Healthcare - Campus Viewpoint
The latest installment of Where We’re Going will invite Notre Dame faculty and national and global experts to focus on healthcare and timely issues like public health and healthcare technology. Participants will be invited to join three weekly events to hear from faculty and industry practitioners and participate in discussions to enhance their understanding of the topics. Healthcare virtual events will be the following Thursdays:
- February 11, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. ET: Campus Viewpoint
- February 18, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. ET: National Viewpoint
- February 25, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. ET: Global Viewpoint
William Evans
Presented by William Evans
Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Economics and co-founder of the Lab for Economic Opportunities
In 2007, Bill Evans joined the Department of Economics at Notre Dame as the university’s first Keough-Hesburgh Professor. This professorship was designed to attract leading scholars to Notre Dame to contribute to both the academic life as well as the Catholic mission of the university. Evans received his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University and his Ph.D. in economics from Duke University. His research covers a broad range of areas including health economics and the economics of education. His work has appeared in the top journals in the economics profession, and his research is routinely covered by the popular press. In 2012, Evans and his colleague Jim Sullivan started the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities, a research center devoted to finding evidence-based solutions to poverty. He and his wife Eileen have three boys, Conor (ND 2012), Brendan (ND 2015), and Patrick (ND 2019).
Watch “Fighting to Prevent Homelessness” to learn more about LEO’s impact:
An example of the work from LEO on health:
Krista Foster
Presented by Krista Foster
Assistant Professor, IT, Analytics, and Operations, Mendoza College of Business
Krista Foster is an Assistant Professor in the IT, Analytics, and Operations Department at the Mendoza College of Business. Motivated by inefficiencies in the healthcare industry and collaborations with clinicians, her research is focused on healthcare operations management. More specifically, she studies emergency department operations and the management of large-scale emergency physician networks. By leveraging large amounts of data from emergency departments across the country, Foster has been able to uncover practice patterns and behaviors among emergency physicians, as well as trends among patients. Her research has been published in Production and Operations Management and Annals of Emergency Medicine. Additionally, Foster teaches an introductory supply chain management course to undergrads in the Mendoza College of Business.
“Emergency departments provide a critical safety net for many patients in the United States, and while emergency physicians make up a relatively small proportion of physicians, they treat a large number of acute care patients. Addressing inefficiencies in the way emergency departments operate could potentially impact millions of patients. Therefore, it is crucial for emergency departments to engage in continuous improvement activities that focus on improving both productivity and the patient experience.”
Krista Foster
Dr. Bernard Nahlen '75 (Moderator)
Presented by Bernard Nahlen
Director, Eck Institute for Global Health
Bernard Nahlen’s career is dedicated to addressing diseases that disproportionately impact people in low- and middle-income countries. From 2007-2017, he served as the Deputy Coordinator of the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). During his time as technical lead, PMI expanded to 24 high-burden countries in Africa, as well as to Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand, and developed effective partnerships with Ministries of Health, multilaterals (WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank, the Global Fund), other bilateral aid agencies in the UK and Australia, private foundations (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Clinton Health Access Initiative), non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. In 2015, WHO reported that malaria deaths had declined by 60% globally compared to baseline year 2000.
Dominic Vachon '80, '85 M.Div.
Presented by Dominic Vachon
The John G. Sheedy, M.D., Director of the Ruth M. Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care in Medicine
Prior to joining the Hillebrand Center, Dominic Vachon served as Director of Behavioral Medicine and Caring Science Training at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center’s Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Vachon is also is a practicing psychologist specializing in neurofeedback therapy. Past research has focused on the relationship between empathy and burnout. Other areas of interest include factors in maintaining caring behaviors in difficult work, the psychology of helping interactions, physician-patient dynamics, and the role of spirituality in helping others. Dr. Vachon provides workshops nationally in the area of maintaining balanced caring behaviors in the helping professions. As director, he is responsible for management, programs, research, student outreach, and scholarly engagement. In addition to teaching undergraduates, his work with the Center includes researching the physician-patient relationship, teaching effective communication skills, and collaborating with local and national organizations to advance the science of compassionate care in healthcare.
Watch “Fighting For Compassion in Medicine” to learn more about Dr. Vachon’s work:
View the Event
Presented by Bernard Nahlen
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Featured Speakers:
- William Evans, Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Economics, Co-founder of the Lab for Economic Opportunities, University of Notre Dame
- Krista Foster, Assistant Professor, IT, Analytics, and Operations, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame
- Dr. Bernard Nahlen, Director, Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame
- Dominic Vachon, The John G. Sheedy, M.D., Director of the Ruth M. Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care in Medicine, University of Notre Dame