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CHP grad thankful for MUSC teamwork

by Heather Woolwine
Public Relations
Kevin Youmans, health administration graduate from the College of Health Professions (CHP), jokes that he and his wife, Lolita, could open their own hospital. Between the two of them, they possess his health administration degree and years of sales experience, and her degrees in law and employee and personnel relations.
 
From left are Devon, Kevin, Morgan, Jordan and Lolita Youman.

 While masterminding an undertaking of that size may not be the current agenda, for Youmans, becoming an intricate part of an evolving health care system, is part of the plan.

“I had been working with Toyota as a sales representative for more than 15 years and while I do have a physical education degree, I wasn’t necessarily planning on a career in health administration,” he said. “When we were living in Houston I talked with a man, who’d been in school with my wife, about what he did. It wasn’t until a little later, when I had the opportunity to speak with his parents, that I really realized what an interesting and fulfilling career it sounded like.”
   
Youmans’ desire paired nicely with a great career opportunity for his wife. “Lolita accepted a position at British Petroleum’s Cooper River site in Wando and with that came an opportunity to move back to South Carolina. [Youmans is from Hampton, S.C.],” he said. With the move, Youmans saw an opportunity to study.
 
“I’d done some research into various health administration programs and realized that now was the time.” Youmans was accepted to CHP’s program while completing some electives at Trident Technical College in North Charleston.
   
At the completion of Youmans’ first year in the program, his wife was recruited to work for British Petroleum’s oil division, which required travel, but offered good money and interesting work. “It was such a good opportunity for her and I wanted her to take it.”
 
Youmans also had a family to help raise. Lolita must travel up to two weeks out of each month for her job, because “wherever they drill, she may be scheduled to visit.” When his wife was out of town, Youmans pulled extra duty for girls Jordan, 12, Devon, 9, and Morgan, 6. His son Donte’, 23, was also in school in Greenville. Many days consisted of getting the kids out the door in the morning, heading to school and his work study, leaving at 5 p.m. and then moving onto the evening routines of homework, dinner, bath and bedtimes. Once the kids were in bed, he’d study. “The children thought it was pretty cool that I was in school the same time they were,” Youmans said.
 
During the first couple of weeks of the program, he was sure he’d made the right decision, but the course work was challenging. “As things progressed I started to become unsure how my studies would finish. People had told me that ‘professional’ schools and programs were a whole different world. Initially, I held back on becoming involved in extracurricular activities, but the faculty and other students made opportunities available and by joining these, it really helped to break down any barriers I was coming up against.”
 
A heart-to-heart with CHP Dean Danielle Ripich, Ph.D., at a student cookout assuaged any lingering anxiety. “I was really unsure about whether or not I belonged.  She spent some time telling me what a wonderful place MUSC is, the really great things they were doing in the health administration and policy program, and how well I would be prepared once I left here. The conversation came at the perfect time and it convinced me that I belonged. It stuck with me. Dr. Andrea White provided detailed instructions on how to get the most value from the program by continuing to seek marketable experiences and she was also a source of great personal encouragement.”
 
So, with his fear laid to rest, Youmans embarked on a successful course of study juggling student activities, study time, volunteer activities, and family life. He became a Presidential Scholar in 2005, served as the vice president for MHA’s student government association, became a member of the S.C. American College of Healthcare Executives Regents Advisory Committee, and was the recipient of the MHA’s William McLees Award and CHP’s Alumni Association’s Outstanding Student Award. “I worked as a graduate assistant in The Center for Economic and Policy Studies in the health administration department. It was the best job, because the work was interesting, challenging and provided me a great learning experience,“ he said. “I also value the relationships I built with the department’s economics faculty and staff and have gained appreciation for their important contributions to society.”
 
He coached Jordan’s basketball team, volunteer for AHEC’s bioterrorism planning efforts, and taught Sunday school at Mount Moriah Baptist Church in North Charleston. “My activities helped me focus on what I needed to do and it really didn’t matter how much work there was. I just completed assignments in the order they were due and stayed on top of them. It was important for me to work on projects in advance and schedule writing center appointments ahead of time.”
 
Youmans presence resonates with CHP faculty and staff.
 
“Kevin has been a wonderful asset to our MHA program. He has such an upbeat attitude and is so helpful,” said Andrea White, Ph.D., MHA program director. “DHAP faculty, staff, and his fellow students have such confidence in him. Whenever we needed student assistance from recruiting new students to serving on committees, we knew we could always count on Kevin.
 
“He has a wonderful demeanor. He never gets ruffled. He has so much insight to share, and he is so dependable,” she said.
 
MUSC is full of multi-taskers who take on so much while striving to achieve health care degrees. Youmans described what made it all work. “One of the most satisfying aspects of this experience was the willingness of my classmates to help me and work with me. The whole program has a group project feel to it so there was lots of teamwork,” he said. “The new building is great. The dean really did a wonderful job and it was nice to be able to interact with other people from various programs and from an administrative-help standpoint, it is much more convenient. It has great technological capabilities and its close proximity to the hospital enabled us to become more involved with things there.”
 
Youmans and his family will move to Falls Church, Va.,  this summer so he can began his new career with Inova Fairfax Hospital. “We are so happy that Kevin has been offered and accepted this outstanding administrative fellowship in Virginia, and we know he will do very well, but truthfully, we are all sad to see him leave Charleston,” White said.
 
Excited about graduating and for the future, Youmans expressed his desire to serve the health care industry. “What I’ve learned from my experiences at MUSC is that while financial goals [for a hospital] are important, I need to be an advocate for patients. I really believe that there are many people out there who should have and need access to the health care system but for various reasons aren’t able to. For the ones who do gain access, there are so many barriers to quality patient care. I want to focus on breaking down those barriers, and I believe that it can be done, while achieving the financial goals of the organization. There’s a better way, possibly through more system accountability and transparency, and while I’m not sure of the exact formula at this time, I know it’s out there.”

   

Friday, May 19, 2006
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