Patrick Monaghan
Director of Communications
Jefferson School of Population Health
The Jefferson School of Population Health graduated its second-ever class last Thursday morning, during commencement ceremonies held at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Ten JSPH students walked during the ceremony, which featured keynote remarks from Donna E. Shalala, PhD, President of the University of Miami and the former Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The location – one of the foremost concert halls in the nation – was not lost on Dr. Shalala, who referenced famed Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Eugene Ormandy in her comments, comparing the newly minted healthcare professionals to the skilled musicians who usually “work the room.”
TJU President Robert L. Barchi, MD, PhD, lauded the graduates for their academic accomplishments, underscoring how desperately our nation’s ailing healthcare system is in need of an infusion of new leaders. JSPH Dean David B. Nash, MD, MBA, reminded the graduates that they stand at an important crossroad in population health, one framed in part by the Affordable Care Act, the landmark healthcare legislation enacted a little over one year ago.
For the graduates, the real work is just beginning. They’re now part of a new generation of healthcare leaders – those who will work to reduce the unexplained variation in health care services, abolish disparities in how care is delivered, improve the coordination of care and improve the quality and safety of the care they deliver.
Congratulations and continued success to the Class of 2011!