October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Looking for a career that would provide job growth and allow her to help people in need, Pam Kelsky decided to pursue an MHA after receiving her bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Florida.

And she decided to pursue that degree at the USF College of Public Health (COPH) because of its highly regarded program.

“I began my master’s program right after college,” Kelsky said. “I had the academic background and was learning the ins and outs of the industry through my first job post-college [handling insurance receivables at a medical clinic]. But the COPH supplemented my college education with advanced classes and exposed me to people in the field who had far more experience than I did. So many of the students were experienced professionals and executives, and their collaboration in group projects provided me with the critical insight I needed as a young professional. Having access to that experience was invaluable, especially through the group projects required as part of the curriculum.”

After she graduated the COPH in 2000, Kelsky spent nearly 10 years with Cigna Dental, ultimately serving as director of risk management, designing, implementing and managing the company’s HIPAA privacy plan. “It was very rewarding to execute a company-wide policy throughout the entire organization as a young professional,” Kelsky said. “I now manage my husband’s boutique civil litigation law firm and, in the course of that work, have been exposed to numerous instances of health access deficiencies.”

One of Kelsky’s proudest accomplishments to date is co-founding the nonprofit charity bcalmed. In 2019, Kelsky had surgery for breast cancer and found the surgical drains used during the post-op period cumbersome and hard to disguise. She and her best friend, Gaby Mann, a distribution specialist, developed the bcalmed bag, a bag with four mesh pockets to conceal drains. Using an adjustable strap, the bag hangs comfortably around the neck. Provided free of charge to any patient needing it, the bcalmed bag is marketed directly to surgeons, hospitals and other health care providers.

“Running a nonprofit utilizes many of the same skills learned in the MHA program,” Kelsky commented. “We had to maneuver many legal and operational challenges within the health care industry to fulfill the purpose of our charity, which is to help patients manage post-operative drains after surgical procedures such as mastectomies and lumpectomies.”

And according to Kelsky, the bcalmed bag is getting rave reviews from both surgeons and the patients they operate on.

“Receiving positive feedback from breast surgeons about the bcalmed bag and knowing that we are easing the journey for breast cancer patients is so fulfilling,” she said. “Patients have told us that the bag is comfortable and has provided them with dignity in the healing process. The bcalmed bag satisfied an identifiable need for breast cancer patients with surgical drains. At the suggestion of breast surgeons, bcalmed just designed and manufactured smaller bags for those requiring fewer drains. As a breast cancer patient myself, I wish I had the bcalmed bag when I was recovering.”

Kelsky’s next project is expanding the marketing of the bcalmed bag.

“At this point, we have distributed more than 800 bags to surgeons and hospitals throughout Florida, the Northeast and even Alaska,” she noted. “We hope to exhibit the bag at the American Society of Breast Surgeons annual meeting in Boston in 2023. We hope to bring the bcalmed bag to as many patients as possible throughout the U.S., and the world.”

Alumni Fast Five

What did you dream of becoming when you were young?

A doctor.

Where can we find you on the weekends?

Walking in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

What is the last book you read?

“Ragtime.”

What superpower would you like to have?

To heal.

What is your all-time favorite movie?

“Forrest Gump.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health