Summer Internship: University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics

Kylor Sorensen (left) and other administrative interns
during a rounding in UIHC's hazardous waste disposal room.
By: Kylor Sorensen (MHA '18) 

Greetings from Hawkeye nation! This summer I have the great pleasure of interning at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) in Iowa City, Iowa. With the addition of the new Stead Family Children’s Hospital (SFCH), UIHC is a 795 bed facility with roughly 35,000 acute admissions and 961,930 ambulatory patient visits in fiscal year 2016. UIHC is the only academic medical center in the state of Iowa. It employs roughly 900 staff physicians and dentists, 2,200 nurses, 800 residents and fellows, and there are 1,500 volunteers. UIHC provides services to all 99 counties in the state of Iowa, making it an essential access point for patients and their families.

My preceptor this summer is Mr. Scott Turner, Chief Operating Officer of UIHC and Executive Director of the SFCH. I have had the privilege of working closely with Mr. Turner throughout the summer on data-driven projects that focus on the pediatric population and the support services that report up to Mr. Turner. My biggest project has been reducing length of stay (LOS) within the pediatric population by 1,000 days. UIHC uses Vizient to run patient population through a model which provides an expected LOS for every patient. I have been looking into increasing throughput along with educating physicians on proper clinical documentation to ensure we are getting reimbursed for how sick our patients really are. Other projects I have taken on include financial analysis of the dialysis program, creation and implementation of a new sustainability committee, streamlining worker safety reports, and an annual space survey for the hospital.

I have also spent time rounding with various departments throughout the hospital including supply chain, nursing, engineering services, etc. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to sit in on several senior leadership meetings, and I have taken the opportunity to meet one-on-one with executives such as Mr. Ken Kates (the CEO), Mr. Sabi Singh (Mr. Turner’s co-COO), Dr. Theresa Brennan (the Chief Medical Officer), and other senior leaders.

Outside of my summer internship I have spent most of my time hacking it around the many golf courses in Iowa City, spending time with other interns in the area, and making frequent trips to Chicago to fulfill my duties as a first time uncle. I look forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks, and to welcoming the first year students to our program.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Adriana Kotchkoski (MHA '24): Nihon Keiei Consulting Group

Image
Konnichiwa from Japan!   As I sit down to write this blog post, I am filled with a sense of gratitude and accomplishment as I reflect on my time as an intern at Nihon Keiei Consulting Group in Osaka, Japan. This summer has been nothing short of remarkable, offering me a unique blend of professional development and cultural immersion that I will cherish forever.   During my time at Nihon Keiei, I had the opportunity to engage in in-depth research and analysis, creating comprehensive market profiles for the healthcare sectors in the Philippines and India. These profiles laid the foundation for strategic expansion plans, and it was an honor to present my findings and recommendations to a senior consultant during insightful one-on-one meetings. These interactions were not only professionally enriching but also allowed me to witness firsthand how strategic decisions shape the course of an organization's growth.   One of the most rewarding experiences during my internship was t...
Read more

Devante Davis (MHA '24): UCHealth - Southern Region

Image
Hello my name is Devante Davis I am going into my 2 nd year as an MHA student at the University of Iowa!    I am currently interning at UCHEALTH southern region in Colorado Springs, and UCHEALTH mission statement is to Improve lives through providing quality care. My preceptor is Andrew Ritchie the Chief Operation Officer of the UCHEALTH southern region. He great a developing talent while unlocking hiding potential within his interns, and fellow! My favorite project was evaluating what the rest of the world is doing to recover from this global nursing shortage. Summarizing the data and be a part of creating a valuable plan to implement into the UCHEALTH southern region. A few other fun events I attended were the pikes peak annual racing event, viper’s baseball game, the incline!  
Read more

Naudya Chhuon, UIHC Accounting and Financial Services (MHA '25)

Image
This summer, I had the opportunity to be a part of the Finance and Accounting Services team (FAS) at the University of Iowa. My internship allowed me to better understand what it is like to work in finance and accounting, especially within the healthcare industry. From managing a vaccination clinic project to tackling financial models, I got to contribute to some and be a part of some fun projects. One of the highlights of my internship was being the go-to person for all things related to the HPV vaccination clinic with the Population Health team. This project provides Shoes for patients under 13 years old who obtain their 2 nd  dose of the HPV vaccine. I found myself at the center of communication between four different teams, which meant I got to lead meetings, and make sure we were all on the same page. Our big event is coming up in the second week of August, and I am proud of how smoothly everything has been running so far.  Another big part of my summer was getting my han...
Read more