Wharton Health Care Management Alumni Association awards prestigious Alumni Kissick Award

Gil Kaminski, First year MBA student, The Wharton School, 2015 Alumni Kissick Scholarship recipient

The Wharton Health Care Management Alumni Association (WHCMAA) recently chose Gil Kaminski, a first year Wharton MBA student, for its prestigious, $15,000 Alumni Kissick Scholarship.  The scholarship is named after William Kissick, MD, PhD, who played an integral role in developing the Wharton HCM program and had been deeply involved at the national level as one of the pioneers of the Medicare program.  The scholarship is meant for a deserving healthcare MBA student who exemplifies what Bill Kissick stood for: being socially responsible, having an insatiable quest for knowledge, and engaging others in a common cause.  Gil’s background and experience fit this description very well. The scholarship is used to help defray the tuition expenses to Wharton.
   
“Gil is a very impressive individual,” said June Kinney, Associate Director and Lecturer of the Graduate Program in Health Care Management at Wharton.  “Her work outside the classroom with the VA exemplifies the type of work Bill Kissick would have been engaged in.” 

Gil’s background:

Gil holds a B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, and an MS in Finance from the University of Delaware. Gil, a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces, dedicates her time and academic endeavors to public service in health care through her work at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.  In this volunteer capacity, Gil has worked actively to ensure access to care for our nation’s veterans. 

Prior to studying at Wharton, Gil worked for a number of years in health care, innovation and entrepreneurship. She began her career at Israel’s Naval Medical Institute, and later moved to the private sector. She is a co-author of 2 patents and of several academic articles. Gil has a strong interest in innovation in medical technology and healthcare delivery.

Gil will spend the summer working at DaVita HealthCare Partners’ VillageHealth group, which provides integrated care management for those with kidney disease, in the goal of improving clinical outcomes and quality of life, while reducing healthcare costs. 

We would like to congratulate Gil on receiving this important scholarship and expect significant contributions to the health care field from her in the future!