This past summer, Chad Nash, a Master of Health Administration (MHA) student at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, embarked on an inspiring internship that allowed him to see the future of emergency psychiatric care in Kentucky.
As part of his internship at Eastern State Hospital, which is managed by UK HealthCare, in Lexington, Chad was able to participate in the preparations for Kentucky’s first EmPATH unit—a specialized emergency department dedicated to psychiatric assessment, treatment, and healing for patients in crisis. The EmPATH unit, which went live on July 30, has already shown positive outcomes for patients facing acute mental health challenges.
"It was a very inspiring experience, as I got firsthand experience in a construction project and opening a new unit that has a profound impact on the patients that this unit will serve," he shared.
Throughout his internship, Chad worked on several different aspects of the unit’s launch, including human resources (HR) recruitment and furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) installation.
“Working within HR recruitment, FF&E installation, as well as workflow development helped me realize all the aspects of making sure a unit can run at its highest efficiency,” he said. “As someone who wants to work in operations in the long term, this was very beneficial knowledge that I gained for my career.”
Chad said one of his biggest takeaways was the importance of looking through the eyes of the patients as well as staff to come up with better ideas to benefit the patient population.
Another important lesson was the power of teamwork.
“I learned the importance of teamwork from all fronts—clinical and non-clinical—and how we all work toward a bigger goal with the hospital’s mission, vision, and values in mind,” he said.
The internship also gave Chad an ideal platform to put his MHA program education into action. He said he was able to improve his communication skills and gain insight into the financial aspects of opening the unit and how it benefits not only the healthcare system but the patients as well.
Chad said the internship and the MHA program has prepared him thoroughly for his Administrative Fellowship at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio.
“The MHA program has been very influential to my growth as a healthcare leader,” he said. “My professors, mentors and fellow classmates made this experience a constant learning environment, which for me is the main contributor to my success both in the internship as well as currently.”
To learn more about the MHA program at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, visit https://cph.uky.edu/programs/master-health-administration.
