Press Room: News and Events

Institute to Assist College in South Africa Establish New School of Health Sciences

President Bellack traveled to East London, South Africa in November as the Institute’s representative on a small team from Partners Harvard Medical International that consulted with the University of Ft. Hare. The overseas university had asked the group to help establish a new school of health sciences which would incorporate its existing undergraduate and graduate nursing programs while adding programs in other health sciences including physical therapy, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and prosthetics.

The Institute and key departments at MGH have the combined expertise to assist the university with curriculum and faculty development, clinical education models, online education, and public and private partnerships for program support.

Over the next three years, the Institute is expected to have opportunities to provide onsite consulting support as well as invite the university’s faculty to visit the Boston campus to learn from the Institute’s best practices.

Applications to Accelerated BSN Program Jump 65%

It has taken just one year for the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at MGH Institute of Health Professions to take off.

More than 450 students have applied to the second year of the graduate school’s 14-month program, a 65 percent increase over the program’s first year application pool.

According to Dr. Alexandra Paul-Simon, program director, the jump is a combination of several factors, including the uncertainty of the economy and the continued nursing shortage that affects health care across the country.

“People often take an economic downturn as an opportunity to consider a major career change, and certainly returning to get post-baccalaureate nursing education is a great place to do it,” Dr. Paul-Simon said. “We’re very pleased that so many people hold our program in such high esteem and we look forward to admitting our second class in May 2009.”

The Accelerated BSN, launched in May 2008 with 48 students in the first class, offers students the quickest way in New England to become a professional registered nurse and join the ranks of health care providers who can impact peoples’ lives every day while entering a field that has a great deal of job stability.

People with an existing Bachelor’s degree in another field can apply to the Accelerated BSN at the MGH Institute. No prior nursing or health care experience is required.

To learn more about the program, go to bsn.mghihp.edu or email bsn@mghihp.edu.

Robert Hillman, PhD, Honored as Alumni Fellow by Penn State University

Robert E. Hillman, PhD, received the highest award given by the Penn State Alumni Association when he was given the lifelong title of Alumni Fellow at a recent ceremony at the school.

Dr. Hillman, Special Assistant for Research in the Office of the Provost, is one of just 618 of Penn State's 500,000 alumni who have been honored since the award's inceptino in 1973 by the school’s Board of Trustees for their outstanding professional accomplishments.

Dr. Hillman was Interim Academic Dean at the Institute during the 2007-08 academic year. Currently, he is the Co-Director and Research Director of the Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation at the Massachusetts General Hospital; Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School (Surgery) and at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology); Professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the Institute; and a Research Affiliate in the Speech Communication Group at MITs Research Laboratory of Electronics.

Dr. Hillman, who received from Penn State his undergraduate degree in 1974 and a Master’s in 1975, also was co-captain the school’s 1974 cross country team, competed in both indoor and outdoor track, and received that year’s Ernest B. McCoy Award which is presented annually to the Penn State senior who combined successful athletic participation with academic excellence.

President Bellack To Join Mayor's Task Force

President Janis P. Bellack will join leaders from across Greater Boston on October 7, 2008, as part of Mayor Thomas M. Menino's Task Force on Improving Access to Primary Care in Boston.

"Given the Institute's commitment to health professions education, and especially its expertise and success in offering graduate programs that prepare well-qualified nurse practitioners to serve as primary care providers for various populations, I am pleased that we will have this opportunity to provide input to the Mayor's Task Force on Primary Care," President Bellack said. "Having a voice on this important task force will give me an opportunity to represent the value that nurse practitioners and other non-physician healthcare providers add to Boston's capacity to provide access to high quality, affordable health care to its residents."

The final report, a comprehensive look at dealing with the problem, lists five priorities that Dr. Bellack and the other members of the Task Force will address in the coming months:

1. Advance uniformity and alignment of performance measures, payment methodologies and payment incentives.
2. Support expanding the roles of non-physician health professionals.
3. Promote financial incentives to recruit and retain a robust and diverse primary care workforce in Boston.
4. Reduce the burden of chronic disease in Boston residents by improving access to nutritious food, increasing opportunities for physical activity and reducing exposure to environmental hazards, particularly in communities of color and low-income communities.
5. Establish an ongoing primary care task force to monitor progress and prioritize opportunities to improve access to primary care.

Institute Expands Into Two New Buildings

Recognizing the need to increase its academic facilities, the MGH Institute of Health Professions has leased office space for most of its administrative offices, occupying parts of two buildings that are directly across the street from its Catherine Filene Shouse Building, which it renovated and occupied in 2002.

The graduate school’s Charlestown Navy Yard campus now incorporates three buildings, which will meet the demands of the graduate school’s growing enrollment.

