Grace Wimpffen (MHA '24): Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Hello from Chicago! I am reporting from Ann & Robert H Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago where I have been having an incredible summer as one of their two administrative interns! Lurie Children’s is one of the few freestanding, not-for-profit children’s hospitals left in the US. With 360 all-private beds, Lurie is a powerhouse in pediatric, academic medicine for Chicago residents, Midwesterners, and children and their families around the world. While Lurie leads in academic medicine, tertiary care, and quaternary care, the organization is also deeply committed to patient advocacy, education, and improving the community it serves. It does this through its partnerships with many outreach sites and primary care practices, the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, and the Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities (named after the former CEO of Lurie Children’s that served as CEO and President of the organization for 22 years). I have been fortunate enough to work directly with Iowa MHA Alumni, Jill Keats, Vice President of Program Development, as my primary preceptor and Ken Gray, Vice President of Medical Center Services, as a secondary mentor. Both have been incredibly supportive of my exploration into all things healthcare and are incredible mentors. 

The Lurie Children’s administrative internship is a 10-week, project-based internship that allows for individual selection of projects. In my first two weeks, my co-intern and I were presented with a list of projects, scheduled interviews with project owners, finalized our project list, and began working. Together, we are completing a current and future state analysis for the Division of Hospital-Based Medicine physician recruitment to day 1 process. Independently, I am evaluating patient-family experience within the Department of Transplantation, as well as developing and implementing an improvement plan to increase the amount of feedback received from families with the goal of enhancing the transplant evaluation day. Being able to shadow emergent and non-emergent transplant evaluations has connected me to the work that I am doing and is a big motivation when projects get overwhelming. In addition to smaller projects, I have been able to attend meetings, shadow clinical care, explore partnership facilities such as Almost Homes Kids and the labor and delivery unit at Central DuPage Hospital, and connect with administrators and frontline staff across all levels of the organization. One of my favorite experiences so far has been touring and meeting with administrators at the Chicago Institute for Fetal Health. This is a multi-disciplinary facility within Lurie Children’s that partners with Northwestern Medicine to perform lifesaving surgeries on pregnant mothers with complications. With only 14 others like it across the US, the facility offers truly unique, life-changing care that is patient-focused and compassionate. Being able to learn from the people that have developed such a successful and unique service line has been amazing! The beautiful views of Michigan Ave from my desk are also a nice perk!!

As for summer activities, summer in Chicago cannot be beaten. Between lake days, NASCAR racing down Lakeshore Drive, Cubs games, and street festivals, there is always something to do! I have been able to take trips up to Milwaukee and spend time relaxing at home with family. I feel so lucky to be having an incredible summer in Chicago and look forward to using the skills that I have learned this summer in my second year of the MHA and beyond. The relationships that I am building are a priceless asset in my career development and I am so grateful to be connected to the people within Lurie Children’s.