ALUMNI PROFILES
Cynthia N. Hoen, JD, MPH, FACHE (Graduated May 2008)
Assistant General Counsel for Atlantic Health System in Northern New Jersey
I am presently the Assistant General Counsel for Atlantic Health System, a two hospital system with approximately 1200 beds in Northern New Jersey. Atlantic Health’s hospitals have level 1 trauma services, children’s ho
spital, heart hospital, neuroscience program, cancer center, rehabilitation hospital and ambulance and MICU capability including a helicopter. Atlantic Health also owns home health, hospice and medical equipment companies.
My education and experience leading to my current position is significant. I received my B.A. from the University of New Hampshire. After graduating, I moved to Colorado because if it precipitated in the winter, it was in the form of snow. I did a lot of skiing and back packing, obtained my EMT Certification and worked in a hospital in Denver for 5 years until I decided on a career path. I finally decided on law. Thereafter, I attended the University of Denver Law School at night, while I worked full time. I obtained my J.D. in just over two years. I began my career as a lawyer in Colorado in a general practice law firm. After the birth of my twin daughters, I moved to New Jersey where I began litigating complex environmental, insurance, regulatory and medical malpractice cases in both New Jersey and New York. Fourteen years into my career as a lawyer, one on my clients recruited me to assume my current position with Atlantic Health System.
One of my initial charges was to direct all company litigation, set up and run, a captive insurance program and a claims department. After accomplishing that goal, I was asked to take over the entire insurance and the risk management program for the system. Shortly before this time the Institute of Medicine had published its first report about hospital safety, or the lack thereof. Because it was clear the report would change hospital operation and impact my new responsibilities as Director of Risk Management, I decided that I needed to further my education in health care. After evaluating several programs, I decided to enroll in the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Campus, online, Public Health Practice (PHP), Masters of Public Health (MPH) program. The PHP program was very relevant to my daily responsibilities and assisted me in developing a new vision for the department including implementation of a new electronic occurrence reporting program, statistical analysis of the data compiled resulting in the development and implementation of risk management and patient safety programs using a public health planning model. Evolution of the department using the skills, tools and knowledge I gained from the PHP program continues to this date. But for the flexibility of this online program, I would not have been able to do this job and obtain my masters degree.
