In March, students from the Health Students Association (HSA) at the Brooks School’s Sloan Program in Health Administration proudly hosted its 5th Annual National Case Competition. This year’s event was held in collaboration with UCI Health and made possible through the generous support of Nate Shinagawa MHA ’09, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of UCI Health.

The competition drew 40 graduate and professional student teams from across the country, representing a wide range of disciplines, including MHA, MBA, MPH, MD, PhD, JD, MS, and MA programs. In the first round, teams developed strategic proposals for UCI Health’s Community Network Hospitals, delivering SWOT analyses, growth strategies, investment projections, and ROI estimates. Sixteen teams advanced to a virtual semifinal, where they presented their solutions to a panel of 12 judges with diverse backgrounds in the healthcare industry.

The top eight teams were invited to Orange, California, to compete in the final round at the newly opened Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. This year’s final case challenged students to develop a comprehensive 10-year strategic plan for one of two recently acquired hospitals in the UCI Health system: Fountain Valley or Placentia-Linda. Teams were asked to articulate clear goals, propose service line expansions, estimate financial impacts, and recommend innovation and risk mitigation strategies.

The event was organized by a dedicated team of Sloan MHA students, led by Keshaav Krishna Pothapur and Tanyon Loose, and supported by UCI Health administrative fellow Harsha Balakumar. The organizing team included Justin Herzfeld, Victor Wu, Shupti Biswas, Alex Hayre-Pérez, and Sophia Lee, who worked for months to create a seamless, high-impact experience for all participants.

A distinguished panel of judges from across the healthcare landscape provided in-depth evaluations and feedback during the final round. Judges included Nate Shinagawa, Doug Niedzwiecki (Vice President, Health System Integration), Hoda Assadian (Vice President, Operations), Tara Kasmarek (Vice President, Operations), Rich Namerow (Managing Director, Huron), Nancy Schlichting (Former CEO, Henry Ford Health System), and Harsha Balakumar.

2025 Case Competition Results

• First Place ($10,000): The Ohio State University, Annabelle Dolney, Grant Mumper, and Christelle Bonzil

• Second Place ($6,000): University of Washington, Vincent Da, Divya Iyer, and Don Minhas

• Third Place ($3,000): New York University, Smrithi Mahadevan, Reika Oshima, and Olivia Chan

This year’s competition highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, strategic innovation, and student leadership. As one finalist reflected, “It was incredible to present a real-world challenge UCI Health is currently navigating to healthcare executives and leaders and gain their feedback and insights. We left more prepared, more inspired, and more committed to shaping the future of healthcare.”