University of Iowa Health Management & Policy

Passing a classmate through the 'spider web' Orientation week began just like any other day that you walk into a room of people you don’t know at all – nervous to see if you’ll fit in, worried you’ll accidentally miss an important meeting, or worst of all, forget to wear your suit for picture-day. During the first two days we had the traditional introductions to the program and faculty as well as tours of the area. A definite highlight was an introduction to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics by the CEO Ken Kates.  Any uneasiness we had around each other disappeared midweek, though, when we went to the low ropes course at the Hawkeye Recreation Fields. For the entire morning we did team building exercises. This was no human-knots amateur hour, though -- we swinging around on ropes and balancing giant platforms all under the premise that if we didn’t complete the task something bad would happen. I don’t know about you, but nothing motivates me to hang onto a rope

I am currently working as a graduate assistant for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.  My work began as an intern this summer and transitioned into my graduate assistant position.  Working for the Children’s Hospital has been a very rewarding experience and has exposed me to a wide variety of projects.  These projects allowed me to apply a wide range of relevant coursework obtained during my first year in the MHA program. The main project I have been working on is facilities planning for the construction of the new freestanding Children’s Hospital.  The opportunity to be involved in such a project is a very unique opportunity for a graduate student. I have gained valuable experience about the arduous task of building a new hospital.  My preceptor/boss is chair of one of the ten interdisciplinary user groups assembled to provide design a patient- and family-centered Children’s Hospital.  The user groups work directly with the architects to develop programming, design th

My name is Patrick Cannon and I am an MHA student. I finished my first year in the program in May 2011 and am interning this summer at MediRevv in Coralville, IA.  MediRevv is a healthcare revenue cycle management company specializing in helping hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers, and physician groups improve cash flow and grow revenue. Chris Klitgaard, an alum of the MHA/MBA dual degree program, started MediRevv about four years ago, after almost ten (10) years in hospital administration at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. In four (4) years, MediRevv has enjoyed tremendous success. Based on 292% growth in revenue over a three (3) year period, the Corridor Business Journal named MediRevv the 2011 top growth company in the Cedar Rapids/Coralville/Iowa City area.  My experience this summer has been great and has exposed me to aspects of the healthcare industry that no other classmate of mine shares. MediRevv is a vendor, meaning it sells servic

This summer I am interning at Lee’s Summit Medical Center (LSMC) in the Kansas City area. LSMC is one of the nearly 200 hospitals that make up the large healthcare system Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). HCA is the largest non-government operator of health care facilities in the world with hospitals in 20 states and Great Britain. The greater Kansas City area is served by the HCA Midwest Division, consisting of 9 hospitals, a psychiatric center, surgery centers and numerous physician offices; this is the division I am working for this summer. When I arrived in Kansas City, I was eager to learn about the for-profit world of hospitals and how an extremely successful organization was developed; however, I was a bit worried that I would get lost in the shuffle of a large hospital system, and that my assigned projects would have a minimal impact on the company. WOW, was I ever wrong!!! I have been given projects that would normally be tasked by senior leadership, and working with