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Mekenna Ollinger (MHA '23): UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital

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  Hello from Denver, Colorado! This summer, I have been fortunate enough to spend my administrative internship at UCHealth at the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) in the Oncology Department with senior director, Khari Reed. Some may know him in the organization by his blue and yellow basketball sneakers, but I know him as a kind, thoughtful, and dedicated mentor and leader in healthcare. Voted as #1 hospital in Colorado, UCH is a three region, non-profit healthcare system that sites hospitals and facilities throughout Colorado with affiliations in Wyoming and Nebraska. In the Metro Region, where UCH is located, in conjunction with the University of Colorado School of Medicine, it is a 678-bed, Level 1 trauma center with eight top-ranking specialties. UCHealth’s internship is a 10-12 week cohort model program that provides students with an individual preceptor and department, with a plethora of opportunities such as a Green Belt certification, Lunch-and-Learns with executive leader
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Annie Schaefer (MHA '23): University of Iowa Physicians (UIP)

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Greetings from Iowa City! This summer, I have been enjoying every second of my time with University of Iowa Physicians (UIP) under the direct mentorship of Rachel Kirchner and Conner Welch. Rachel is the Director of UI Community Clinics (UICC) and is responsible for leading UICC and Outreach strategies and initiatives. Conner is the Administrative Fellow for UIP – both Rachel and Conner are alumni of the Iowa MHA program! Since beginning with UICC in May, I have had the incredible opportunity to jump right in on the action. I have been able to participate in a patient simulation as part of the UICC transition to team-based care (TBC). This involved presenting in clinic as a patient with a defined set of symptoms, completing a clinic visit with the care team, and reporting out on specified metrics post-visit. I also have been busy working on analyses and strategic recommendations as part of a business proposal for expansion of clinical services at one the UICC locations. Along with
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Tyler Coulander (MHA '23): New Ulm Medical Center

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  W illkommen! (Welcome) to New Ulm, Minnesota. This summer I am the Administrative Intern at New Ulm Medical Center (NUMC). NUMC is a critical access hospital in southwest Minnesota. The population of New Ulm is around 14,000 but NUMC has a service area of roughly 40,000. With my passion for rural healthcare, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to spend the summer with the amazing leaders and staff here in New Ulm. I have been given access and opportunities to observe a wide variety of areas within the hospital and clinic. New Ulm is a small town with strong German heritage/history and has a great sense of community. One example of this is Hermann the German, a statue that provides a great view of New Ulm and the surrounding area from the top. New Ulm has a lot of parks and recreational areas which promotes health and well being for community members. So far during my time in New Ulm I have been working on a variety of projects. Mainly my work has been focused on growth strategy
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Nicholas Wilson (JD/MHA '22): Federal Court

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“All rise! The matter before the Court …” Reverberating across the courtroom, this introductory cry of the court greeted me as I took my seat on the dais next to the presiding judge. This summer I had the great pleasure and honor of working for a federal judge, drafting orders on dispositive motions before the Court, conducting legal research, and offering legal analysis during the judicial decision-making process. That is all a fancy way of saying that I had the opportunity to step behind the curtain and put myself in the judge’s shoes as the Court decided cases. As a summer law clerk in federal court, I worked on matters that came before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Iowa has two federal district courts: the Northern District and the Southern District. The Northern District has courthouses in Cedar Rapids and Sioux City. The Southern District has courthouses in Des Moines, Davenp
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Alex Thorp (MHA '22): Washington County Hospital and Clinics

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Hello from Iowa City! This summer, I commuted to Washington, Iowa, to intern at Washington County Hospital and Clinics. WCHC is a 22-bed, critical access hospital located about 45 minutes southwest of Iowa City. Growing up in the Des Moines area, I was excited to be in a small town and gain more experience in a rural hospital and community. Since it is such a smaller organization, I was able to have access to so many departments and leaders, which made my internship experience that much more valuable. Most of my time in Washington was spent working on operations projects. I have always had an interest in this area, and my experiences over the summer cemented this passion. My biggest project was researching and strategizing how the hospital could increase its CMS Star Ratings. I was completely unfamiliar with this, so I really had to put a lot of work into this project. I was tasked with finding out how the scores are calculated, what measures they use, how the measures are collected an
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Kori Thomas (MHA '22): Rush Copley Medical Center

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Hello from Chicago!  This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to complete my internship with Rush Copley Medical Center. My preceptor this summer was the oh-so-great Dave Petasnick! Dave has been with Rush Copley for over ten years and has contributed to the organization in numerous and unique ways. Fun fact, Dave is an alumnus of Iowa’s MHA program, along with the CEO, John Diedrich. I highly encourage you to take some time to schedule a meeting with John to hear about his incredible journey with Rush Copley. Trust me; you won’t be disappointed. Although Rush Copley is located in Aurora, Illinois, Chicago is about a 45-50 minute drive … well, that’s not including traffic;).  Rush Copley’s internship is a 10-12 week program that provides students with a plethora of opportunities such as observing surgeries, shadowing EMS and riding in the ambulance, observing live births and C-sections, and more. Before starting this amazing internship, Dave asked me for a list of projects and obs
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Conner Welch (MHA '22): Office of Statewide Clinical Education Programs

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Hello everyone! I’ve been spending my summer in Iowa City with the Office of Statewide Clinical Education Programs (OSCEP). OSCEP, part of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, serves to develop and coordinate collegiate outreach programs for medical education and community service. My internship is specifically in the community service division. I’ve really enjoyed spending most of my time with my preceptor Lynette Lancial and co-intern, Annie Schaefer. Lynette is an alum of the MHA program, and Annie is an incoming first-year MHA student. The rest of the team at OSCEP has been great to work with and learn from as well. My main project has been working on publishing the 2021-2022  Iowa Medical Practice Opportunities Directories . The directories are distributed to physicians and advanced practice providers looking to practice in the state of Iowa. It has been an awesome experience connecting with executives and providers from all over the state to determine their workforc
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