President John Langell shared news from across campus in a University Update on Monday, Feb. 19. Among the highlights:
- He commended College of Medicine students and faculty who administered aid to a staff member who recently had a medical incident on campus.
- Several events were highlighted, including Black History Month, M.Sc.A. White Coat, College of Medicine Match Day (and early matches), NEOvations Bench to Bedside, employee recognition and VITALS.
- The first UH-NEOMED faculty scholars and student scholars will be recognized in a reception following the March 7 Board of Trustees meeting.
- A celebration of the life for Robert Liebelt, NEOMED’s first dean of medicine who died in December, will be held from 2:30-4 p.m. Saturday, March 16, in Watanakunakorn Auditorium.
- The Bitonte College of Dentistry continues to prepare for the April 4-5 site visit from the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).
- Langell addressed concerns that were shared on social media about the Student-Run Free Clinic. He assured the University community that the free clinic will continue to operate, and will likely expand to meet unmet health care needs for uninsured and underinsured patients in the area
Following Dr. Langell’s remarks, Lacey Madison, M.B.A., M.Ed., LSSBB, vice president for strategy and transformation, introduced a series of strategic success stories:
- Jordan Cinderich, M.Ed., LSSBB, director of operational excellence, gave an overview of the new Executive Education program (read more about it in Monday’s Pulse!).
- Giselle Hamad, M.D., professor of surgery and associate dean of Clinical Faculty Affairs in the College of Medicine, shared progress on an LSS Green Belt project to streamline and improve the College of Medicine faculty appointment and promotion process.
- David Vitatoe, senior director of alumni relations, presented on the new NEOMED Connect platform connecting students with alumni mentors
- Second-year College of Medicine students Samantha Hardy and T.J. Cahill, co-presidents of the student-led Journal of Medical Sciences, shared an update on the publication.
Watch the Feb. 19 University Update
The question below was asked by an anonymous viewer during the Jan. 30 University Update:
“Could we have more information on why our health care premiums are significantly higher than other public institutions such as Kent State, where the employee contribution for health care premium does not exceed $205 monthly? It's difficult to understand why our family premiums can exceed $500 monthly and are now possibly increasing even more.”
Mary Taylor, M.Tax., CPA, senior vice president of operations and finance, responded:
"Health insurance plan design is unique to the institution and the employees who work there. Premium costs depend on many factors: number of participants, amount of the deductible, coinsurance, out of pocket amount, and health and medical conditions of the participants along with many other factors.
"NEOMED’s and Kent State’s health plans are not the same and NEOMED has fewer employees/participants than Kent State. These are a few of the factors to explain the difference between health insurance at NEOMED and health insurance at Kent State.
"NEOMED values its employees and as such strives to offer the best health insurance (and other benefits) available at a cost reasonable for the institution and the employee. NEOMED is working now to secure quotes for health insurance for calendar year 2025 and will review many options to acquire the best plan at the lowest cost."