Summer Internship: New York Presbyterian Hospital - New York City

By Ashlee Venema

Live from New York City! I am spending my summer at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYP)! NYP is an extremely complex system that has two academic medical centers, Weill-Cornell Medical Center and Columbia Medical Center, servicing patients on a daily basis. The medical schools employ the physicians, while the hospitals employ the rest of the clinical and non-clinical staff. The system has 10 campuses, including a children’s hospital, psychiatric hospital, two community hospitals, and a number of outpatient clinics that add to this total. Additionally, we are in the middle of expanding the Regional Health Network that serves the community health needs of patients across the state and in surrounding areas outside of Manhattan proper.

I am spending the majority of my time in hospital operations at the Westchester Division, which represents the stand-alone psychiatric hospital serving patients with mental illness nationally and internationally. We have 270 beds that provide inpatient treatment for adolescents and

adults that suffer from illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, anxiety, etc. Since my first day, I have attended senior leadership meetings, clinical team meetings, patient group therapy, and advisory committees. I have had unlimited access to one-on-one meet and greets with any employee in the entire organization. This has lead to a vast network and my overall understanding of multiple departments such as operations, finance, patient experience, and facilities. I have truly been lucky to be so visible as an administrative intern with amazing mentors.

A couple of my projects this summer have included, developing a checklist for inpatient unit team rounds to optimize length of stay through discharge discussions, and generating job aides to assist administrators with meeting best practices. My biggest project that I will present to the senior leadership team of the system in August is tackling the transportation expenses associated with patient discharge and family visitation. Since the psychiatric hospital is located 29 miles north of the city, families and patients often have difficulty finding transportation to and from our location after being transferred from downtown. This can lead to delayed discharge if families cannot be present for care planning sessions, or if they are unavailable to travel on day of discharge. The greatest expense comes from the taxicab, rail, and bus services we reimburse for in order to ensure patients make it safely to their home. I am working closely with the finance department and social workers to propose a solution to improve patient experience, family satisfaction, and reduce expenses!

 

In my free time, I have loved everything about NYC, even the 110-degree subway platforms! I explore nightly after work and spend my weekends walking over 20,000 steps per day in order to see all that I can! There are 13 other interns throughout the system who are always willing to try a new place to eat, catch a free concert, maneuver through a crowded street festival, or attend a Mets baseball game on a weeknight! I have really come to enjoy the hustle and bustle that comes with living in one of the largest cities in the world! I look forward to seeing my classmates in a few weeks to enjoy our final year of graduate school together before doing GREAT things in this field!