Summer Internships: Geisinger Health System


By Larissa Luckel 

It’s hard to believe there are only two weeks of summer left until school starts!  Unfortunately, this means there is even less time left at my internship.  This summer, I have been interning at Geisinger Health System in northeast Pennsylvania.  Founded in 1915, Geisinger Health System is the nation’s largest rural health care system and has recently gained national recognition for its ability to provide high-quality care at costs below average. 

Myself and John Heineman, fellow Iowa MHA/MPH student
It is a very exciting time to be with Geisinger and I am trying to soak in every bit of knowledge that I can.  I have learned a lot about their innovative care delivery models, such as ProvenCare (the “warranty”) and ProvenHealth Navigator, and have been involved in many meetings about upcoming projects with CMMI (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation) and PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute). 

 Geisinger has recently merged with several community hospitals in the northeast PA region and a lot of my work has focused around projects in these hospitals.  On July 1st, Bloomsburg Health System (now officially named Geisinger-Bloomsburg Health System, or G-BH) was welcomed into the Geisinger family.  During June and July, I spent quite a bit of time in transition team meetings and steering committee meetings, as we prepared for G-BH to come onboard.  Being involved in the merger process has been a great experience, as I have been exposed to various elements of strategic planning, business development and programming, legal restrictions and considerations, human resource needs, information technology implementation, etc. Recently, I have also begun work to develop an operating plan with metrics for Geisinger Northeast, and have been assisting in the planning and implementation of an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at another newly-acquired hospital, Geisinger-Community Medical Center in Scranton, PA.

From a personal standpoint, I have been exploring Wilkes-Barre and the northeast PA region with the second-year fellow, Alexis Kolpakas (an Iowa MHA/MPH grad) and the first-year fellow, Andrea Fenner-Koepp.  I have found some really great wineries around this area and a large farmers’ market that takes place in the town square on Thursdays.  A couple of weekends ago, I went to Philadelphia for a Phillies/Braves game and stopped by Pat’s King of Steaks afterward for a Philly cheesesteak sandwich.   There are also some really nice hiking trails not far from where I live and it has been nice to get out and explore those on the weekends as well. 


Andrea Fenner-Koepp, the first-year fellow; myself; Alexis Kolpakas, '10 Iowa MHA/MPH graduate and second-year fellow; and the previous fellow, Jessica Havern.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Adriana Kotchkoski (MHA '24): Nihon Keiei Consulting Group

Image
Konnichiwa from Japan!   As I sit down to write this blog post, I am filled with a sense of gratitude and accomplishment as I reflect on my time as an intern at Nihon Keiei Consulting Group in Osaka, Japan. This summer has been nothing short of remarkable, offering me a unique blend of professional development and cultural immersion that I will cherish forever.   During my time at Nihon Keiei, I had the opportunity to engage in in-depth research and analysis, creating comprehensive market profiles for the healthcare sectors in the Philippines and India. These profiles laid the foundation for strategic expansion plans, and it was an honor to present my findings and recommendations to a senior consultant during insightful one-on-one meetings. These interactions were not only professionally enriching but also allowed me to witness firsthand how strategic decisions shape the course of an organization's growth.   One of the most rewarding experiences during my internship was the develop
Read more

Devante Davis (MHA '24): UCHealth - Southern Region

Image
Hello my name is Devante Davis I am going into my 2 nd year as an MHA student at the University of Iowa!    I am currently interning at UCHEALTH southern region in Colorado Springs, and UCHEALTH mission statement is to Improve lives through providing quality care. My preceptor is Andrew Ritchie the Chief Operation Officer of the UCHEALTH southern region. He great a developing talent while unlocking hiding potential within his interns, and fellow! My favorite project was evaluating what the rest of the world is doing to recover from this global nursing shortage. Summarizing the data and be a part of creating a valuable plan to implement into the UCHEALTH southern region. A few other fun events I attended were the pikes peak annual racing event, viper’s baseball game, the incline!  
Read more

Kayla Rinderknecht (MPH’24): Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield

Image
Hello from Des Moines, Iowa! This summer, I completed a 12-week internship with Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS). Wellmark Inc. is a mutual health insurance company, with policyholders throughout Iowa and South Dakota. As a market leader, Wellmark’s mission is to make healthcare better and improve the health of the communities that they serve. Throughout the summer, I experienced Wellmark’s positive culture and contributed to its mission.     My Community Health Research Internship was housed under Wellmark’s Division of Health Equity, Access, and Improvement. The division’s strategy is to improve the health of all Iowans and South Dakotans, not just Wellmark’s policyholders. To improve the health of all Iowans and South Dakotans, the division focused on improving community health, addressing health equity, and improving rural health. My project focused on improving community health, in which I analyzed community data for Iowa and South Dakota, conducted evidence-based research,
Read more