Summer Internship: Mercy Medical Center

By: Zach Weiderspon          

Greetings Everyone! I am currently completing my summer internship at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mercy Medical Center is a licensed and fully accredited 445-bed regional hospital that primarily serves the communities of Eastern Iowa. Mercy Medical Center is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercycare Services Corporation, which encompasses more than 2,100 employees, over 40 physician clinics and the Medical Center. Founded by the Sister’s of Mercy in 1900, Mercy has been caring for Eastern Iowa for 114 years.

For the past three months, I have had the blessing of being the administrative intern at Mercy Medical Center. Under the tutelage of my preceptor, the Senior Director of Strategic Planning and Business Development, Annie Pollock (’09), I have had the luxury of being able to work on multiple projects and shadow various departments of the organization. This experience has helped me gain a better understanding and exposure to hospital operations.

This paragraph will give a brief overview of some of the projects I have been working on over the course of this summer. I assisted in the creation of a 30-page market analysis, providing executive leadership an overview of regional, state, and national market trends. I had the privilege of being project lead of a new business opportunity, and conducting a system wide feasibility analysis to present to the Operations Council. I am working closely with MHA alum Brooke Kensinger (’05) on developing a community outreach service. I am also working with MHA alum Ryan Grekoff (’10) on evaluating the possibility of service line integration. Additionally during the final week of June, the organization experienced what was deemed an “Adverse Precipitation Event,” resulting in partial flooding of the Emergency Department. Expecting additional rainfall prompted the leadership to activate Incident Command and commission construction of a sandbag perimeter wall. I served as one of the team leads in the planning and construction of the 1,000-sandbag perimeter wall. Together these projects allowed me to gain system-wide exposure and experience in project management.

Throughout the summer, I have also had the opportunity to shadow multiple departments within the organization. I spent time shadowing a Nurse Practitioner in the Pediatrics Department. Visited with the Director of Clinical Outcomes and Quality. Spent a night with an emergency department physician. I made rounds with the hospital chaplain. I spent an afternoon observing a hospice nurse. Stayed late to shadow the nighttime facilities supervisor conduct a walkthrough of all the electrical and mechanical systems that power the hospital. Furthermore, I also plan on observing a Da Vinci surgery in the operating room next week.

My experience at Mercy Medical Center has been very rewarding and has taught me a lot about being a healthcare leader. I have been able to attend all leadership meetings. Including Executive Administrative, Physician Leadership Council, Operations Council, University of Iowa Health Collaboration, and Board meetings. There is rarely a day that I am not in at least one meeting with our President and CEO, COO, or CFO.

Outside of my internship, I have been exploring the different activities the corridor has to offer; whether that be going to concerts and festivals, exploring the vast running and biking trails, fishing, golfing, or just going to a restaurant with friends. The corridor has many activities to enjoy.