever-evolving health care industry. The University offers both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Health Administration with the latter offered both in-person and online.
About 40 students are currently enrolled in the bachelor’s program, while roughly 80 – combined on-campus and online — are in the MHA program. Many students opt for the accelerated bachelor’s and master’s option.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of medical and health services managers is expected to grow by 18 percent between 2018 and 2028.
Web Exclusive
Study Abroad Opportunities Await
Two student study abroad opportunities for residential and online students within the Master of Health Administration (MHA), and/or Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs involve established partnerships with St. Elizabeth University in Slovakia, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.
Read ArticleEquipping Royals With In-Demand Skills
“There is a growing demand for health care services in the U.S. as the baby boomer generation enters their Medicare years,” said Victoria H. Castellanos, Ph.D., dean of the Leahy College of Health Sciences. “The demand for both acute care services and long-term care services is increasing each year. Our two health administration programs are producing graduates who meet a vital need in the health care sector for well-trained administrators.”
The programs give students the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the field through an interdisciplinary curriculum that includes coursework in business administration, management, finance and global health care issues, said Steven J. Szydlowski, DHA, professor and chair of the Department of Health Administration and Human Resources.
“We bring in current research to expose students to some of the macro trends in the health care industry,” Dr. Szydlowski said. “We’re constantly monitoring the external environment for trends and changes occurring with health policy, market considerations, the demands of the profession, etc., and adapting the curriculum and competencies to ensure graduates are prepared.”
Learn about career opportunities in the field of health administration with guidance from the University’s executive in residence at scranton.edu/journalextras.
The campus itself also provides access to hands-on training, Dean Castellanos noted, thanks to the Edward R. Leahy Jr. Clinic for the Uninsured, which was recently reopened under a student-run model in partnership with Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.
“To see the program evolve and change over the last 20 years has been inspiring — it shows we’re constantly looking at our mission and modifying it as needed, so that we’re preparing students for what we say we’re preparing them for,” Dr. Szydlowski said.
Mentorship To Last a Lifetime
Of course, another great attribute of the Health Administration programs is its extensive and highly successful alumni network serving in leadership roles throughout the country — among them Demetriades. He has been with Princeton Health for 20 years and led the due diligence and operational planning processes that culminated in its integration into the University of Pennsylvania Health System in 2018.
He grew up near Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, and enrolled at the University in the mid-1990s, when health administration was still known as “hospital administration.” The major seemed like a good way to marry his interests in business, leadership and strategy within a health care context.
Demetriades said the “warm and inviting” Scranton community made an immediate impression.
“One of the biggest skills I gained from the University was to lead with empathy – listen first and seek to understand.”
– James G. Demetriades ’00, CEO, Penn Medicine Princeton Health
“The Jesuit education is extremely special,” he said. “I loved the ‘care for the whole person,’ ‘men and women for others’ philosophy. In fact, I took a couple extra philosophy classes while I was there because I loved the whole idea of the contemplative mindset and the importance of being a good listener.”
An active student, Demetriades served as Student Government president and volunteered at Moses Taylor Hospi-tal. Within the health administration program, he found great mentors like Daniel J. West, Ph.D., and Peter C. Olden, Ph.D.
“The faculty were health care executives who transitioned into academia, and they brought real-world perspectives to the classroom, whether it was health care finance, law, operations, the entire regulatory environment,” he said.
Through his Student Government role, Demetriades got to closely observe the leadership style of the Rev. Joseph McShane, S.J., H’04, the University’s then-president.
Often, he would hear Father McShane recite the St. Ignatius of Loyola quote, “Love is shown more in deeds than in words.” Today, the quote can be found on Demetriades’ desk. It serves as a good reminder for why he chose to work in health care, despite its abundant challenges.
“One of the biggest skills I gained from the University was to lead with empathy — listen first and seek to understand,” he said. “In health care, you have very high-powered physicians, strong-willed nurses, the support staff. You’re dealing with patients in their most compromised state. And you answer to a board. I think Scranton prepared me well to work with these very different audiences. My education there was foundational to the person I became. It had such a positive influence on me.”
Key Takeaways From Jesuit Education
John J. “Jack” Lynch III ’83, the longtime president and CEO of Main Line Health in the Philadelphia suburbs, tells a similar tale. With a physician father and a nurse mother, the profession made an early impression on him. He even spent his late teens working as an EMT in the Washington, D.C., area.
“From that experience, I knew I didn’t want to be a clinician, but I wanted to have an impact on people’s health,” he said. “What I found more intriguing was the complexity of delivering care in challenging environments and how leadership could be a difference maker.”
“Knowing the community is counting on our leadership to care for them in their time of need is a huge responsibility, and when you do it well, it’s incredibly gratifying.”
– John J. “Jack” Lynch III ’83 President & CEO, Main Line Health
One of the first undergraduates to go through the program, Lynch said he had great professors, among them longtime faculty member Robert J. Spinelli, DBA, and forged meaningful relationships with former presidents the Rev. William J. Byron, S.J., H’84, and the Rev. J.A. Panuska, S.J., H’74. Years later, he became friendly with the Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., H’15, during his presidency.
