In the spring, Edward A. Rosasco wrote an article entitled, “In a Few Short Years, It Will All Change.” The “it” he was referring to was the health care industry, and with regard to the article, he now says, “It is probably more relevant today than when I wrote it.” And he should know. Rosasco is the Director of the Health Administration & Policy Program at the University of Miami, a graduate program responsible for helping to equip health care professionals to tackle those changes.

Established in 1979, the Program currently ranks in the top 20 graduate health administration programs in the United States, and emphasizes the development of business, technical, administrative, and leadership skills as they apply to the health care trade. Rosasco was appointed to the position of Program Director in 2001 following decades of experience in the industry. In describing the necessity for the Program, he said, “Hospital executives in recent years have verbalized concern for adequate leadership,” he said. “We’re directly involved in educating these practitioners—they’re not new students—and we want to provide them with the necessary skills to be successfrul in an ever-increasingly difficult environment.”

Rosasco talked about some of the adjustments he foresees happening to the Program in the near future: “We are changing to meet new accreditation requirements,” he said, “and we are adapting the Program where we have the flexibility to do so. We also like to be sensitive to the marketplace, to those who put students into our Program.”

In describing the Program, Rosasco said, “We have a 16-course curriculum that begins in January, and we go year-round. We educate working health professionals, so we hold classes one weekend a month, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, all day. This enables physicians to participate because they are generally able to get coverage for one weekend. We usually have about 30 in a class, and the breakdown is typically one-third of the student body is physicians, one-third management—in all levels of an organization—and one-third nursing or pharmaceutical people.”

Rosasco teaches one course throughout the year, and also spends time promoting the Program outside the classroom. “I talk to executives in corporations and hospitals at least annually,” he said. “They often pay for their employees to participate in the Program, so they have a stakeholder interest. I’m out selling the Program to them, and also getting one-on-one responses.”

Rosasco said the Program has an Advisory Board of 20 executives from various hospitals and health care systems, as well as individuals involved with health care law. “We regularly use the health care industry to advise us,” he said. “They advise us with regard to relevant issues, like malpractice.”

Prior to joining the University of Miami, Rosasco was President and CEO at Mercy Hospital in Miami for 18 years. He came to Florida from Brooklyn, where he had been Executive Director of The Brooklyn Hospital for six years. “I enjoyed Brooklyn and wasn’t looking for a change,” he said, “but I was contacted by an executive search firm that presented to me the position of CEO at Mercy. It was what I had aspired to do, so I came and interviewed, and was fortunate to obtain it.”

Rosasco earned a degree in Public Accounting from Syracuse University, after which he joined the Air Force and became Captain, USAF Medical Services. He later earned an MBA from George Washington University, but said the time in the Air Force gave him an opportunity to decide what he wanted to do with the rest of his career. “Health care management was just coming into its own,” he said. “That was in 1963, and there were only 17 graduate programs in the country at that time. Now there are more than 200. The industry has exploded during my career.”

He sees more changes coming, particularly in light of the approaching presidential election. “I think we’ll do something about the uninsured and the aging,” he commented. “Neither party can turn its back on that, and I think it will be a significant priority at the national and local levels.”

Despite the many changes Rosasco has seen and helped to implement, he is not ready to sit back and relax. “I’ve worked in the industry a long time and what I do makes me very satisfied at the end of the day. I am far from ready to spend 100 percent of my time fly fishing right now.”



The health care industry is growing more complex by the day. In ever-increasing numbers, health care professionals are seeking specialized positions and environments both inside and outside of traditional hospital settings. Are you among them?

Make Your Next Career Move Online

Your health care career can become more rewarding, flexible, and lucrative…with the right credentials. Kaplan University offers a wide range of professional certificate programs that can improve your promotion opportunities, salary level and employment prospects, and and even help you fulfill any entrepreneurial ambitions you may have. Best of all, the programs are offered in a dynamic and flexible online learning platform, so classes can be taken at your convenience—anytime, anywhere. And, the certificate programs are designed to be completed in 12 months or less.

