This week, 25 of the state's top healthcare executives head "back to school," with Seton Hall faculty as their teachers. The inaugural New Jersey Healthcare Executive Leadership Academy is a unique partnership, one that Seton Hall views as a path toward strengthening our health sector.

Seton Hall University has partnered with New Jersey's top healthcare associations to offer a new program that seeks to build collaborative leadership skills among physicians and executives from both hospitals and health insurance companies.

The Medical Society of New Jersey, the New Jersey Hospital Association and the New Jersey Association of Health Plans have launched a new, jointly sponsored Healthcare Executive Leadership Academy. Seton Hall University is the program's academic partner. 

The inaugural program begins February 9, 2017, and will run through June, offering sessions focusing on a particular healthcare problem facing the state as a whole. The program was initiated through a collaborative of payers, physicians and hospitals convened by the Fannie Rippel Foundation. Faculty from Seton Hall's School of Health and Medical Sciences (SHMS) are developing the curriculum and teaching the courses, which include topics such as:

• End of life issues
• Leading in an era of whitewater
• Shared leadership
• innovation tactics
• Big data leadership
• Population health leadership
• Conflict resolution
• Policy issues related to health system transformation

The academy’s overall goal is to prepare a large number of physicians and executives to play a greater role in transforming New Jersey's healthcare delivery system at both the local and state levels. Enrolled in the inaugural program are approximately 25 participants – physicians, hospital executives and health insurance executives. The Seton Hall faculty, in turn, are from SHMS' Master of Healthcare Administration and PhD in Health Sciences degree programs.

"We are honored that the School of Health and Medical Sciences has been selected for this cutting-edge program," said Brian B. Shulman, PhD, Dean. "By partnering academic leadership with health system payer and provider executives and clinicians, we have the best opportunity to find new solutions for our most pressing health system issues."

"To improve health outcomes, physicians, payers and hospitals must work more closely together," said Larry Downs, CEO of the Medical Society of New Jersey. "This program will provide participants with an opportunity to understand the unique perspective each brings to solving healthcare issues."

"We will bring together key leaders in each sector to improve their individual skills and to focus on solving important healthcare issues facing the state," said Betsy Ryan, President and CEO of the New Jersey Hospital Association. "We hope this program builds lasting relationships among the participants," she added

"We were pleased to be one of the founding members of this collaborative program," said Ward Sanders, Esq., President of the New Jersey Association of Health Plans. "There are times when our organizations have differing points of view. This format will allow us to work together toward common goals."

Initial funding for the program was provided by The Physicians Foundation, the Fannie Rippel Foundation and the Institute of Medicine & Public Health of NJ. To learn more, visit www.msnj.org/.

About Seton Hall University and the School of Health and Medical Sciences:
One of the country's leading Catholic universities, Seton Hall University has been a catalyst for leadership — developing students in mind, heart and spirit — since 1856. Home to nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students and offering more than 90 academic programs, Seton Hall's academic excellence has been singled out for distinction by The Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report and Bloomberg Businessweek. The university's School of Health and Medical Sciences provides exemplary academic and clinical training in graduate-level health sciences and health administration, with a focus on interprofessional education. Its fully accredited degree programs include professional graduate education programs in Athletic Training, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant and Speech-Language Pathology; the Master of Healthcare Administration program, offered in both online and on-campus formats; and the post-professional PhD in Health Sciences program. For more information, visit www.shu.edu/health.

About the Medical Society of New Jersey:
Founded in 1766, the Medical Society of New Jersey (MSNJ) is the oldest professional society in the United States. MSNJ has a mission to promote the betterment of the public health and the science and the art of medicine, to enlighten public opinion in regard to the problems of medicine, and to safeguard the rights of the practitioners of medicine. MSNJ represents all medical disciplines and serves as an advocate for patient and physician rights. Its members are dedicated to ensuring delivery of the highest quality medical care throughout New Jersey. For more information, visit www.msnj.org.

About the New Jersey Association of Health Plans:
Founded in 1994, the New Jersey Association of Health Plans (NJAHP) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster improved understanding of the value that health plans contribute to New Jersey's health care system. Among its core objectives, the NJAHP promotes collaborative efforts among health plans, providers, purchasers, brokers and consumers to expand access to high-quality, affordable, and accessible health care. For more information about NJAHP, visit www.njahp.org.

About the New Jersey Hospital Association:
The New Jersey Hospital Association is a not-for-profit trade organization committed to delivering support and services to the state's hospitals and other healthcare providers. We share a collective goal of providing quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to the people of the Garden State. Founded in 1918, NJHA has grown to become one of the largest and most influential healthcare organizations in the state. Our membership has grown in numbers and diversity, with close to 400 healthcare organizations including hospitals, health systems, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospice providers and healthcare-related business and educational institutions in our membership ranks. NJHA provides leadership in advocacy, policy analysis, quality and financial data, education and community outreach. For more information about NJHA, visit www.njha.com.