37: Kathleen Megivern: Allied Health Education Accreditation Leader Discusses Critical Topics in Health Today

Kathleen Megivern has served since 1998 as Executive Director of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, an organization based in Clearwater, Florida. Known by the acronym CAAHEP, it is the largest programmatic accreditor in the health sciences field. In collaboration with its Committees on Accreditation, CAAHEP reviews and accredits more than 2,000 educational programs in 23 health science occupations. Her previous positions include serving as Executive Director of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired and also as Staff Attorney and Legislative Specialist at the American Council of the Blind. She currently is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA) where she also serves as Vice Chairperson. Her law degree is from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America. In this interview, Kathleen discusses many aspects of the changing health environment specifically around accreditation.