Courtney Lowe

Office Coordinator II

lowecou1@msu.edu
Phone: 517-432-9830 

965 Wilson Rd.
A522 East Fee Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824

Biography

Courtney Lowe is the Office Coordinator II for the Institute for Health Policy. She provides high-level administrative support to IHP administrators, faculty, staff, and students including but not limited to maintaining calendars, coordinating meetings, arranging travel, monitoring correspondence, preparing agenda materials and meeting rooms, and assisting in the day-to-day management of project-related issues requiring timely responses to sensitive matters. She maintains and analyzes sensitive databases and coordinates administration related to human resources, finances, office space, phones, and student records utilizing appropriate software applications and university systems to ensure compliance with university policies and procedures. She organizes and assists with department sponsored events, including but not limited to catering and scheduling, booking venues, interacting with vendors, visitor, staff and student travel arrangements, and providing on-site event support.

Dave Schneider, MPA

Senior Advisor

schne694@msu.edu
Phone: 517-422-4222

965 Wilson Rd.
A522D East Fee Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824

Biography

Dave Schneider is an experienced public administrator with more than 30 years’ experience dedicated to improving specialty healthcare. Through cross-county and cross-organizational collaborations, he helped develop and implement programs and funding structures for persons with mental illness, intellectual/developmental disabilities and substance use disorders. While at Health Management Associates (HMA), Dave has worked closely with the State of Michigan to improve administrative capacity to manage the public behavioral health system and to develop plans to redesign the public behavioral health service delivery model.

Prior to joining HMA, Dave served as the Manager of the Collaboration and Integration Section within the Medical Services Administration in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services where he led development of joint metrics projects, implemented federal regulations and facilitated coordination of programs to improve health and well-being of those with co-morbid physical and behavioral health conditions. Dave also led an opioid related data analytics team within the department.

He is a proven strategic planner and leader with a passion for behavioral and integrated healthcare. He has guided the development and operations of information systems, quality management, regulatory compliance, client access and eligibility and contract management as the lead administrator of a Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan (PIHP). This included managing all publicly funded SUD services in a 21-county region.

As the chief executive officer of a start-up regional health entity serving as a PIHP, Dave worked with national consultants to implement a behavioral health home pilot, forging relationships with Medicaid health plans and assuming responsibility for management of public funding for substance use disorder services in the region. A facilitator of synergistic partnerships, Dave also served as director of affiliation services and developed a statewide plan for implementing an integrated care learning community and regional information systems to meet organizational, state and federal requirements.

He earned a Master of Public Administration and bachelor’s degrees from Western Michigan University.

Welcome

Welcome to the Institute for Health Policy (IHP). IHP is a unit within the College of Human Medicine (CHM). The Institute serves a unique role facilitating and supporting collaborative relationships involving different stakeholders such as university and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) partners. These collaborative activities inform policymakers, state agencies and others with a goal of optimizing health and well-being in Michigan.

IHP’s partnership with MDHHS and Michigan Medicaid reaches back over two decades. In that time, our collaborations have expanded beyond State of Michigan partners to work with hospitals, managed care organizations, primary care organizations, and other private and public community organizations. IHP is proud of our customer-focused approach to our work in support of the university’s and CHM’s emphasis on service and outreach. We prioritize our clients’ needs and remain flexible in order to meet expectations and timelines.

In addition to our administrative team, IHP operates through integration and efforts of three main units. Click on each unit’s page to learn more about core activities and the team that supports the efforts.

• Health Policy
• Program Evaluation and Health Services Research
• Health Quality and Equity

Leadership

IHP benefits from the diverse experiences of its leadership team. Collectively, the group has nearly 150 years of experience in health delivery fields.

• Kathleen Oberst, RN, PhD, is the Director and has served IHP for nearly twenty years in both the Quality Improvement and Program Evaluation units.
• Dana McCarthy is the Institute’s Financial Administrator bringing over twenty years’ experience to her role.
• Kevin Brooks, MSc, PhD, is the Director of the Program Evaluation and Health Services Research Unit and has been involved with health analytics for over a decade.
• Sabrina Ford, PhD, LCP, is the Director of the Health Quality and Equity Unit. 
• Thomas Renwick, BA, JD, is the Director of the Health Policy Unit, as well as the Executive Director of the Michigan Health Policy Forum. He has worked in the behavioral health care field for more than 35 years, with a broad range of experience that includes both direct service provision and the development, funding and oversight of public behavioral health services.
• Dave Schneider, MPA, is a Senior Advisor and an experienced public administrator with more than 30 years’ experience dedicated to improving specialty healthcare.

Mission

IHP’s mission is to advance knowledge of health and well-being through service, collaborative partnerships, policy evaluation, equity and quality improvement initiatives, research and scholarship.

Our vision is to be a leading resource for evidence-based analysis to inform practice and public policy and improve the health and well-being of residents of Michigan and the nation.

We value:

• • Community engagement and partnerships
  • Principles of health equity in policy and practice
  • Shared responsibility to inform policy and practice
  • Mutual respect for diverse talents, perspectives and expertise
  • Transparency and integrity in our actions, processes and products
  • Innovative approaches to optimize health and well-being