Contributor: Bryan Bushick, MD, WG'89
To learn more about Bryan, click here.
I hope 2026 has been treating you well – on both the personal and professional fronts.
New year. New name!
I’m delighted to share the Wharton Health Care Management Alumni Association (WHCMAA) is quickly evolving to the Wharton Healthcare Alumni Association (WHAA).
Subtle change. Big consequences! First, what’s still the same:
- Given the dramatic and impactful changes involving the business, management, and policy of healthcare services, financing, technology, and innovation throughout the world, the Association is retaining its role as THE organizing force for the growing community of Wharton and Penn alumni who are enhancing the future of healthcare.
- As importantly, the Association remains closely aligned with its roots, Wharton’s Health Care Management Department and its MBA Program in Health Care Management (HCM). Since the WHCMAA’s founding in 1989 by HCM alumni, the organization has served HCM students and graduates across all phases of their careers and often beyond retirement.
- The Association will continue operating as a Wharton Club associated with the External Affairs department.
Yet, there have been tremendous changes throughout Wharton and across Penn during the more than 35 years since the WHCMAA was launched. For example, the WEMBA program has significantly expanded and now offers a Health Care Management concentration. There is also greater cross-pollination involving students enrolled in different schools and many more joint degree opportunities associated with various aspects of healthcare. Finally, a growing array of Executive Education offerings confer full alumni distinction and benefits.
While administered through Wharton, the WHAA welcomes Wharton and Penn undergraduate, graduate school and Executive Education alumni who are devoted to the healthcare sector. The increased size and educational diversity of this growing community will surely benefit all members.
With a commitment to investing in the next generation, the WHAA will offer resources to a broader number of cohorts. These include HCM students, as well as other Wharton full-time and Executive MBA candidates. Collaboration is also being pursued with students engaged in the Wharton Undergraduate Healthcare Club, PennHealthX, and Penn’s Life Sciences and Management program.
Upon graduation, all these newly minted alumni can then benefit from a smooth transition into the WHAA that builds upon and extends their experiences.
Additional details regarding the WHAA are available here: www.whartonhealthcare.org. The next quarter’s edition of The President’s Desk will highlight the WHAA’s four areas of focus.
Best wishes as the year unfolds!
Sincerely,
Bryan Bushick, MD, MBA (WG'89)
President, Wharton Health Care Management Alumni Association
Contact Bryan at: [email protected].