First-Year MHA Cohort- Des Moines Trip


MHA 2020 Cohort at UnityPoint Health - Des Moines with MHA alumni Swati Panchal (MHA '17) and Paige Jaeger (MHA '13)
By: Alexa Saco (MHA '20) 

For the first time as a class, the University of Iowa first-year MHA students made their way to Des Moines to visit with alumni at two different health care organizations. Being the first excursion of the year, the day started off right with coffee and doughnuts. 

The first visit of the day was an exceptional presentation at The Iowa Clinic in West Des Moines. The students were greeted and given a thorough and engaging overview of The Iowa Clinic by alumnus and current Administrative Fellow, Carly Correll (MHA ’17). They were able to get the administrative and clinician perspectives on running a physician-owned health care organization from Pediatrician Dr. Dan Pelzer and the administrative perspectives from Director of Inpatient Surgical Services Sean Boarini (MHA ’18), and Jamie Carlson, the Chief Human Resources Officer for the organization. They provided an absolutely delicious lunch to the students! 

From there, they traveled to UnityPoint Health – Des Moines to learn about a non-profit, statewide healthcare system. The students were greeted Swati Panchal (MHA ’17), the current Administrative Fellow. In the board room, the students were engaged in an executive Q&A session with UnityPoint Health-Des Moines CEO David Stark (MHA ‘96) and Vice President, Surgical and Cardiovascular Services, Tom Mulrooney (MHA ’05). Both alumni provided fantastic incite to the students through a panel of unfiltered questions, making the scene comfortable and collaborative. The day ended with a candid panel of early and mid-careerists which included Panchal, and Paige Jaeger (MHA ’13), the Executive Director of Radiology & Respiratory Therapy Services and Sarah Zeidler, the Executive Director of Oncology Services.

The day was long but by the end, the students were full of energy (and sugar from the generous supply of candy!) reminiscing on their experiences the entire hour and a half car ride home. By visiting two very different health systems, it was great exposure for the new graduate students and a new understanding of how truly broad the U.S. health system really is. 

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