FAU Graduate Wins $15K

Three FAU-affiliated teams were among the top 10 finalists for the recent 2020 Florida Blue Health Innovation Challenge – one walked away with the top prize of $15,000.

The theme for this year’s challenge, which is a statewide competition in its seventh year, was “Seeking Innovative Ways to Reduce Hospital Readmissions.” The challenge sought innovative ways to reduce hospital readmissions in Florida, particularly in areas related to improved discharge planning, patient compliance with medications, care coordination, case management and home health care or financial plans.

Cory Feldman, an FAU graduate with a master’s in healthcare administration, and his team mate, took first place and a prize of $15,000. Feldman teamed up with James Wallace, a doctoral candidate at the University of South Florida, to produce their winning presentation, called Once, a readmission reduction program that employs readmission risk scoring to inform and engage patients for better health outcomes.

The innovation assembles data on 21 elements from patients’ electronic health records and compares it to national benchmarks to determine the likelihood of hospital readmission and what intervention steps need to be taken. Through a novel survey tool, Once also recommends actions for engagement in the course of care. This innovation establishes a protocol of identification, assessment and engagement for clinicians, nurses and health care providers, to move a patient to a more effective position of control. The program addresses the problem of patient adherence and compliance and engagement of the patient fully in the care plan, thereby improving medical outcomes and reducing hospital readmissions.

In addition to Feldman’s top place win, the FAU Wave team from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science’s Machine Robotics and Cognitive Perception Lab received honorable mention and the Artificial Intelligence Award. Another team of graduate students from FAU’s College of Nursing were among the top 10 finalists.

The exceptional showing in 2020 by FAU scholar-entrepreneurs continues a strong tradition of excellence by the Owl Nation in this elite annual competition.

• In 2017, FAU produced two finalists, with first place honors won by FAU students from Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and graduate students with Mind and Melody, which went on to become a successful not-for-profit still operating today. Mind and Melody also successfully competed in the FAU Wave, the FAU College of Business Adams Center for Entrepreneurship’s Business Plan Competition and FAU Tech Runway. A second joint team in 2017 came from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine.


• In 2018, a student from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science earned second-place honors with SciKey diagnostics, which subsequently participated in the FAU Wave and FAU Tech Runway programs, and now continues its product development efforts as a spinout company.


• FAU also produced finalists in 2019, from the then College of Design and Social Inquiry and the College of Business, and in 2014 from the College of Business.