Choose the Program That Fits Your Career Goals

Through Kaplan University’s Health Care Pathways program, you can study to become a case manager, forensic nurse, geriatric care manager, legal nurse consultant, or life care planner—professions that are experiencing exponential growth. Move your health care career in a rewarding direction and look forward to flexible hours and a secure financial future with one of five professional certificate programs:

Case Management

For health and human services professionals, case management is another rewarding career option. Case managers are instrumental in the promotion of quality, cost-effective health care. Kaplan University’s Case Management Certificate program will teach you how to perform assessments, conduct research, analyze data, and plan and manage services and care. Case management skills can be applied in a variety of settings, including insurance companies, managed care organizations, workers’ compensation carriers, home health agencies, acute and long-term care facilities, government agencies, and independent practice.

Forensic Nursing

Registered nurses can use hands-on experience to become both victim counselors and crime solvers. Forensic nurses can explore opportunities in medical examiners’ offices and crime scene units, or consult for hospitals. Through Kaplan University’s Forensic Nursing Certificate program, you’ll learn about collecting crime-scene evidence, providing testimony, and supporting survivors of violent crimes and accidents. Forensic nurses may be called to a hospital to treat victims of negligence or abuse, or to a crime scene or accident to work with detectives. The job is fast-paced and exciting, with real issues at stake.

Geriatric Care Management

If you’ve ever thought about opening your own practice, consider geriatric care management. Kaplan University’s Geriatric Care Management Certificate program teaches you to identify and assess senior health and social services needs. Geriatric care managers recommend, coordinate, monitor, and evaluate care and services to assure that quality, cost-effective care results in an optimal lifestyle for their senior clients. In addition to independent practice, jobs are available with insurance companies, government agencies, home health agencies, assisted-care facilities, and social service agencies.

Legal Nurse Consulting

Did you know that you can use your nursing background to find gainful employment at law firms and insurance offices? Legal nurse consultants provide expertise and research in malpractice lawsuits, medical insurance claims, and workers’ compensation cases. Your nursing education and clinical experience, combined with the legal knowledge and research ability you’ll gain through Kaplan University’s Legal Nurse Consulting Certificate program, will provide an abundance of career opportunities. Legal nurse consultants can earn a lucrative salary and open their own consulting practice.

Life Care Planning

For rehabilitation professionals and registered nurses interested in facilitating the care, treatment, and/or rehabilitation of individuals with significant disabilities or chronic health problems, the field of life care planning is a rewarding option. Kaplan University’s Life Care Planning Certificate program provides you with the knowledge and skills needed to pursue career opportunities with attorneys, insurance companies, and managed care organizations, or in independent practice. You’ll learn how to develop life care plans and gain expert knowledge of the medical, psychosocial, and economic aspects of disabilities and chronic health care conditions.



Program For RVTs Helping Hospital Staff and Patients

Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease (ASVD) includes disorders of the artery and veins that may lead to disability or death. The statistics for untreated ASVD including stroke, abdominal aortic aneurysm and pulmonary embolus are grim. For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. In 2002, stroke killed 162,672 people (61 percent of them women,) accounting for about 1 of every 15 deaths. More than 200,000 new Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms cases are diagnosed every year in the United States. If an aneurysm grows and ruptures, it’s fatal in 90 percent of the cases. Lastly, approximately 650,000 cases of pulmonary embolus annually in the US result in over 50,000 deaths.

The good news is that if vascular disorders are treated in time, most of these deaths may be avoidable, and physicians generally agree that early diagnosis and treatment of ASVD greatly impact the outcome of patient care.

One of the greatest technological advancements for diagnosis of ASVD has been the application of noninvasive ultrasound. Ultrasound uses sound waves to provide critical images and blood flow information to the attending physician.

Richard Rizdon, first year RVT student at Nova Southeastern University

At the same time, ultrasound can be very “technologist dependent” requiring advanced knowledge and skills to operate the sophisticated and ever-evolving equipment. Yet, despite the wide acceptance and use of cardiovascular ultrasound, there is a major shortage of Registered Vascular Technologists (RVTs) due to the lack of qualified training facilities. For example, in the United States there are no more than 28 Commission on the Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)-accredited cardiovascular training programs, only two of which are located in Florida. Nova Southeastern University’s vascular sonography program is one of only three bachelor level programs available in the nation.

