In the inaugural Big 12 Healthcare Leadership Case Competition, student teams from across the Big 12 competed for the chance to win up to $10,000—but there was one catch. Students had to build connections outside of their own majors in order to find solutions to the healthcare challenge: advancing the mission, vision, and values of the Zanesville, Ohio-based Genesis Healthcare System.
“Genesis Health is a top 100 hospital and provided a unique opportunity for students to explore the complexities of a billion-dollar organization and propose strategies and tactics to move them forward,” says Britt Berrett, a teaching professor in the Department of Management and the managing director of Healthcare Leadership Collaborative at the BYU Marriott School of Business.
Teams chose their strategy, researched its feasibility, and put together a presentation to show their solution to the judges. These presentations included plans for a mobile lung care unit, an app to report safety issues, an educational program for clinical workers, and more.
Caleb Smith, a BYU economics student from Herriman, Utah, helped coordinate the competition hosted at the BYU Marriott School of Business. “Students could take this case in any direction, which required them to dive into details of the system, understand where the pain points are, and then prioritize them to figure out what will provide the most value,” Smith says. “It was amazing to see how participants used what they were studying to produce creative solutions to the problem.”
Berrett also appreciated the creativity of student solutions: “Healthcare touches every major: marketing, technology, communications, strategy, accounting, pre-med, nursing—and leading in healthcare requires interdisciplinary teams.”
Smith says that he enjoyed facilitating another type of connection at the conference between industry leaders and students. “The competition allows students to receive immediate feedback from people who have walked that road and can help guide them along their career path in the healthcare industry,” he says.
During a break in the competition, teams heard from one such industry leader, Kent Gale, the founder of KLAS Enterprises and keynote speaker for this event. “Some of you are going to have to go home without knowing you won, but you did something amazing,” Gale says. “You stuck your neck out and you tried—and if you do the same thing as you enter the healthcare community or wherever you go to work, you can and will make a difference.”
Three BYU teams impressed the judges with their proposed solutions and left with cash prizes. “We could not have asked for a better event,” Smith reflects. “It would not have been possible without the hard work from the teams and coaches, and the generous gift of time from the judges and speakers.”
Berrett says he hopes to make the Big 12 Healthcare Leadership Case Competition an annual event and looks forward to seeing it grow in the future. “The case competition was imagined by the faculty and made a reality by student leadership,” he explains. “I am inspired by BYU, which invites us to be creative, curious, demanding, and faithful.”