Due to the efforts of Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health (HSC-SRPH) students, nationally renowned health-system transformation leader and author Mr. Quint Studer spoke for the first time at a university-sponsored conference. The author of Hardwiring Excellence spoke free of charge on Friday, September 21. Over 200 medical professionals from throughout Texas attended the conference hosted by the School and the St. Joseph Regional Health Center.

Master of Health Administration (MHA) students and faculty produced a creative CD invitation to Mr. Studer. Dozens of MHA and Masters of Public Health (MPH) students as well as alumni from the School were in the audience. Even more students joined Mr. Studer on Friday afternoon for an informal meeting on campus.

"His captivating presentation will remain as one of the highlights of my time at the School of Rural Public Health," said MHA student Ms. Katy Robertson.

Mr. Studer addressed the "Studer" approach and leadership development changing the culture as it relates to health organizations. The Studer Group is an outcomes-based health-care consulting firm devoted to teaching evidence-based tools and processes that organizations can immediately use to create and sustain outcomes in service and operational excellence.

Dr. Larry Gamm, head of the Department of Health Policy and Management for the HSC-SRPH, said he thinks Mr. Studer’s concept is important for young people to hear before they get into the workforce. "[The concept] capsules the ideas and values that we want our students to exemplify and build," Dr. Gamm said. "Health care is extremely complex. There’s probably no field of endeavor that involves more varied skills and population."

"There’s a lot of discussion right now about national health policy and health reform, Dr. Gamm added. "The most consistent idea is that any kind of health policy reform will fall short of expectations without simultaneously implementing the kind of values we’ve been talking about."