University of Iowa Health Management & Policy

By: Keaton Betterton (MHA '20) The first year MHA class had the opportunity to visit two dynamic health care organizations in Iowa for our spring class trip. Our cohort traveled to Waterloo, Iowa to visit with leaders from UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital. We heard from six leaders of the organization: Pam Delagardelle- President/CEO, Laura Woebbeking- Patient Experience Director, Sharese Van Sloten- Director of Operations Specialty Services-Waterloo Region, Alan Morris- Manager, Analytics & Performance Excellence, Luke Kroeger- Director of Clincal Operations, Retail & Access Services, and Sarah Brown- Regional Amulatory VP. All six leaders had a similar theme when they spoke with us: improving quality and physician engagement. More specifically, they detailed the steps the organization took in order to improve their clinical quality as well as their new organizational structure. All of the speakers spoke with passion and ideals that aligned with the physician dyad str...

By: Anna Kate Kollasch (MHA '20) University of Iowa MHA students competed in the Inside Cleveland Clinic Case Competition April 11-12, 2019. This year’s topic for the competition revolved around a joint insurance venture between Cleveland Clinic and Oscar Health that began in 2018. I participated alongside my peers Marisa Polonsky (MHA ’19), and Dexter Golinghorst (MHA/JD ’20). We were one of sixteen teams selected out of fifty-five submissions to present our case in the on-site competition. We were able to advance into the semi-final round, and ended the competition in the top eight.  The Cleveland Clinic Case Competition is different from most case competitions because students self-organize into teams, then receive the case on a Thursday and submit their recommendations on a Monday morning. This is the first year Iowa has participated in the competition, and two teams entered the initial round of competition February 14-18, 2019.  While at the Cleveland Clinic our ...

By: Mary Kate Titus The fellowship fair was a great opportunity to network with current fellows and learn about organizations throughout the United States. The current fellow panel helped me understand the application process, types of fellowships offered, and each individual's overall learning experience. Our discussion urged me to reflect on whether a rotational fellowship or project fellowship best fit my career goals. It was also interesting to hear the common mistakes seen in fellowship applications, as well as simple do's and don'ts throughout the interview process. The roundtable discussions gave me the opportunity to connect with organizations outside of the Midwest, and the chance to ask questions regarding each health system's specific application. The transparency offered by each representative ensured that every fellowship came with the intention to invest in future leaders. I now look forward to brushing up my resume a...

By: Alexa Saco The University of Iowa Master of Healthcare Administration Program has had one heck of a year including a perfect score from the Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management  Education (CAHME) at the time of  their onsite visit in March, to jumping two spots to number eight in the  World News and Report program rankings. With almost one year under my belt I could not be more thankful to be a part of such a progressive and well-structured program.  Faculty, staff, current students and alumni take a lot of time out of their schedules to answer questions, interview, and connect with prospective students. For most of the program’s history, each cohort has consisted of 20-25 students, no more, no less. This year however, the increased interest in the program and the unbelievable talent allowed for a cohort of 28 students.  The Health Management and Policy Department could not be more excited about the new set of talen...

By: Kate Quigley (MHA '18) I’m surrounded by mountains, lakes and completely new faces. As one of three administrative fellows for MultiCare Health System, and the first in the Inland Northwest region, I’ve been afforded incredible opportunities to not only shape my experience, but the experience of future fellows and interns in Spokane.  As a predominantly project-based fellowship, I’ve learned and lead meaningful, system-level initiatives and projects. The main project of my fellowship included developing our region’s rural health strategy, including gathering and presenting market data, road trips with my preceptor to Eastern and Central Washington state, and developing system-level strategic retreats. With this project, I collaborated with system and community leaders to keep patients in local communities, while building direct partnerships for seamless patient care.  Kate Quigley (MHA '18) Current Administrative Fellow - MultiCare Health System  Additio...

By: Madeline Cornell (MHA '20) Hi Everyone!  This past week, I participated in the 2019 College of Public Health Global Health Case Competition. In addition to participating alongside Kelsie Ferstl (MHA '20), Dylan Lloyd (a pharmacy student) and Allie Zimmerman (an undergraduate Human Physiology student) comprised the team. Our case focused on mental health in Lagos, Nigeria. Specifically, we were told the story of a young woman who was experiencing immense grief and depression following the death of her sister. This young woman was also a recent mother and her son was afflicted with multiple water-borne illnesses (cholera). Her family was unhappy with her for staying inside all day and not having the energy to get up and work, and they often told her she was possessed by evil spirits.  Our approach to addressing issues surrounding mental health in Lagos was to first address basic needs. Considering access to safe water, healthy food, vaccinatio...

By: Sal Lopez (MHA '20) This past week, three colleagues (Lauren Bline, Madeline Cornell, and Tyler Ust) and I had the exciting opportunity to participate in The Ohio State University’s Health Administration Case Competition. The case competition was restricted to first-year MHA students and everyone on our team shared the experience of this being their first case competition. We received the case prompt about three weeks prior to the competition – our goal was to develop a strategy to make Baptist Health, a northeast Florida health system, the market leader in bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery was a completely foreign topic to our group; requiring us to do extensive research on the topic. After many nights of reading  fascinating  academic journal articles and distance communication, our team developed a strategic framework and presentation we were excited to deliver. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Tyler could not travel with us to Ohio. Our team was saddened to h...

Christiana Care Fellowship Experience By: Weston Reissleman (MHA '18)      The Christiana Care Fellowship has been an all-access pass to whatever experience I can get my hands on. The fellowship began with meet and greets and several months of rotations through the essential services and service lines. During this time I was able to begin understanding service line workflows and the value proposition each service provides to our patients and caregivers. Additionally, I was able to pick up projects in several of the service lines which take up a majority of my time now the rotations have phased out.       Many of the projects that I have been able to pick up relate to efforts to make care less expensive.  I have been part of a creating a new Teamlet model of primary care to expand access, developed a system wide partnership with a company to facilitate transportation for vulnerable neighbors, lead a Lean Six Sigma Gre...

By: Loralyn Werkmeister (MHA/MBA '19)   In February, my colleagues, Ben Mohr and Marisa Polonsky, and I, had the opportunity to compete in the 13 th  Annual UAB Health Administration Case Competition. This was a great  opportunity to apply what we’ve learned through our academic course work and professional experiences throughout the past two years. Our task was to develop a short and long-term strategic plan for a growing health system in the southeast region of the U.S. The case allowed our team to explore both traditional business functions and innovative strategies to pursue financial and patient population growth. Many hours went into preparing for the case, but the effort was well spent; our team achieved a top 6 finish. In addition to competing, we enjoyed meeting peers from other MHA programs, as well as meeting industry leaders from across the country. This memorable experience wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our awesome alumni, dedicated...