University of Iowa Health Management & Policy

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...

By: Tyler Ust (MHA '20) I just finished week five of my administrative internship in Fargo, North Dakota for Sanford Health. Sanford Health is the largest rural healthcare provider in the United States and is classified as an integrated healthcare delivery system. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization has 44 hospitals, 482 clinics, 1,400 physicians, 50,000 employees and more than 200 Good Samaritan Society senior care locations in 26 states and nine countries. Sanford Health is focused on strategic growth and these numbers are growing everyday. Just when I thought I had a comfortable grasp and good foundational knowledge built from working in healthcare and my first year in the MHA program, I came to the realization that the learning never stops. The benefit of being within a large healthcare system is that I’ve had resources at my disposal for the wide array of tasks and projects I have been exposed to. My work has been variable, fast-paced, but extrem...

By: Anna Kate Kollasch (MHA '20) Hello from New Ulm! This summer I am the graduate administrative intern at New Ulm Medical Center (NUMC) in New Ulm, Minnesota. NUMC is a part of Allina Health which is a non-profit system based out of Minneapolis with 13 hospitals across Minnesota and western Wisconsin. NUMC is a critical access hospital with a reputation for being a leader in rural healthcare in both quality and organizational culture. In the last two months they have received the National Rural Health Association Top 20 Critical Access Hospital award and the Minnesota Hospital Association Top Hospital Workplace award. I am under the direction of NUMC president, Toby Freier, but I have had the chance to work with and learn from the entire senior leadership team including Iowa alum Brie Taralson (MHA ‘09), director of clinic operations. My major focus is an analysis of clinic exam room space utilization as there are a total of nine new providers coming to N...

By: Mary Kate Titus (MHA ‘20) This week I am passing the halfway mark for my Administrative Internship at University of Iowa Health Care. UI Health Care includes The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC), Stead Family Children’s Hospital, The Carver College of Medicine, and University of Iowa Physicians (UIP). University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics is the only comprehensive academic medical center in Iowa, and it grants access to patients from all 99 counties. My summer location is primary at UI Health Care’s Support Services Building, as I collaborate with individuals in the Finance division. I am fortunate to work under the guidance of Ann Showers, the Director of Revenue and Reimbursement at UI Health Care. Her team focuses on service rate-setting, chargemaster management, and package price creation for all UIHC departments. She allows me to shadow discussions regarding each area, while also having me research and prepare package prices for a new surgical service l...

By: Alana Bendler (MHA ‘20) Hello from Washington, IA! This summer I have been working as an Administrative Intern at Washington County Hospitals and Clinics (WCHC) which is about 35 miles south of Iowa City. WCHC is a critical access hospital with 25 acute care beds and 43 long term care beds. We are a unique facility in that our long term care center is attached to our hospital. I have been primarily working under Todd Patterson, the hospital’s CEO, and January Benjamin, the hospital’s Project Manager. Although we are located in a town of only 7,500 people, this organization is a large part of not only Washington, but other surrounding communities as well. As an intern, I have been involved in the development of several of WCHC’s organizational projects so far. We recently kicked off a project that focuses on the patient experience, service recovery, and customer service. This is one of my key areas of interest in administration so I am enthusiastic about being a part of this t...

By: Coleman Heaney (MHA ‘20) Hello Everyone! This summer I am the graduate administrative intern at the University of Iowa Physicians (UIP).   In the first month of my internship, I have already been exposed to a variety of opportunities and experiences.   In the first few weeks, I was able to visit and observe many of the clinics that fall under the UIP umbrella.   Here, I got to see how the frontline staff operates, which is very important for one of my biggest projects.   Beyond observation, I also took multiple classes on Epic, a platform that I had no experience with previously. Over the course of the internship, I will have numerous projects in varying subjects.   As I alluded to earlier, one of my major tasks focuses on the welcome and check-in process, specifically looking at increasing technology utilization.   Currently, I am working on integrating fee schedules, which has proven to be quite the task indeed.   In the coming months...

By: Carly Beastrom (MHA ‘20) Greetings from the City of Five Seasons and my hometown, Cedar Rapids! This summer I’ve had the opportunity to serve as the Administrative Intern and experience the delivery of healthcare in Cedar Rapids through first-hand experience at St. Luke’s Hospital. St. Luke’s Hospital is part of the UnityPoint Health system which is a network of hospitals and clinics in Iowa, western Illinois and southern Wisconsin. St. Luke’s is a 532 licensed bed hospital and employs roughly 3,500 team members and is located within the MedQuarter Regional Medical District. Among other Iowa MHA alums, I have been fortunate to work with Justin McDonald (MHA ‘11) and Luke Hicks (MHA/MBA ‘09). Thus far, my work has been a combination of observation and special projects. Joe Linn, VP of Operations, has been my direct preceptor and offers insights into the complexity of the healthcare industry. To supplement Joe’s knowledge, I attend weekly Vice President meetings where...