The typical applicant to the vascular technology program is a graduate of a community college who seeks to complete their bachelor’s degree in the allied health field. These applicants have completed most of their general education and sciences courses and many are focused on a career in the health sciences.

According to the US Department of Labor, the median income for a RVT in 2004 was $52,490, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employment of RVTs is expected to “grow much faster than average” (greater than 27 percent) through the year 2014. Growth will occur as the population ages, because older people have a higher incidence of heart problems and require the use of more diagnostic imaging. Employment of RVTs will also grow as advances in vascular technology and sonography help to reduce the need for more costly and invasive medical procedures.

“Using ultrasound systems, sonographers can use high speed computers to obtain clear two-dimensional images and detect the thickening of the arterial walls or blockages of the vessel lumen,” said Professor Terrence Case, NSU’s Vascular Sonography program director. “This diagnostic information helps the physician intervene and manage the patient’s health before a devastating stroke or ruptured aneurysm may occur.”

Nova Southeastern University’s program was launched in March 2004. In addition to lectures in the classroom and hands-on experience in the new ultrasound laboratory, students spend 1,700 hours at a clinical site. The curriculum covers a variety of disciplines, and requires knowledge of vascular anatomy, physiology, comprehension of ultrasound physics, psychomotor skills to evaluate vessels and critical thinking skills to determine what might be significant for the interpreting physician. NSU expects to graduate at least 200 RVTs over the next 10 years and graduates will find exciting careers with excellent employment opportunities.



JFK Medical Center is pleased to announce that they have successfully submitted their application to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in order to initiate an Internal Medicine residency program. The proposed program is being sponsored by the University Of Miami Leonard Miller School Of Medicine. It will be a joint effort with the West Palm Beach VA and is planned to have 66 positions. The first residency class is projected to commence in July 2008, with a site visit necessary for the approval process scheduled for the spring of 2007.

JFK Medical Center looks forward to becoming an academic institution, “The residency program at JFK will further enhance the quality of care we provide our patients” says Charles Posternack, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at JFK Medical Center, “Having residents motivates physicians to stay on top of things”



The Center for Professional Development (CPD) at Keiser University offers customized training sessions for your work force that will help your organization maintain a competitive edge by making sure your staff has the knowledge and tools for professional success. The CPD will work with your business to develop, plan, and deliver workshops that can be conducted onsite at your company, off-site, or using technology. The CPD customizes topics and learning methodologies for each organization based on an up-front needs assessment and provides qualified instructors to facilitate these workshops.

Dr. Marta Urdaneta is one of the many instructors available from The CPD. Her credentials include an MBA, a Ph.D. in Health Administration, and Nursing Home Administrator’s license. She has over 9 years experience as a Health Care Administrator, including nursing home administration, multi-site family practice management, and outcomes research in the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr. Urdaneta is currently the Program Director for the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences and Program Coordinator for the Bachelor of Arts in Health Services Administration at Keiser University. She also teaches at both the Associate and Bachelor levels.

Dr. Urdaneta’s interest in working with the CPD comes from her days as an administrator. “I would search for health care specific seminars on topics such as customer service, collections, or other business training but always had to resort to sending my staff to general management or business workshops,” she said. “My staff would come back with some interesting comments but little understanding how to relate the information back to their jobs. If I could have just found a seminar specific to the health care field, I would have been happy. But to have access to a seminar customized to what my staff needed—that would have been the best!”

Because Dr. Urdaneta was unable to find the health care specific topics she needed, she attended many general management seminars. Afterwards, she would bring information back and present it to her staff, making it relevant to their specific jobs. “With my educational background, it was no trouble for me to train my staff,” she said. “But it took a lot of time doing it myself – going to the seminars and collecting the general information, weeding out what we didn’t need, filling in with what we did need, and then presenting it to the staff.”

With this experience of “doing it herself,” Dr. Urdaneta understands the value of customized training provided by the CPD. She and other instructors are available to work with companies to create the customized training programs they need at their specific sites. “I am excited about the opportunity to help other Administrators train their staff. I’ve been in their shoes and know the frustration of trying to find relevant training,” she said. “All of the instructors at the Center have wonderful experience and credentials. We are here to help you.”