What is Healthcare Administration?
Just as the demand for health care is expected to grow exponentially over the coming decades, so is the demand for health administration professionals to manage medical and health services facilities and programs. If you’re in Kansas, you should find lots of opportunities in the health administration field, and many colleges and universities offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in healthcare administration. With so much variety available for healthcare degrees, you should be able to find schools and degree programs that suit your needs.
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Online Healthcare Administration Education in Kansas
Online Bachelors (AS or BSHCA)
Central Christian College of Kansas, located in McPherson, offers online Bachelor of Science degrees in either healthcare administration with a health info management focus or healthcare administration focusing on medical practice management. It also offers a bachelor’s in business administration with a healthcare management concentration. Classes start throughout the year, so students can begin their online studies when it is convenient for them. Each course is six weeks long. Courses include Leadership and Change in Healthcare; Financial Management in Healthcare; Human Resource Management and Strategic Management.
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National American University, Overland Park, offers a Bachelor of Science degree in health care management. “Graduates can expect to find career opportunities in management positions within the diverse healthcare field or within their own area of clinical/professional expertise,” according to the university. Students must earn 180 credits to graduate, and the healthcare management major core consists of 49 credits. Students must earn a minimum of 24 of the 49 credits through the university’s distance learning program. The core courses include Introduction to U.S. Healthcare Delivery; Healthcare Planning and Evaluation; Healthcare Financial Management; Healthcare Management and Supervision; Healthcare Policy and Ethics; Healthcare Law; Management of Continuum Care Services; Quality Improvement and Risk Management; Regulatory Environment in Health Care; Essentials of Managed Care and Health Information Systems. Supporting core courses include Introduction to Business; Principles of Management; Financial Accounting for Managers; Marketing or Marketing Administration.
Ottawa University, Overland Park, offers a health care management program with a clinical and non-clinical track. The former is for those with a current license or registry, while the latter is for those without such a license or registry. The following concentrations are available with this program: Human resources, long-term care administration, marketing, communication, leadership, management of community-based organizations and social enterprise programs. Students may apply as many as 80 credit hours toward the 124 credit hours required for graduation toward this program.
Rasmussen College, Topeka, offers an accelerated healthcare management bachelor degree completion program and a bachelor’s degree in health information management. These degrees may be completed in as little as 18 months online through the college’s FlexChoice program if the candidates already have associate’s degrees in these fields. FlexChoice helps students save money on tuition and earn their degree on their own schedules.
Washburn University, Topeka, offers a Bachelor of Health Science in health services administration jointly online with Johnson County Community College. The community college offers an associate’s degree in health services administration, and this program allows such students to complete their bachelor’s degree without relocating. To receive the bachelor’s degree, students must have a minimum of 60 semester hours from Washburn or another accredited four-year college or university. At least 30 hours must be completed through Washburn.
Wichita State University offers a Bachelor of Science in Health Management. This 54-credit-hour degree program prepares students for employment in “health care, public health organizations, and aging programs/services.”
University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, offers an online Bachelor of Science degree in Health Information Management. Focus areas include Informatics and Data Security; Management; Data Analysis and ICD 10 / CPT Coding & Reimbursement. The program is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Graduates may sit for the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) certification exam.
Several Kansas community colleges offer associate’s degrees in health care administration or a similar field. Students can transfer to other Kansas colleges or universities to earn their undergraduate degrees. Community colleges offering associate’s degrees in health care administration or health information systems include Barton County Community College, Great Bend and Allen County Community College, Iola. Check with your local community college to see if they offer similar programs.
Online Masters (MS or MHA)
The University of Kansas Medical Center offers a Master of Health Services Administration program fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), the Council on Education for Public Health and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Schools & Colleges. Students may attend on a full or part-time basis, with classes offered from Monday through Thursday in the late afternoon and evening. Currently, the estimated cost per academic year is $4,494 for in-state students and $10,560 for out-of-state students. The GRE is required for admission.
