A CFO Assesses Impact of Pandemic on an Academic Medical Center (with Brian Burnett, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Finance & Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Innovators

Even as the COVID pandemic continues to plague the world, assessments of the effects of the virus and its variants are in order. Healthcare systems have borne some of the brunt of the effects and those associated with the preparation of health professionals have had to adapt “on the fly” to what are sometimes profound changes to the ways they deliver care and conduct education and training.

Brian Burnett shared his experience and perspective on how COVID impacted the University of Alabama and its healthcare system in answering the following questions:

1. What are the ways by which universities involved in the health professions, including medicine, affiliate with or develop the healthcare facilities and experiences needed to educate and train those professionals?
2. How were the human and physical infrastructure of medical schools, clinical facilities, and administrative staff affected by the pandemic?
3. In light of demands placed on healthcare delivery by COVID and its variants and the looming shortage of some physician specialties, new medical schools have been established with more on the way. How do you view this development and what advice would you give to a university, a community, and or a state government considering launching a new medical school?
4. Just how important were remote learning and working to comprehensive universities such as UAB? Do you see these as more or less permanent parts of the landscape?
5. In 10 years, how will the financial and administrative aspects of universities have changed?

Brian Burnett joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham, in 2021 from the University of Maryland where he was interim associate vice president and chief financial officer. He worked in similar posts with the University of Colorado System, the University of Missouri System, and the University of Minnesota.

Innovators is a podcast production of Harris Search Associates.

*The views and opinions shared by the guests on Innovators do not necessarily reflect the views of the interviewee's institution or organization.*