University of Iowa Health Management & Policy

By: Bennett Luedtke (MHA ’20) Greetings from the best college town on Earth, Iowa City! This summer I had the great privilege of interning for ten weeks at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, working the Clinical Care Operations Administrative Internship with Dr. Theresa Brennan, Chief Medical Officer, as my preceptor. UIHC is Iowa’s only academic medical center and is ranked as Iowa’s #1 hospital according to U.S. News & World Report. With over 800 beds and nearly 37,000 annual admissions, UIHC is like a bustling citadel of healthcare committed to raising the bar in academic medicine and bettering the lives of thousands of Iowans. I had many fun projects this summer such as the annual Space Survey, creation of an interactive clinical documentation improvement dashboard, co-creation of a self-updating, interactive HCAHPS dashboard, and an HR project to establish a more equitable payment scheme for the many medical directors at UIHC. In addition to my proj...

By: Steven Alcantara (MHA ‘20) Hello and good tidings from Madison, Wisconsin!   I am writing this blog as I finish my last week at my graduate level internship at Dean Health Plan.   Dean Health Plan is an insurance company owned by SSM Health and is part of their Integrated Delivery Network (IDN).   Dean Health Plan is the largest insurance provider in the state of Wisconsin followed by Quartz Health Insurance which is owned by UW-Health.   My internship experience consisted of working on the Portfolio Team at Dean Health Plan. I am very lucky to be working with Elizabeth Witt in the Portfolio Department of Dean Health Plan.   She has 20+ years of experience working in the consulting field working for big companies such as Blue Cross California doing other portfolio related projects.   Dean Health Plan had a total of 10 interns overall from departments ranging in fields from portfolio, IT, healthcare management, and much more. ...

By: Jayden Snyder (MHA ‘20) This summer, I have had the privilege of interning at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics (UIHC). This system serves as the only comprehensive academic medical center in the state of Iowa. UIHC is nationally ranked, has 811 beds, and over 200 medical specialties. During my internship I have been able to work with the Chief Operating Officer of UIHC. My projects have included decreasing turnover time in the catheterization labs, expanding digestive health procedures with anesthesia from one day per week to five, working with the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center to streamline molecular testing, strategic planning for oncology services, and process improvement for digestive health. Each project has helped me to gain new experiences and tools. My favorite part of the projects has been working on process improvement and learning new Lean management techniques. One of the great things about the internship with UIHC is that you get to see an...

By: Madeline Cornell (MHA ‘20) Hi Everyone! This week I will conclude my ten-week internship with University of Iowa Physicians. UIP is a multi-specialty medical and surgical group affiliated with the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics (UIHC). Additionally, UIP oversees operations at several clinics (QuickCare and UrgentCare) throughout Iowa City and the surrounding areas. Working at UIP this summer has been extremely insightful and enjoyable. Since UIP is affiliated with UIHC, I have had the best of both worlds, gaining experience at both the clinic level and at the academic medical center level. This combination has taught me the value of collaboration and integration; moreover, it has really taught me how dynamic healthcare can be.  My projects have been associated with the Admission and Transfer Center, which is responsible for transferring and admitting patients from other hospitals and institutions to UIHC. Here, my work involves throughput, workflow, optimizat...

By: Keaton Betterton (MHA '20) Konnichiwa from Japan! The past three months in Japan have flown by and I am nearing the end of my internship at Nihon Keiei Group and Kameda Medical Center. It has been a truly eye-opening experience for me in terms of both education within a healthcare system with national insurance and immersion in a new culture. I have been lucky to have had two unique experiences interning at both a healthcare consulting firm (Nihon Keiei) and a high acuity healthcare organization (Kameda). It has been an amazing summer learning, working, and traveling in the land of the rising sun. During my time with Nihon Keiei I worked at their Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka offices as well as met with clients in other cities and prefectures. During one client visit I was able to engage and participate as a consultant, educating hospital staff on one of Japan’s new labor reforms to the healthcare sector. I also gave a short briefing on the status of the US healthcare syste...

