Summer Internship: Mercy Hospital Ada

By: Matt Knoedel

What a whirlwind 5 weeks it has been in Ada. In that short time, I have experienced many new things for the first time, and met some inspiring and amazing people. I feel like I have been welcomed by the people of Ada.

Mercy Hospital Ada is a not-for-profit, acute care hospital located in Ada, Oklahoma. Lori Wightman, President of Mercy Hospital Ada and my preceptor, is providing strong leadership at the hospital, and it has been quite an experience to see her work. The hospital is part of the Mercy Health System, which spans from St. Louis in the East all the way to Oklahoma City in the West and includes 46 acute and specialty hospitals. Mercy can trace its roots back to Dublin, Ireland nearly 200 years ago, when Sister Catherine McAuley opened the first house of Mercy in 1827 to serve and heal those in need.

 In 2016, Mercy was given a Truven award for being one of the top 5 health systems in the nation. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a system-wide leadership meeting in Branson, Missouri during my first week. It was an amazing experience to meet all the leadership teams from around the ministry, and I was able to ask CEO Lynn Britton a few questions. It wasn’t all work though. Lori and I also did a zip-line across the river…3 times! It was a fun first week to say the least.

I have been tasked with some very interesting and engaging projects. The two big projects I’m working on are reducing hospital readmissions and improving hospital-wide productivity and staffing. I have been working with the VP of Operations, Danny Coats, in developing a tool to adjust staffing during times of low census. As for readmissions, I will be presenting suggestions to senior leadership on how to reduce the readmission rate. Some ideas in the works include community paramedics, ED nurse navigators, and improving the discharge planning process. I am also taking project lead on implementation of a new software at the hospital called analyticsMD, which will go-live at the end of July. These projects have kept me busy, but they are very satisfying.

 When I’m not working, I’m taking in the Oklahoma, small-town cultural experience as much as possible. During my first weekend here, I went to a crawfish boil and a fish fry. Another weekend, I trekked south to the Sulphur art festival, and it was interesting to see the Native American influence in the art. I have been up to Oklahoma City a few times as well. I spent a day in the up-and-coming Bricktown district, which has a AAA baseball stadium, a canal, and several restaurants. Other than that, there are three golf courses in Ada, so I’ve been working on my swing. I’m also planning on going to a rodeo while I’m here. Don’t be surprised if I return to Iowa in cowboy boots!

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