Contributor: Heather Aspras, WG’08
To learn more about Heather, click here.
Back in May, I had the good fortune of going to the first in-person WHCMAA board meeting in more than two years. It was wonderful getting to see June and a lot of my fellow board members in Colonial Penn Center!
In addition, I had the opportunity to congratulate the second-year HCM class and highlight the benefits of the WHCMAA at their graduation brunch. We are excited to welcome them into the official alumni fold. After so much disruption over the past few years, it was energizing to see such a nice celebration of everything they’ve accomplished and to anticipate all of the great things they will do as alumni.
Speaking of doing great things, I am happy to share that our very own Z. Colette Edwards, MD MBA is being honored in this year’s State of the Clubs report for all of her contributions to the WHCMAA and in particular the Wharton Healthcare Quarterly. I hope you have all had the opportunity to enjoy the WHQ anniversary webinar series, which has highlighted a variety of important topics in healthcare, including the most recent one in June on maternity care and technology with Anish Sebastian, CEO and Co-Founder, Babyscripts.
The State of the Clubs report also highlighted the WHCMAA for our high number of paid members, which is several times the average number per club. This illustrates the value we all find in being connected to each other as alumni.
One area in particular where I know our new and existing alumni can have an important influence is in health equity. As you know from past President’s Desk articles, the WHCMAA is dedicated to finding concrete ways to make an impact in this area. I’d like to highlight for you an exciting opportunity to become more involved and do just that.
PennHealthX is a decade-old program that is focused on providing medical students with the opportunity to contribute to innovation in healthcare. The organization’s growing program, the PennHealthX SDOH Accelerator, provides startups focused on health equity and social determinants of health (SDOH) with pro-bono support from a Perelman School of Medicine medical student consultant.
WHCMAA members who have either founded or are involved in health-related startups may be interested in applying to the 4-month PennHealthX SDOH Accelerator Program.
Source: PennHealthX
To apply, please email PennHealthX VPs of Strategy ([email protected] and [email protected]) to express interest and provide an overview of your organization's mission and structure. Qualifying startups will receive an interview to discuss potential participation in the program and the specific areas where a student-consultant could provide support. Applications are rolling.
In addition to providing concrete pro-bono support to startups that are focused on health equity and SDOH, for me the broader takeaway is that we have a strong healthcare community at Penn that we as WHCMAA members can partner with on critical issues. I am encouraged to see PennHealthX dedicating resources to advance health equity just as our organization is.
Kind regards,
Heather Aspras, WG’08
President, Wharton Health Care Management Alumni Association
Contact Heather at:
[email protected]