UHCL : Hospital CEO Lauds Networking Opportunities In MHA Program

Press release from University of Houston-Clear Lake:

January 31, 2022

When Cris Daskevich was in the midst of a doctoral program in clinical neuropsychology,
she realized it wasn't for her. By chance, she learned that University of Houston-Clear
Lake had a joint Healthcare Administration MHA/MBA, which was her opportunity to gain the necessary business skills while staying in
healthcare.

"It was the perfect opportunity," said Daskevich, who completed her degree in 1997
and began a 22-year career at Texas Children's Hospital. Her progressive senior leadership
roles at TCH led her to became CEO of The Children's Hospital in San Antonio and senior
vice president of Maternal Services for CHRISTUS Health in 2018.

"The dual master's program has been important to me throughout my career because it
provided both the business and healthcare administration perspectives and exposed
me to business and healthcare leaders across Houston and beyond," she said. "That
was my primary reason to come to UH-Clear Lake. It significantly influenced me — it
wasn't just about what I learned in my classes, but the exposure I gained to leaders
from world-class healthcare organizations across the Texas Medical Center."

Daskevich said it was an exceptional program because of the community that comes together
to help teach. "Professors and guest lecturers reflected on current issues in business
and healthcare and they had diverse backgrounds from not-for-profits, academics, for-profit
systems, public health institutions, payers, government officials, and suppliers,"
she said. "Many of our visiting professors who helped teach the programs are icons
in their fields. They were a huge influence in helping guide and direct me with my
fellowship and throughout my career. They freely give time back to the program and
to upcoming students."

She said that now, in her current leadership role, she also feels that it was part
of her obligation to pay it forward. "We believe it's critical to encourage and support
up-and-comers, and to ensure the future of healthcare remains bright," she said. "Teaching,
leading and opening doors for early careerists is an important piece of the UHCL program,
and it's why it continues to do so well."

The program's location in the Texas Medical Center is another unique benefit to students
in the program. "You're in the center of the top medical center in the world," Daskevich
said. "You're exposed to nationally recognized leaders, unparalleled care, cutting
edge technology, research, education and state-of-the-art facilities. The program
is in the middle of all that, along with access to incredible clinical and administrative
leaders working on real-world projects. It all makes a huge difference because what
you are learning is reality, not hypotheticals and you are exposed to some of the
greatest minds in medicine."

Decades into her career, Daskevich says she is still using what she learned in her
coursework at UHCL. "It's so important to network," she said. "They really focused
on that at UHCL. My classmates were close and many of us are still good friends. The
program develops and produces strong leaders who are CEOs, COOs, CNOs running large
healthcare organizations across the country. I have enjoyed supporting the program
and the students. They should be excited about their future in a career that allows
them to serve others and make a difference in the world."

The UHCL Alumni Association granted Daskevich the Early Achievement Award in 2005
and she was recognized as a Distinguished Alumna by the university in 2012.

For more information about UHCL's MHA/MBA program, go online.

This press release was produced by University of Houston-Clear Lake. The views expressed here are the author’s own.