Parkinson Healthcare Administration students win national case competition for second year in a row

Eight students from the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health’s Healthcare Administration undergraduate program participated in the annual Penn State Health Policy and Administration Case Competition last month.

The students, who made up two teams, were given a complex case study and less than 48 hours to analyze the materials, develop a strategy, and present their solutions to a panel of C-suite leaders from Penn State Health and Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Their challenge? Crafting innovative strategies to bridge the generational gap in nursing retention by tailoring benefits to meet diverse employee needs.

With focused teamwork and dedication, the Loyola University Chicago teams presented detailed strategies for retaining nurses through customized benefit solutions. After advancing through three rigorous rounds, Sanya Patel (BSHA ’25), Akshita Ponnuru (BSHA ’25), Tiffany Rusnok (BSHA ’25), and Olivia Langille (BSHA ’26) emerged as the competition winners, earning a $2,500 prize, and prevailing over teams from top-notch universities including University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Pittsburgh.

This is the second year in a row a Parkinson team won the competition in the undergraduate category. Parkinson students Angelique Flores (BSHA ’25), Hannah Kittaneh (BSHA ’25), Sofia Ealdama (BSHA ’26), and Angelo Lebron (BSHA ’26) also advanced to the second round of competition.

"I couldn’t be prouder of our teams—their focus and energy in tackling real-world challenges have prepared them well for the complexities of today’s workforce,” Kimberly Rusk, EdD., interim chair of Healthcare Administration, says. “Competitions like this are invaluable for students pursuing healthcare administration roles, offering hands-on experience in solving the issues they’ll face in their careers. I’m also grateful for our exceptional professors whose guidance and support were crucial to our students' success. They truly made us proud."

The Penn State Health Policy and Administration (HPA) Virtual Case Competition is hosted by the Department of Health Policy and Administration and sponsored by Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. It provides students in health administration and related programs from across the country an opportunity to solve a current healthcare challenge. Students gain experience applying classroom learning to a real-world case, while honing their problem-solving and presentation skills. Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center uses the proposed solutions to make a difference in the communities they serve.