By: Jay Shah (MHA '20) Hello everyone! As I write this blog, my ninth week as an intern at the Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital is coming to an end. It is unbelievable how fast the time has gone by. Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital is a leader in delivering the most advanced medical technologies and comprehensive health care services in Illinois’ northwest suburbs. It is part of Advocate Aurora Health, the 10th largest not-for-profit, integrated health system in the United States. Located in Barrington, IL, it is the largest health care delivery system in the state. I am fortunate that I got such an amazing opportunity to be an Administrative Intern for this health system. I work under the direction of Matt Pattelli, Vice President of Human Resources. To enhance my learning experience, Matt had given me freedom to work with and learn from the entire executive leadership team. Preparing a talent management report was one of the major projects that I had worked on. The purp...

By: Matt Brummond (MBA/MHA ‘20) Hello from beautiful Southern California! This summer I am working for Edwards Lifesciences as an intern in the Global Health Economics and Reimbursement (GHER) department.   Edwards (NYSE: EW) is a medical device company headquartered in Irvine, CA.   The Irvine campus has eight buildings and houses 4,000 of the company’s 12,000 employees.   Edwards specializes in producing transcatheter heart valves and critical care monitoring technology. The GHER department conducts outcomes research, reacts to changes to healthcare policy and reimbursement, and works to improve market access for Edwards products.   My role on the GHER team has been supporting the Critical Care business unit.   I have been fortunate to work on a wide range of projects that has provided me with a great learning experience.   For one of my projects I analyzed data and created graphs and figures for a manuscript on perioperative hypo...

By: Nicole Vershaw (MHA '20) Hello from Chicago! This summer I’ve had the incredible opportunity of interning at UChicago Medicine, a not-for-profit academic medical health system based on the campus of the University of Chicago in Hyde Park, with hospitals, outpatient clinics, and physician practices throughout Chicago, its suburbs, and Northwest Indiana. During my time at UCM I’ve had the absolute privilege of having Debi Albert, CNO and Senior VP of Patient Care Services, as my preceptor. Debi oversees all inpatient care including nursing, lab, pharmacy, therapy, business continuity, patient logistics, nursing excellence, patient experience, the ED, and the new Level 1 Trauma Center. Throughout my internship I’ve been able to work various projects. At UCM, patient falls are the largest category of reported safety events, with the injury resulting in increased costs, increased length of stay, decreased reimbursement and a negative impact on a patient’s quality of l...

By: Alex Smolik (MHA '20) Hello from Grinnell! Located directly between Iowa City and Des Moines, UnityPoint Health—Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) is a 49 bed, private, nonprofit hospital that has been providing care across east central Iowa since 1919. Previously an independent hospital, Grinnell Regional Medical Center recently joined UnityPoint Health, one of the most integrated health systems in the nation. GRMC offers a range of services from da Vinci robotic surgeries to walk-in care, but the hospital is especially known for its nationally recognized Comprehensive Bariatric Center.  Projects are endless at Grinnell Regional Medical Center with some post-integration work still left to be completed. There is an intense focus on IT around the hospital with an Epic go live date of September 29 th creeping near. In addition to sitting on the Epic Steering Committee and assisting in go-live prep, I have had the opportunity to work with clinical staff to imp...

By: Libby Kovert (MHA '20) Hello from Philadelphia! I have had the opportunity to spend my summer with Jefferson Health at the Methodist Hospital. Jefferson Methodist Hospital is a 168-bed inpatient urban community hospital located in South Philadelphia. I am lucky to be exposed to various types of healthcare settings, whether it be staying at Jefferson Methodist in South Philadelphia, traveling to the academic medical center, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, located in Center City, or visit the Navy Yard that houses ambulatory services. I have had an incredible experience and I am sad to be leaving in just two short weeks. I am fortunate to have Dennis Delisle, Vice President of Operations, as my preceptor. During my time as an Administrative Intern, I have been exposed to high level meetings and participated in collaborative discussions. I am currently working on creating a surge plan for the hospital to ensure proper allocation of staff and resources in the even...

