The Bloustein School hosted the Seventh Annual Future Healthcare Administrators Case Competition on Saturday, April 5, bringing together some of the brightest emerging minds in healthcare to tackle a real-world industry challenge. The fast-paced, high-stakes competition tested students’ problem-solving skills, teamwork, and ability to think critically under pressure. The event also provided students with a unique opportunity to engage with industry professionals and gain exposure to real-world healthcare challenges.
Ten Rutgers teams with students hailing from the Bloustein School, School of Arts and Sciences, and Business School presented their findings to a distinguished panel of 12 judges. Participating teams, each made up of three to four students, were given a complex case study on a fictitious federally qualified health center (FQHC), “How to better engage patients in order to improve the star rating of the Springwell FQHC.” The teams had 48 hours to analyze the issue, develop strategic solutions, and craft a compelling presentation.
Winning Teams
1st Place “Team Next Gen Admins” Julianna Baldwin, Mohamed Ghanem, Leah Gerkhardt
2nd Place “Team HealthCare” Roni Snitkovsky, Prutha Parikh, Gulchehra Ibrohimova, Angeline Agnel
3rd Place “Team Peak” Shanza Siddiqi, Imran Husain
Judges
The 2025 case competition judges included Fatimah Muhammad, FHFMA, Garrick Stoldt, Saint Peter’s Healthcare System; Lisa Maltese-Schaff, Children’s Specialized Hospital, New Brunswick; Nezar Ahmed (a former president of FHA) Accenture; William DiStanislao, RWJBH Hamilton; Jagpreet Sant, MHA, Kaiser Permanente; Brandon Druker, MBA, CSSBB, Bristol Myers Squibb; Alex Filipiak, RWJBarnabas Health JCMC; Annette Gonzalez, DHA, MPA, Zufall Health; Shawn Ekwall, MBA, FACHE, Markie’s Place and American College of Healthcare Executives of New Jersey (ACHE-NJ); Don Dykstra, Atlantic Health System and Fiorella Vera, MHA, Health Coalition of Passaic County.
FHA Leadership
Future Healthcare Administrators (FHA) is a student organization at Rutgers Bloustein School. The 7th Annual FHA Case Competition was chaired by Bassam Ahmed, FHA co-vice president and a senior health administration major at Bloustein currently completing internships at Saint Peter’s Medical Center and Bessler Consulting. The FHA e-board, Pavan Patel (president), Arzu Altam, Maitri Bhupatkar, Rohan Rao, Nishk Sutaria, Kkushi Verma, Arya Dhage and Jessica Lee, also provided invaluable support. Assistant Professor Céu Cirne-Neves, Undergraduate Health Administration Program Coordinator, serves as the FHA Faculty Advisor 2024-2025. The FHA student organization holds elections annually May for the following year’s e-board.
