Henry Ford Health System, Cornell University host case study competition to design workplace health and wellness solutions

DETROIT – More than 140 graduate students from 36 universities across the country brought their ideas for improving the growing and changing field of direct-to-employer healthcare in a case study competition co-sponsored by Cornell University and Henry Ford Health System. 

The inaugural collaboration in the Sloan Program in Health Administration National Virtual Case Competition ran virtually March 26-28 and was designed to engage and learn from up-and-coming students headed for work in healthcare.

The object of the competition was to tackle ways to increase, improve and add value to the workplace health and wellness services provided by Henry Ford @ Work, a division of the health system’s Community Care Services. Henry Ford @ Work provides direct-to-employer health services on and off site to some of Michigan’s largest employers. Care models are built  around customized in-person care through on-site and near-site clinics and special events and offers the latest in digital and virtual health technology – all to fit the health, financial and access needs of employers and their workforce.  

For the case study competition, teams of graduate students designed solutions for direct-to-employer healthcare and pitched them at the virtual event, which was judged by leaders from Henry Ford with support from Cornell’s Healthcare Students Association and the Johnson Healthcare Club. Winners took home a total of $10,000 in prize money.

“We are excited to provide emerging healthcare leaders with exposure to an atypical health care case,” said Susan Greene, Director of Occupational Health Services at Henry Ford Health System. “We operate outside of traditional hospitals and clinics. We customize unique care models for each of our clients. This requires constant innovative and strategic thinking, which is perfect for a case competition.”

The competition was open to all graduate students in any year and in any accredited MBA, MPH, MHA, EMHA, M.D., or Ph.D program in the U.S. and Canada.

Zain Ismail, Principal Transformation Consultant at Henry Ford, said the competition resulted “in numerous ideas and plans that could be put into action.”

“We are excited to continue engaging in this way that allows others to build on our success and help us build on our mission to make healthcare convenient, affordable, a way of work life that leads to an overall improvement in community health and well-being.”

Working with students who will join the industry as it undergoes change is essential to making that happen, he said.

“Students often have some of the brightest ideas because they still have a fresh perspective” Ismail said. “We are fortunate for the opportunity to sponsor this case competition and have access to some of the best and brightest minds in North America help us think through the future of healthcare services,” he said. 

The first prize was awarded to a team from Cornell University, second prize went to a team from New York University and third was awarded to team with representation from the University Medical Center of El Paso and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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News Media Contact:  Kim North Shine / knorth1@hfhs.org / 313-549-4995 

About Henry Ford Health System 

Founded in 1915 by Henry Ford himself, Henry Ford Health System is a non-profit, integrated health system committed to improving people’s lives through excellence in the science and art of healthcare and healing. Henry Ford Health System includes Henry Ford Medical Group, with more than 1,900 physicians and researchers practicing in more than 50 specialties at locations throughout Southeast and Central Michigan. Acute care hospitals include Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI and Henry Ford Allegiance Health in Jackson, MI – both Magnet® hospitals; Henry Ford Macomb Hospital; Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital; and Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital. 

As one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, Henry Ford Health System annually trains more than 3,000 medical students, residents, and fellows in more than 50 accredited programs, and has trained nearly 40% of the state’s physicians. Our dedication to education and research is supported by nearly $100 million in annual grants from the National Institutes of Health and other public and private foundations.

Henry Ford’s not-for-profit health plan, Health Alliance Plan (HAP), provides health coverage for more than 540,000 people. 

Henry Ford Health System employs more than 33,000 people, including more than 1,600 physicians, more than 6,600 nurses and 5,000 allied health professionals.