By: Dexter Golinghorst (JD/MHA '20) Greetings from Chicago! It is hard to believe that the summer is winding down. I’ve just concluded my eighth week at McDermott Will & Emery LLP as a summer associate in the firm’s health care group in the Chicago office. McDermott Will & Emery is an international law firm with 20 offices located across the United States and around the globe. McDermott has over 1,100 attorneys working for the firm in multiple areas of expertise. I am in the health group, which was recently recognized as the Health Practice Group of the Year by Law360. As a summer associate, I have worked on several projects ranging from broad research projects, to discrete regulatory matters. I have also had the opportunity to work on health transactions and participate in client calls and presentations. It has been really great to see attorneys at the top of their game in action and the work alongside other Iowa JD/MHA alumni that work at the firm. When I am not...

By: Alexa Saco (MHA '20) This week marks my seventh week in my administrative internship at the Office of Statewide Clinical Education Programs (OSCEP).  OSCEP is part of the administrative offices of the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. We have a principal responsibility for developing and coordinating collegiate outreach programs for medical education and community service. Working under the guidance of Lynette Lancial, an alumna of the Master of Health Administration Program at the University of Iowa, has been nothing but wonderful. As for my main summer project, it involves creating an opportunities directory for the physician work force needs throughout the state of Iowa.  My responsibilities have included but not limited to speaking with administrators and executives throughout the state to better understand their recruitment needs, understanding mergers and acquisitions of health care systems and how this directly effects r...

By: Kelsie Ferstl (MHA '20) Hello from Minneapolis! Today marks the start of my eighth week at HealthPartners, Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital. I am over halfway through my internship experience and cannot believe how fast the time has gone! HealthPartners is a large, integrated health system that serves over 1.2 million patients through 90+ clinics and hospitals in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Additionally, HealthPartners offers insurance in six states to 1.8 million members. Methodist Hospital is located on the southwest side of Minneapolis and is recognized as an area leader in cancer, cardiovascular and maternity care, and neurorehabilitation medicine.   Additionally, Methodist Hospital was recognized as a Watson Health Top 100 Hospital in 2019. I have had the privilege of serving as the Operations Intern under the direction of the President of Methodist Hospital and Vice President of Home Care, Hospice, and Community Senior Care, Jennifer Myster. I am working o...

By: Emma McIntire (MHA '20) Greetings from Omaha! This summer I am working as a graduate administrative intern at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Children’s is the only full-service, pediatric healthcare center in the state of Nebraska and serves approximately 150,000 patients annually.   The hospital is currently home to 145 licensed beds, but is expected to grow quickly with the addition of the Hubbard Center for Children, a new nine-floor tower with over 100 new beds set to open in 2021. I work under the direction of Shaun Custard, Director of the Heart Center, and focus primarily on operations within the cardiac service line. I am currently working on a variety of engaging projects, including streamlining outreach clinic workflows for sites throughout Nebraska and surrounding states, analyzing OR start times to increase efficiency, and working with the Virtual Care Systems Coordinator to identify where the need and opportunities for tele...

By: Lauren Bline (MHA ‘20) This week, I am beginning the fifth week of my administrative internship at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Home to the nationally recognized and loved “Wave”, UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital maintains 190 beds and serves over 77,000 patients annually from all 99 counties and almost every state. The care team is incredibly robust as well, with more than 170 physicians and more than 700 nurses. I work under the direction of Amy O’Deen (MA ’83), Interim Executive Director of Children’s, an incredible mentor and resource as I expand my healthcare and management knowledge. Amy also serves as Senior Assistant Director over nine adult departments, which offers an increased breadth of exposure. Throughout the summer, my projects have varied greatly in size and scope. Currently, I am analyzing psychiatric counseling space utilization, completing and documenting various surveys and accreditation initiatives, streamlining scheduling workflo...

  By: Ben Meyer (MHA ‘20) Greetings from Badgerland.  For over a month now I have been working with UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin.  UW Health is an integrated health system serving more than 600,000 patients per year with approximately 1,500 physicians and 16,500 staff at six hospitals and more than 80 outpatient sites.  In addition to remarkable care, UW Health also provides health insurance plans to over 270,000 members via the co-owned organization named Quartz. Over the last few weeks I have been rotated through several service areas.  The goal of the internship is to understand major organizational initiatives, how all service areas must work together to provide remarkable care, participate in all levels of communication, and to lead at least one organization-wide initiative.  UW Health is experiencing many changes as it adopts the Toyota Makati integrated model from Virginia Mason Medical Center located in Seattle, Washington.  To b...