Wichita State University offers a graduate certificate in health administration for those students who already have a background in finance, business or management and would like to pursue a career in health services. Applicants must be admitted to graduate school in either a degree program or in a nondegree Category A status. Candidates must have earned an undergraduate or graduate degree in business, finance, health management, clinical profession, or a related field, and have a minimum overall Grade Point Average of 2.750 on a scale of 4.000 or a 2.750 in the final 60 credit hours of undergraduate coursework.
Friends University, Wichita, offers a Master of Health Care Leadership, which is also available online. Most courses are three credit hours and are offered in eight-week time frames, either one night weekly or online. Courses include “Quality Management in Health Care Organizations,” “Financial Management,” Management Information Systems in Health Care,” Managing Complex Healthcare Systems” and “Strategic Planning and Performance Analytics in Healthcare.”
Ottawa University offers an Executive Master’s of Business Administration with a health care management focus. Courses include Organizational Behavior and Theory; Global Health Care Delivery Systems; Communicating Change in Health Care Organizations; Business Policy and Strategy: Regulatory Systems and Quality Assessment in Health Care Environment; Managerial Finance; Managerial Economics; Value Systems & Professional Ethics and Legal, Ethical, and Political Aspects of Health Care Management.
The University of Saint Mary offers an online Master of Business Administration with a health care concentration. This concentration gives students “deep knowledge of legal and ethical issues in the health care field along with the business skills to handle them,” according to the university’s website. The program requires a total of 36 graduate-level credit hours, including nine core courses as well as courses in Leadership and Business Operations in Healthcare; Healthcare Informatics and Technologies and Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare.
Careers and Salary Outlook
Salary and Earnings Potential
Overall, the demand for health administrators is expected to grow by 32 percent from 2020-2030, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is much faster than average job growth at 7 percent. The field is expected to increase by more than 139,000 jobs over the decade through 2030. The 2020 mean pay was $104,280 annually, or $50.13 per hour nationally.
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As of 2020, health administrators in Kansas earned an average annual salary of $98,140. The top 10 percentile of earners in Kansas earned $151,930 per year, while the lowest 10 percent, which are generally less experienced medical and health service managers, earned an average of $54,810 per year.
Career Options
A snapshot of potential healthcare administrator job title examples: Director of Patient Services, Clinical Director, Project Management Analyst, Healthcare Policy Business Analyst, Director of Quality Management, Hospital and Healthcare Operations Manager.
Additional Helpful Resources
Prominent Employers in Kansas
Both metropolitan and rural areas of Kansas include healthcare operations as among their largest employers. Among the largest employers of health administration professionals in Kansas are Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City; Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center, Wichita; University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City; Stormont-Vail Regional Medical Center, Topeka; HCA Midwest Health, Kansas City; St. Luke’s South, Overland Park; Prime Healthcare Services, statewide and Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Kansas City.
Health Administration Associations
Health administrators in Kansas have various organizations they can join to further their professional development and improve health care management in the state. These organizations include:
The Kansas Association of Health Care Executives, a chapter of the American College of Health Care Executives, provides leadership and services to its members. As of 2018, membership includes 124 community hospitals, 16 systems, 16 health care organizations, three health insurance companies, 46 associate members and 16 networks.
The Kansas Health Information Management Association promotes professional development of its members via educational opportunities. According to its mission statement, the KHIMA is a “recognized network of health information management professionals who provide members and external stakeholders with guidance, best practices, education, and advocacy.” It is the state chapter of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).
Kansas Adult Care Executives serves the needs of the adult care home executive. KACE’s goals include providing opportunities for interaction with fellow professionals to facilitate peer support and the exchange of knowledge; acting as liaison between the profession, its members, elected officials, state agencies, and the public on relevant industry issues; and offering the Adult Care Home Executive quality educational programs designed to meet the ever-changing challenges of long-term care.
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