Dr. Ann Harbeson has been working in the health care industry for more than three decades. She has spent nearly 25 of those years at Louisville, Kentucky-based Jewish Hospital Healthcare Services, where she currently serves as the Information Technology Manager, Physician Support. After earning a bachelor's degree in liberal arts and a master's degree in computer resources and information management, Harbeson decided to pursue a Ph.D. in health administration. However, it was slim pickings as far as finding an institution offering health care administration programs, let alone a doctorate-level course of study. At the time, there were only three programs nationwide. She eventually selected the program at Kennedy-Western University in Agoura Hills, California, graduating in the fall of 2006.

No doubt, Harbeson understands firsthand the need for an increased number of health care management programs, particularly in the so-called "Kentuckiana" area, where health care facilities abound. But more importantly, she sees the need for current managers in health care to get an actual healthcare management background. "We have people that are in management roles that have business degrees or engineering degrees but if they're in patient care, if they're in health care facilities, they should have healthcare management-type backgrounds because it gives them a better understanding of what goes on in the whole organization," said Harbeson.

And the patient is what Harbeson believes to be at the center of the healthcare management program that she's been chosen to head up at Ottawa University's Jeffersonville campus. "Patients are our business," said Harbeson, who points out that patients today have options and issues before them that didn't exist in years past. "There's ambulatory care, there's in-patient, there's out-patient, and with the different types of Medicare and Medicaid pre-requisites and reimbursements, you have to look at what's best for patients."

Insurance companies and federal agencies also stand to benefit from the new healthcare management program. Both entities are looking for creative ways to keep costs down and both need managers that understand the ethics of healthcare as well as the state and federal regulations.

Harbeson believes the health care management program should be of particular interest to healthcare professionals such as registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists, and radiology technologists that are licensed but don't have a bachelor's degree. She says the best part is that as long as those individuals earned their licenses at accredited institutions, they can transfer their credits to OU and then have them applied to their total hours necessary for the BA. "If they don't have a bachelor's degree, a lot of times, they don't have the skills they need to do their job," said Harbeson. "Not that (a degree) makes them a better person, it just gives them a better skill set for those particular jobs."

College instruction is nothing new for Harbeson. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at Ivy Tech Community College since 2003, teaching such subjects as Medical Terminology, Medical Law & Ethics, and even Desktop Publishing. Aside from work and teaching, Harbeson and her husband have three children, and they enjoy traveling, especially cruises.