Summer Internship: Children's Hospital of Wisconsin

By: Ashley Holstun (MHA '19) 

Greetings from America’s Dairyland!

I am spending my summer at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin (CHW) in Milwaukee. I am very fortunate to be under the direction of my preceptor, Scott Turner, COO (MA ’97). CHW is a private, independent, non-profit health care system dedicated solely to caring for pediatric patients and their families. At our Milwaukee hospital we have 298 beds and are considered a Level 1 Trauma Center. Our hospital located in Fox Valley currently has 42 beds, 22 of which are for NICU babies. Although we are an independent system, we are a major teaching affiliate of the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). We also have several “care closer to home” sites including 25 primary care clinics, 16 behavioral health care locations, and an outpatient surgery center. CHW is heavily involved in the community with 25 community services locations helping to advance our mission of making Wisconsin kids the healthiest in the nation. 

During my time at CHW I have had several amazing opportunities to get involved in the organization. I attended an At Our Best session which really focused on how we, as staff, can continue building on our culture so we can provide the best and safest care to our patients. I have been working on several projects in different areas of the hospital including ambulatory, volunteer services, facilities management, and more. One major project I am working on is called the Milwaukee Campus Improvement Project (MCIP). This is a large construction project and will be starting in early 2019. My focus has been on preparing an event to help create awareness about what decisions are being made as well as gain feedback on current ideas. Additionally, I have been attending steering committee meetings for ambulatory care and the Emergency Department regarding the MCIP project. Another large project I have been working on is creating the foundation for our business continuity event. Part of my task is to interview different departments to better understand where disaster relief documents are located as well as succession plans that may be in place. 

Outside of work I have been able to enjoy the many things Milwaukee has to offer in the summer time: Summer fest, Milwaukee Brewers baseball games, and farmers markets to name a few. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience so far and have been able to experience a lot. I look forward to the time I have left and am excited to see everyone back in Iowa city in a few short weeks (wow that came up quick).