Alexis Clark (MHA '22): University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics - Children's Hospital Operations

 



Hello from Iowa City, Iowa! 

This summer, I have had the pleasure to spend the last six weeks working for the Stead Family Children’s Hospital under the mentorship of Pam Johnson-Carlson, Chief Administrative Officer. Pam reports directly to Suresh Gunasekaran, CEO of UIHC, in implementing and executing different initiatives for the Children’s Hospital, Women’s Services, and the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD).

Pam transitioned back into her role in April from being the Interim CNO, so I have had plenty of work to help make up for “lost time.” I have spent time doing market research evaluating different Children’s Hospitals that are intertwined within Academic Medical Centers. I have been using the CHA database and other resources to ensure that this is a deep dive as we at Stead Family Children’s Hospital try to go from being a good Children’s Hospital to a great Children’s Hospital. 


Another project I have been working on is under the direction of MHA alum and CDD Director Michael Baca. I have been able to spend some time there observing and meeting a variety of personnel. I have been project-managing an initiative brought to the attention of leadership by the patient family committee that identified a lack of hair stylists or barbers in Iowa comfortable with working with individuals with disabilities from all ends of the spectrum. This is a project I will be able to see through, which will be a neat opportunity. 

The last project I will update you all on is employee engagement within Children’s, Women’s, and CDD. I have taken a deep dive into segmenting the survey results to create a presentation that will be presented this upcoming Thursday at the Children’s Executive Team meeting. This has been a really interesting project as I’ve been able to utilize Press Ganey and see how not only those departments compare to UIHC as a whole but also against other Academic Medical Centers. 

So far, I have really enjoyed my summer in Iowa City, and time is going way too fast. It has been great seeing other interns on the weekend doing a variety of things, such as playing Bingo at Mickey’s and going down to Lake Macbride, just to name a couple!     

*A Note From The Editor*
If you would like to keep up with Alexis, you can find her here on LinkedIn! 

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