Lynch often tells people he took away five key lessons from his Jesuit education — work hard, act with integrity, seek knowledge, welcome accountability and use common sense when making decisions.
“Those Jesuit leaders leave imprints on you,” he said. “Of course, the concept of caring for others is also ingrained in you. We’re all God’s children and deserve to be treated with equity. Having that foundation to be a man for others, a stew-ard for others, to act with the highest level of integrity, those foundational things — if you’re smart, they don’t leave you.”
Lynch spent 19 years working in Houston before taking the reins at Main Line Health in 2005.
“As challenging as the career has been, it’s been more rewarding than I could ever have anticipated,” he said. “Knowing the community is counting on our leadership to care for them in their time of need is a huge responsibility, and when you do it well, it’s incredibly gratifying.”
Insight on Point for Elevating Through the Ranks
In 1999, Kim Jordan, DNP, G’03 was a highly experienced nurse looking to advance her career. The MHA program was exactly what she was seeking.
“By then, I had been on the clinical side for probably 14 years, progressively moving up in nursing leadership positions,” she said. “I wanted to continue proceeding through the ranks, but I knew I needed that business acumen. The Master of Health Administration at the University had an excellent reputation, and for me was the best way to accomplish my goals.”
Dr. Jordan started her coursework while on staff as a nurse manager at the former Mercy Hospital in Scranton. She appreciated the fact that the University faculty had worked in the field, and that the program provided her with knowledge she hadn’t yet had the chance to learn on the job.
“The finance piece was a significant help,” she said. “As a nurse manager, you’re dealing with budget and finance. But it becomes a whole other level as you move up through ranks. The courses gave me a strong foundation in budgeting and finance reports, strategic plans, health care law. All those things were beneficial to me.”
Her graduate degree culminated with an administrative residency at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN), where she had recently begun working. It provided her with great exposure within the system and led to a series of administrative roles. Today, she serves as president of the newly opened Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) — Dickson City and COO of LVH — Pocono.
“I had been on the clinical side for probably 14 years, progressively moving up in nursing leadership positions. I wanted to continue proceeding through the ranks, but I knew I needed that business acumen.”
– Kim Jordan, DNP, G’03, President, Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) - Dickson City & COO, LVH-Pocono
In a nice full-circle moment, students in the Health Administration programs are now doing internships at LVH — Dickson City, Dr. Jordan proudly noted.
“To now be in Scranton, I’m just so proud of everything we’re doing here. To hear how much patients love the hospital and the care, it gives me so much joy,” she said. “Thanks to the University, I got that other foundational piece I needed to learn and grow. It was a wonderful experience.”
Experience Gained Locally, Internationally
Jonathan P. Forte ’07, G’09 had a similarly inspiring Scranton experience, which eventually led him to his current role as CEO and Health Officer at RiverStone Health, where he oversees a network of federally qualified health centers, a home health and hospice program, and the Yellowstone County Health Department, in Billings, Montana.
Prior to life under the Big Sky, he served as senior vice president and COO at Choptank Community Health System in Maryland and spent nearly a decade with the Veterans Health Administration.
“After a decade in health care, the idealist turned into a realist,” Forte said with a laugh. “While I might not be able to fix a broken American health care system, I can create positive change and make it better wherever I am right now. I have fun every single day. Many days are very stressful, but at the end of the day, I’m still passionate about the work of providing health care to people who wouldn’t have it otherwise.”
Originally from the Poconos, Forte enrolled at the University to study biology as a precursor to medical school. Along the way, he picked up a minor in health administration, which helped him realize he could improve health care delivery in different ways.
Upon graduating, he decided to stay and pursue his MHA. Scranton’s MHA program provided a terrific foundation, he said, listing a litany of benefits, from his fellow students and alumni, who he still seeks input from today, to his international experiences studying the health care systems of Great Britain and China. Scranton MHA graduates are truly men and women for others, with a global perspective.
“Being able to question things and critically think about problems and challenges, and taking an analytical approach to tackling problems—that was baked into me by my Jesuit education.”
– Jonathan P. Forte ’07, G’09, CEO and Health Officer, RiverStone Health
“The other benefit was being immersed in the health care world of NEPA in the early 2000s, which was all about systems merging and evolving, “ Forte said, ‘We’d be in a health care finance class listening to the helicopter at CMC and try to tally up how many times it landed so we could see how much the hospital was losing in trauma care.”
Of course, he said, the Jesuit ethos has stayed with him throughout his health care journey.
“Being able to question everything and critically think about issues facing healthcare today, and taking an analytical approach to tackling problems — that was baked into me by my Jesuit education,” Forte said. “And cura personalis — in healthcare, we start with respect for the whole person. Providing individualized attention to their lived experience, while treating everyone as human beings, meeting them where they are on life’s journey.”
