Summary
I am fascinated by people! My passion is about hearing others' stories and better understanding what makes us alive and how we can work together in a more meaningful way to enhance organizational performance. I love the outdoors and sports - both as a participant and a spectator, I am a Chicago native, and I love my three standard poodles, Lucy, Taffy and, Luna .
Mel Minarik, PhD, MPH, FACHE, has had a twenty-year career in hospital administration in California as vice president of one of the largest health care systems in the state. She has served as an executive leader, volunteer board member of several large nonprofits, and/or consultant to local businesses. In particular, she oversaw the development and implementation of one of the largest and most successful medical wellness centers on the West Coast.
In 1998, she left this career to pursue academics, beginning at Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) and joining the School of Community Health Sciences and College of Business Management faculty (since hospital administration is both health and business simultaneously) at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2000. She also is an active faculty member with Extended Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, teaching a variety of courses there.
Dr. Minarik earned her PhD in spring 2008 in educational leadership from the University of Nevada, Reno and her masters of public health (MPH) in health services administration from UCLA in 1982. The FACHE (Fellow of the College of Health Care Executives) was awarded to her in 1997, which is awarded to 3 percent of selected professionals in that organization. This is where her interests in health policy originated—on the ground and in the “field.”
Her experiences in wellness and prevention run deeply through her personal life and research. She is also a nondenominational licensed minister in the Reno area, and this creates a great deal of interest in the area of spirituality and health and integrative health/medicine. Stress management is of particular interest to her, especially people’s individual spiritual techniques to wellness. Her personal wellness includes walking, running, hiking, snow-shoeing, weight training, tennis and racquetball, meditation practices, playing with her dogs, and listening to many types of music.
Background
- Lecturer, School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno.
- Curriculum Block Director for MS 2 Students; University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV., 2013-Present
- Adjunct Faculty, Truckee Meadows Community College. 1998-2001
- Vice-President, Kaweah Delta Health Care District, Visalia, CA 1982-1998
- Director of Medical Records, Long Beach Community Hospital, Long Beach, CA 1979-81.
- Assistant Director of Medical Records, Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Inglewood, CA 1978-1979.
Research
Her interest areas are leadership, knowledge building, health policy and administration, stress management, spirituality and health, quality improvement, organizational behavior, adult learning and integrative health. She works both on campus and in the community creating professional development training for leadership and staff.In the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, she works with faculty and students in an "Upstream Northern Nevada" project and is a Curriculum Director for MS 2 students.
Profesional Affiliations
- American College of Health Care Administrators
- NPHA
- American Association of University Professors in Health Administration
Selected Publications
2009
- Minarik, M. 2009. Building Knowledge through Sensemaking: Connecting the Dots of New Information. Germany: Lambert Publishing. Monograph.
2003
- Minarik, M. 2003. Systems thinking can improve teacher retention. Clearinghouse, v. 76, no 5, p 230-234.
Education
- PhD, University of Nevada, Reno, Educational Leadership, 2008
- Fellow of the American College of Health Care Administrators, 1995
- MPH, University of California, Los Angeles- Health Service Management, 1982
- BS, Illinois State University-Medical Record Administration, 1978