Summer Internship: Grinnell Regional Medical Center
By: Bailey Price
Greetings from Grinnell! This summer I have been fortunate to serve as the administrative intern at Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) in Grinnell, Iowa. Todd Linden, president and CEO of GRMC, has served as my preceptor. GRMC is a private, not-for-profit, 49-bed community hospital. The hospital is affiliated with Mercy Health Network (MHN). GRMC’s status as one of eight “tweener” hospitals in Iowa has exposed me to the Medicare reimbursement challenges this category of hospital faces and the political advocacy many such hospitals engage in as a result. The internship application described the experience as an “all-access pass to the operations and leadership of a rural facility” and this has proven to be an incredibly accurate description!
My internship experience actually began before the spring semester ended. In late April, I had the opportunity to accompany Todd and a GRMC board member to Washington, D.C. for the American Hospital Association (AHA) annual meeting and to participate in Hill visits with the Iowa Hospital Association delegation. In addition to hearing from prominent voices in the healthcare field, such as the acting administrator of CMS, and attending sessions focusing on the unique issues facing rural hospitals, I got to cheer on Iowa alumnus Jim Skogsbergh ’82 as he was inducted as chair of the AHA’s board of trustees!
My experiences this summer have been incredibly comprehensive, allowing me to experience the full spectrum of a rural hospital administrator’s professional and community engagement: attending hospital board meetings and the joint board/medical staff meeting, participating in recruitment events for physicians, completing Team STEPPS training, volunteering at the annual golf tournament fundraiser, meeting with the directors of a movie filming in Grinnell, attending a hospice interdisciplinary group meeting, participating in generative discussions with board members, completing a CPR certification course, participating in a community health improvement planning meeting, and viewing a gastric sleeve surgery.
My internship has coincided with an incredibly exciting time at the hospital. GRMC is exploring enhanced partnerships with the three largest health systems in the state, and I’ve had the opportunity to take a front row seat to the process. One of my projects involved translating suggestions from the joint board and medical staff meeting into criteria for evaluating RFPs and creating a scoring system for prioritization. Working with staff, board members, providers, and community members has given me invaluable insight into the varied and interrelated concerns and priorities of the hospital’s stakeholders.
Another main project has focused on the results from an employee survey on internal communication at the hospital. Applying analytics to the survey responses has allowed me to determine the relative ROI of various communication methods for different departments and to make data-driven recommendations on the most effective strategies for the executive team to use when communicating organizational information to employees. Other project work has included: making policy recommendations for a patient financial assistance policy, researching the creation of viable ambulatory surgery centers, conducting market analysis on an existing service line, and creating a business report for an expanded service line.
Outside of work, I have spent time with family in Grinnell, enjoyed small town life, eaten delicious meals at my favorite restaurant, The Prairie Canary, and explored other Iowa cities on day trips. I’ll be sad to leave GRMC and Grinnell, but I’m looking forward to hearing about my classmates’ internship experiences when we are reunited in Iowa City next month!
Greetings from Grinnell! This summer I have been fortunate to serve as the administrative intern at Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) in Grinnell, Iowa. Todd Linden, president and CEO of GRMC, has served as my preceptor. GRMC is a private, not-for-profit, 49-bed community hospital. The hospital is affiliated with Mercy Health Network (MHN). GRMC’s status as one of eight “tweener” hospitals in Iowa has exposed me to the Medicare reimbursement challenges this category of hospital faces and the political advocacy many such hospitals engage in as a result. The internship application described the experience as an “all-access pass to the operations and leadership of a rural facility” and this has proven to be an incredibly accurate description!My internship experience actually began before the spring semester ended. In late April, I had the opportunity to accompany Todd and a GRMC board member to Washington, D.C. for the American Hospital Association (AHA) annual meeting and to participate in Hill visits with the Iowa Hospital Association delegation. In addition to hearing from prominent voices in the healthcare field, such as the acting administrator of CMS, and attending sessions focusing on the unique issues facing rural hospitals, I got to cheer on Iowa alumnus Jim Skogsbergh ’82 as he was inducted as chair of the AHA’s board of trustees!
My experiences this summer have been incredibly comprehensive, allowing me to experience the full spectrum of a rural hospital administrator’s professional and community engagement: attending hospital board meetings and the joint board/medical staff meeting, participating in recruitment events for physicians, completing Team STEPPS training, volunteering at the annual golf tournament fundraiser, meeting with the directors of a movie filming in Grinnell, attending a hospice interdisciplinary group meeting, participating in generative discussions with board members, completing a CPR certification course, participating in a community health improvement planning meeting, and viewing a gastric sleeve surgery.
My internship has coincided with an incredibly exciting time at the hospital. GRMC is exploring enhanced partnerships with the three largest health systems in the state, and I’ve had the opportunity to take a front row seat to the process. One of my projects involved translating suggestions from the joint board and medical staff meeting into criteria for evaluating RFPs and creating a scoring system for prioritization. Working with staff, board members, providers, and community members has given me invaluable insight into the varied and interrelated concerns and priorities of the hospital’s stakeholders.
Another main project has focused on the results from an employee survey on internal communication at the hospital. Applying analytics to the survey responses has allowed me to determine the relative ROI of various communication methods for different departments and to make data-driven recommendations on the most effective strategies for the executive team to use when communicating organizational information to employees. Other project work has included: making policy recommendations for a patient financial assistance policy, researching the creation of viable ambulatory surgery centers, conducting market analysis on an existing service line, and creating a business report for an expanded service line.Outside of work, I have spent time with family in Grinnell, enjoyed small town life, eaten delicious meals at my favorite restaurant, The Prairie Canary, and explored other Iowa cities on day trips. I’ll be sad to leave GRMC and Grinnell, but I’m looking forward to hearing about my classmates’ internship experiences when we are reunited in Iowa City next month!
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