Dordt University launches new Healthcare Management concentration within BUAD program

Dordt University has announced the addition of a new concentration in Healthcare Management within its Business Administration (BUAD) program.

Designed to meet the growing demand for professionals who understand both the business and medical sides of the healthcare industry, this program will help students gain essential skills for the business world while also receiving training in health leadership through select courses in Dordt’s Nursing program. The concentration prepares students to manage the day-to-day operations of a medical facility from both a strategic and patient-centered perspective.

“Often, those who enter the business side of healthcare are not equipped with knowledge in both areas,” says Dr. Tim Klein, professor of business administration and chair of the Business department at Dordt. “With a growing demand for business professionals within the healthcare industry, this degree will help bridge the gap between business and medical expertise in this industry.”

Dordt is known for the strength of its nursing program, and this new concentration leverages that expertise to provide students with a well-rounded foundation for careers in healthcare management. Additionally, pre-health students will benefit from insights into the administrative and operational aspects of healthcare. “Dordt has a tradition of training medical professionals to treat patients as a whole person, physically and spiritually,” adds Klein. “This degree extends this view of the patient beyond the exam room. Through this degree, patients will experience a patient-first approach from admission to discharge.”

As part of this new concentration, Kandace Brands, instructor of business at Dordt, will teach a healthcare management course. Brands spent nearly 15 years at Avera in Sioux Falls before pursuing her MBA in Healthcare with hopes of stepping into clinic leadership. Instead, God opened the door for her to return to Dordt University, where she now teaches and mentors students in the Business department.

Brands believes “there are significant challenges in the delivery of healthcare today, including workforce motivation, expanding technologies within budget constraints, regulatory and governance complexities, and difficult ethical decisions.”

“It’s crucial for Christians to step up and help address the current issues that our country is facing,” adds Brands.

Brands hopes students leave the course feeling both prepared to enter the healthcare field and called to serve their communities and individuals with excellence. “Healthcare is about meeting people in their most vulnerable and basic needs of life,” she says. “There may be students who are passionate about healthcare but may not fit the clinical side of it,” explains Brands. “This concentration opens doors for business-minded students to serve meaningfully in the healthcare setting.”

About Dordt University
As an institution of higher education committed to a Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, Dordt is consistently recognized as a top university by The Wall Street Journal, Times Higher Education, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review.