Grace Martinez ’26

Grace Martinez spent five years working as a medical assistant and later transitioned into an emergency department technician role. She knew she needed more education to advance into a leadership role. As a career-focused program for individuals working in health care, LeBow's online Master of Health Administration (MHA) felt like the right choice.

Martinez had wanted to attend Drexel as an undergrad, but the logistics of military service got in the way. Later she had a friend who spoke highly of their experiences as a LeBow graduate student. Beyond that, she says, “the Drexel MHA was my number one just because of what they offer — especially the hands-on experience and the residency program.”

Now her training in the MHA is helping her as a client services manager at BAYADA Home Healthcare, where she has to navigate a complicated set of responsibilities.

On the interpersonal side, she has to find the right fit between caregivers and clients.

“Clients vary, from not being able to get out of bed, to just someone who needs help getting groceries or going to appointments,” she says.

Caregivers, in turn, have their own strengths, she adds, “and I know both sides. I know the caregivers, and I know what the client needs.”

She also has to manage the complicated logistics of scheduling in order to ensure clients get their needs met. And she needs to understand the complex payor landscape that always runs in the background of health care engagements.

LeBow has set her up to succeed here. She points in particular to a consultancy project she undertook in HSAD 515, Practice Issues in Healthcare Management. “I organized an event within my organization and collaborated with multiple offices, which strengthened my leadership and project management skills,” she says. “This project allowed me to apply what I was learning in real time, and it helped me stand out professionally.”

The program’s residency component put the cherry on top. “While I entered the residency still searching for my ‘why,’ I left with countless reasons that reaffirmed my commitment to healthcare leadership,” she says. “Now I understand what happens behind the scenes and why decisions are made in a certain way, and I’m able to make connections that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to make.”

That’s especially helpful on the business side. Her clients have to find their way through the labyrinthine health care payor maze, and she herself has to manage a budget with lots of moving parts.

She took a class on health care insurance, and another on the business of health care, where she got hands-on experience creating actual budgets. “Now I understand directors’ choices about building the staff and how many aides we can have,” she says.

That puts her in a strong position for future career advancement in a competitive field, where a well-rounded academic grounding gives her a definite edge. While others with less training can only go with what they know, she says, “I’m able to back up my choices and explain why I’m doing the things that I’m doing.”

The breadth of coursework in the MHA program is a career differentiator: From ethics courses to business classes, Martinez has built up a deep reserve of skills in the health care arena.

“The Drexel MHA provided me with so many new skills and tools to have at my disposal,” she says. “Not everyone working in this industry has those resources, and that definitely will set me apart.”