In
James Hahn
Profile
Jim Hahn’s career was shaped by his senior internship. He was assigned to work at United Hospital Center in Clarksburg. “I was excited to work at a hospital,” Jim says.
Later that year, Jim saw a job announcement for an IE position at Harrisburg Hospital. When Jim saw the announcement, he said to himself: “I’m going to get this job.” In fact, he did get the job, and Jim was on his way to a career in healthcare.
When Jim started working as an IE, he was surprised to see that he was using virtually all the IE skills he learned. “I worked on projects in every area of the hospital and by talking with staff in each area, I really learned how all aspects of a hospital work.”
One of the most significant events in Jim’s career was when he went to work for Health Trust, a collection of 104 hospitals that were spun off from the Hospital Corporation of America. “This was a tremendous opportunity. I traveled all over the U.S. and interacted directly with hospital CEOs.” Jim was not yet 30 years old at the time.
Another major event in Jim’s career was when he was hired by Heritage Valley Health System in a decision support position. Jim used financial applications to do cost analysis of services being provided. Jim then provided this information for negotiation of reimbursement schedules with payers. “We found that many of our payers were not paying what they should be.”
Jim decided to get a Master’s degree in Health Care Administration from St. Joseph’s University. “I started by taking one course and before I knew it, I had my degree.” Today Jim is an adjunct teacher at St. Joseph’s.
Jim decided to move to a new position with Elwyn, a social service organization that supports persons with special needs, intellectual disabilities, behavior, and psychological needs. Jim has responsibility for medical, dental, audiological, and rehabilitation services for the persons served by Elwyn. “It gives you a lot of job satisfaction working for an organization that supports 13,000 lives annually,” Jim says.
Jim’s career is a good example of an IE career in one of the largest segments of the U.S. economy.
Bio
Jim has worked in health care for over 30 years as a management consultant, finance director and administrator. After working in acute health care for 28 years, Jim came to Elwyn as the Director of Health Services Business Development and is now the Executive Director of Health Services which is comprise of Nursing, Physical Rehabilitation, Audiology, Dental and Primary Care Medical Services.
For the past ten years, Jim has had the opportunity to teach healthcare leaders of tomorrow in the Saint Joseph’s University Masters of Health Administration Program. Jim also serves on an advisory board at Camilla Hall, a nursing home located on the grounds of Immaculata University.
Jim holds a Bachelor’s of Science from West Virginia University in Industrial Engineering and a Masters in Health Administration from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
