CAHME announces reaccreditation of Gillings School Department of Health Policy and Management

June 20, 2024

The Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) Board of Directors approved the reaccreditation of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health for a seven-year term.

Dr. Kristen Reiter

“This accreditation represents the strength of the Gillings School’s commitment to academic excellence and preparing future public health professionals to achieve success in health care management, with the ultimate goal of improving health for all,” said Kristin Reiter, PhD, Humana Distinguished Professor and chair of health policy and management. “We are especially proud of our student-centered environment, which stood out among the many highlights that CAHME noted about our program.”

Karen Volmar

“CAHME accreditation is very valuable, as it’s part of the eligibility requirements for students that pursue administrative fellowships with hospitals and health systems, as well as military students pursuing advanced degrees,” said Karen Volmar, JD, MPH, FACHE, professor and associate chair for academic programs in health policy and management. “Through our accredited programs, students and graduates have gained internships and fellowships with places like the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, as well as UNC Health and Duke health systems locally. Graduates of our programs occupy many of the health system leadership positions within North Carolina.”

“CAHME accredited programs have successfully navigated a complex and careful accreditation process managed by experts in the study and practice of health care management,” said Dr. Anthony Stanowski, DHA, FACHE, president and CEO of CAHME. “The program meets rigorous standards set by leading academics and practitioners. We recognize their commitment to the field.”

About CAHME
Since 1968, the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) has served the public interest by advancing the quality of healthcare management education globally. CAHME accredits 150 academic programs in management which has broadly been defined to include healthcare quality and safety and population health.

CAHME works with leading academic programs and numerous health care practitioners to ensure that graduates entering the health care field have undergone an educational process meeting rigorous, measurable standards for effectiveness. The result is a formal academic education focusing on key competencies plus practical experiences. This enables new graduates to quickly add value to an organization and grow into future leaders. CAHME is the only organization recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation to grant accreditation to individual academic programs offering a graduate degree in health care management. For more information, visit cahme.org.

About the University of North Carolina
The UNC Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) programs have been training health care leaders for over 40 years. The Executive MHA program, initially founded in 1980 through a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant to develop a regional master’s degree program in health administration, was designed to provide part-time graduate study to working health professionals in the southeastern United States. In 1990, the Department of Health Policy and Management expanded to include a residential program for new and early careerists and currently welcomes residential cohorts of 35-40 students and executives cohorts of 15-20 each year.

Contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@unc.edu.