The expansion will allow for improvements in the Shouse Building such as new student study areas, a reconfigured Ruth Sleeper Learning Resources Center, and additional treatment rooms for the Speech, Language & Literacy Center (SLLC). The SLLC provides in-house practicum opportunities for the speech-language pathology graduate students.

“Adding much needed space will be a boon to our students, faculty, and staff,” notes President Janis P. Bellack, “and will greatly enhance our learning and work environments.”

The school’s main building, the Catherine Filene Shouse Building at 36 First Avenue, now houses the Office of the Provost, as well as faculty, classrooms, and skill labs for the graduate programs in nursing, physical therapy, communication sciences and disorders and clinical investigation.

The Medical Imaging program shares ground-floor space with the Office of Student Affairs and the Hanson Initiative for Language and Literacy (HILL) in Building 39, across the street from the Shouse Building). The President’s Office, Finance and Administrative, and the offices of Diversity, External Relations, and Human Resources, occupy parts of two floors next door in Building 34.

Institute enrolls largest class in its history

The MGH Institute has enrolled its largest incoming class in the graduate school’s 31-year history.

A total of 318 new students are taking courses in nursing, physical therapy, communication sciences and disorders, and medical imaging.

The Institute’s expansion is a combination of several factors, including better recognition of the school’s excellent academic programs and a surge in people who want to enter the many satisfying career fields in allied health care.

The number of students attending the Institute has steadily risen since its founding in 1977. In the past four years alone, the student population has risen more than 28 percent to just under 850.

In addition, the school in recent months has hired a new president, Dr. Janis P. Bellack; its first provost and academic vice president, Dr. Alex F. Johnson; and its first chief diversity officer, Dr, Calvin P. Hill.

Dr. Bellack’s installation last May comes on the heels of the recent US News & World Report rankings in which the entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy program was tied for 7th in the country, and the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology in the Communication Sciences & Disorders Program was ranked 24th nationally. Both programs are first among New England schools. Also, the direct-entry Master’s of Science in Nursing is currently ranked by US News in the top 10 percent out of more than 700 programs in the country.

The school also broke into the ranks of the annual Boston Business Journal Graduate School listing earlier this year, ranking as the 25th largest graduate school in Greater Boston.

NEWS: Janis P. Bellack Installed as Fifth President

Janis P. Bellack, PhD, RN, FAAN, was installed as the fifth president of the MGH Institute of Health Professions during the 28th Commencement ceremonies held on May 3, 2008. Read more about the presidential inauguration, including President Bellack's inaugural address.

Dr. Calvin Hill Named First Chief Diversity Officer

Dr. Calvin Hill has been named the first Chief Diversity Officer at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Dr. Hill currently serves as Assistant Dean and Director of Diversity Programs at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he previously served as Director of Minority Affairs. He will join the MGH Institute on July 1.

“I’m delighted that Dr. Hill has agreed to become our first Chief Diversity Officer,” said President Janis P. Bellack. “He has a wide range of experiences and an extensive network of colleagues in the field that he will be able to draw on as we advance the Institute's commitment to diversity.”

Working with faculty, staff, and students, Dr. Hill will oversee efforts to connect the Institute's diversity initiatives to its core emphasis on teaching and learning. He will lead the development of a diversity culture and action plan to ensure that students, faculty, and staff experience the Institute as an inclusive environment and that academic programs reflect the values of diversity, inclusion, culturally competent health care, and commitment to address health disparities.

Dr. Hill, who will hold a faculty appointment as Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, also has held several adjunct faculty appointments over the past ten years. He has taught courses in multicultural counseling, social science research, political science, history, and public policy.

MGH Institute ranks highly in US News & World Report

The MGH Institute of Health Professions continues to be honored for its academic excellence. Two of its Programs are highly ranked in the most recent U.S. News & World Report “Best Graduate Schools 2009” edition.

The entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy program is tied for 7th in the country, and the highest ranked in New England ; and

The Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology in the Communication Sciences & Disorders Program is nationally ranked 24th – which is in the top 10% of all schools nationally and is the top program among all New England schools.

In addition, the direct-entry Master’s in Nursing program continues to be ranked in the top 10 percent of nursing schools throughout the country. “These rankings clearly show that the programs at MGH Institute are acknowledged as being among the best in the country,” said President Janis Bellack. “We are thrilled that our faculty, students, and curriculum have been recognized for their excellence.”

The U.S. News & World Report rankings can be accessed:

• Physical Therapy
• Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Nursing

MGH Institute Breaks into Top 25 in Boston Business Journal Rankings

Two Students Receive Schweitzer Fellowship

NEWS: Dr. Alex Johnson, Recent ASHA President, Named Provost and VP for Academic Affairs

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