Summer Internship: UnityPoint Health Waterloo

By: David Nelson

Hello everyone and greetings from Waterloo, Iowa!

This summer I have had the pleasure of working with Pam Delagardelle and the leadership team at UnityPoint – Waterloo. I’ve been based primarily at Allen Hospital, but with systemwide efforts on population health and building a system designed for future payment models, my work has been regionally focused.

In building models of care for the future, my primary responsibility has been working on regional access strategies. This work has put a great deal of emphasis on identifying how we can provide cheaper, more accessible care in the Cedar Valley. The strategies built around this type of thinking have been incredible to be a part of – from telehealth solutions, to reaching patients at their home or place of work - evaluating the best ways of serving patients has pushed me to think about how we can be more consumer and patient-centric.

Beyond this work, I’ve also worked with Adam Scherling, an Iowa alum, on outpatient clinic development. This work gave me the opportunity to develop a business plan, pro forma, and present to leadership for approval.  Additional project work has included analyzing intragovernmental transfer policy at the state level, graduate medical education, Medicare payment methodology changes, telehealth strategy, and patient self-scheduling.

As a Wartburg College graduate, coming back to the Cedar Valley has been an incredible opportunity to jump right back in to the fun things that happen during the summer. I had the opportunity to carry the UnityPoint Health banner with the Administrative Fellows in the region at the Sturgis Falls parade in Cedar Falls and this week brought Irish Fest to Waterloo. All in all, it’s been a fantastic summer made so great by all the wonderful people working at UnityPoint.