Summer Internships: HCA

Myself and Tom Ozburn, CEO

Southern Hills Medical Center

By AJ Nice

A summer in Nashville, Tennessee is unlike anything I've ever experienced – working on my southern drawl and becoming acquainted with the music scene, Nashville has a taste of a big city with a small city feel.  I’m currently working for TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center, HCA in Nashville, TN.  Southern Hills is a 132-bed hospital and now serves three counties, including Davidson, Williamson and Rutherford.  However, the scope of Southern Hills encompasses much more than a standard 132-bed class C size hospital with its recent joint venture with CareSpot, a local immediate care clinic, its ownership of three imaging centers and partnerships with primary care offices. 

A majority of my time and perhaps the most invaluable aspect of my summer is the opportunity spent with my preceptor, Tom Ozburn, CEO.  Unique to many internships, Tom has taken me on every meeting and conference call he has been a part of for the summer.  I've been included in 3-year business development plans with division, have met multiple times with other division executives and had the opportunity to engage the other chief executive officers a part of the TriStar division.  Some of my responsibilities include:

• Project manager of new Joint and Spine Center floor development. 
• Implementing desired goals and functionality from staff, unit managers and directors.
• Facilitate director and chief officer meetings.
• Ensure viable financial expenditure and resource allocation.
• Advanced employer survey model for local business community distribution.
• Aided in recruitment and privilege status of four neurosurgeons.

All in all, I could not have asked for a better summer internship experience.  I work with people that are talented, compassionate and driven – what more can you ask for in a career.  The concept of work-hard, play-hard exists in its fullest and with a light-hearted, comical, professional environment… I’m beginning to see how an organization truly becomes successful.   

HCA Physicians Services

By Mark Corbeil

Working in Nashville has been nothing short of amazing. The atmosphere, the people, and the weather are always great. You can find concerts and a music feel all over the area from free concerts in the park to well known musicians performing at various venues. Since living and working here, I have not met one person who was rude or mean. It seems like every time I go out, people just want to talk and become fast friends. The area around me stretches out for miles with a green hilly scenery. Along with the scenery, its usually around 80 degrees and sunny (besides the 5 minute rain storms in the afternoon). It is a great place to live and work.

I have experienced and learned many things over the weeks of my internship. From the beginning I hit the ground running experiencing everything from Physician Services to financials. I was welcomed with open arms from my preceptors and the people I shadowed. At the end of these weeks, I am beginning to see what peaks my interest and what does not.

To begin I met the team at HCA Physicians Services (HCAPS), and learned about some of the projects I would be working on this summer. The next day I got to experience the hospital side at Centennial. I shadowed the Practice Administrator in the cardiology department. This was not the only experience of the hospital side that I had experienced that week. I also toured/ shadowed directors at the Frist Clinic and Skyline Medical Center. After this I got to experience the financial side of HCAPS over at the Division office. I was also exposed to the Marketing that HCA does at various clinics and sites. The last shadow I got to experience was the Physician Development team. I got to attend professional meetings in each of these departments as well as a Market Manager division meeting. I will be continuing work on a Provider Based Billing move to Hospital Outpatient charges, creating marketing plans to increase a providers’ revenue, and implementing a new online directory for providers. This internship has kept me very busy bouncing around departments, but has been one of the best working experiences I have ever had.     

TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center

By Nick Howald

Currently, I am working at TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center, which is an HCA facility. It is an acute care hospital with 109 beds in Smyrna, TN. It is a fantastic hospital with even better people. My main projects have mostly been working with our surgical department, marketing team and physical medicine department. We initiated several cost-saving strategies like putting price stickers on disposable equipment in our OR and reduced room turnaround times by standardizing nursing/tech workflows. Work smarter, not harder! 

I have also assisted in the marketing of our 24/7 Cath Lab and the promotion of our interventional cardiologists. The marketing gals were quite impressed with my advertising skills. (All of those hours of Mad Men are paying off).  Recently, I put together a proposal/pro forma for our physical medicine department. Our facility has an opportunity to partner with local large employers to perform isokinetic physical evaluations for their future employees. This could be an advantageous partnership if we can expand our reach into the Worker’s Comp. market.

StoneCrest Medical Center has some of the top clinicians in Middle Tennessee and I have had the pleasure to observe most of these extraordinary individuals. I have seen a robotic laparoscopic cholecystectomy, laparoscopic hernia repair, and total knee replacement. I’ve also spent time with nurses, maintenance, EVS, and HR department.

Outside of StoneCrest, most of my time is spent on golf, concerts (Music City), and eating a lot. There is some darn good food down here. The native Southern folk like to use the saying, “We’re all about the Whoa.” The Nashvillians know how to relax and have a great time. However, to keep healthy we have explored several running trails and are planning a kayak trip in the near future. I've also been futilely attempting to teach my fellow colleague, AJ Nice, the game of basketball. 

As much as I have sincerely enjoyed my time at TriStar StoneCrest and Nashville, I look forward to continuing my educational career and seeing all of my classmates this fall.