MHA alumnus Craig Deao returned to the classroom this fall to share with full-time students what he’s learned from  coaching more than 900 healthcare organizations over the past 15 years.

Deao is a senior leader at Studer Group in Pensacola, Fla., and was in town to give a talk at a regional Baldrige conference.

In a 60-minute presentation, Deao spoke to students about ways to engage employees, physicians and patients in the pursuit of excellent outcomes.

In 2010, Studer Group received the Malcolm Baldrige award for excellence and he co-led the project. Much of Deao’s talk was based on the book, “Hardwiring Excellence” by Quint Studer, CEO at Studer Group.

Deao believes the Minnesota MHA alumni network is the best asset for graduates of the program and he encouraged students to take their seriously their participation in the alumni association.

His mentor was Marlowe Senske, MHA (’72), who modeled what it means to give back to the program. Marlowe served on the MHA alumni board, contributed financially, and developed individual students by hosting summer residents and administrative fellows from the Minnesota MHA program.

Deao says, “I grew up in my career watching Senske’s commitment and assumed that was how we should each act as alumni.  If we all make that commitment, the Minnesota MHA alumni network will continue to help each of us make healthcare excellent in our communities.”