Quincy Markham (MHA '22 & MPH '23): Bothwell Regional Health Center

Howdy from Rural Missouri. I am doing my internship at Bothwell Regional Health Center with CEO Lori Wightman in Sedalia, Missouri.

Bothwell is a city-owned hospital with 99 beds and around 20 clinics. They provide an amazing array of services for a hospital their size and look to continue to grow. The administration and director teams here at Bothwell are exceptional and highly qualified in leading the organization. The culture in a rural hospital is something incredible to remark. Many people here have been working for Bothwell for decades. They know coworkers and their families at a personal level. People will bring baked goods and vegetables to share and always have some fun stories to tell. Sedalia is a town of 21,000. Originally, it got its start in 1860 from being an important place for cowboys to drop off their cattle and get paid. It has a cute historic district and plenty of references to its interesting past, which includes anything from a peanut butter burger to the hotel that was created by the man who also created the hospital, John Bothwell. Not only that, but it just happens to be the home of the Missouri State Fair, where I will be a judge of the naturally sweetened dessert contest as my last project. Sedalia is about an hour from Kansas City and Columbia, so I have been getting plenty of road trips in exploring this state.

I am working on several projects throughout the hospital that requires a total recall of information from my time at Zoom Iowa university, as well as new skills like remembering to wear pants because I am seeing people in public meetings again. Said projects include: Evaluating and creating a presentation over options for a new location for the pulmonology clinic to present to the board, work with IT on population health software with Cerner, develop a business proforma and implementation plan about a new FDA approved concussion assessment tool called an EyeBOX, work alongside administrators to construct a plan for the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) that will be published next year, work in the ED lab to recognize process barriers as well as finding solutions, and work in many departments to see behind the scenes and challenges they face in a rural setting. So far, things that were not on my project list in the beginning but became interesting experiences when they did happen include: joining a joint commission inspection to evaluate my hospital (joined the dark side for a week basically), speak in front of the chamber of commerce while Lori was out (twice now because she likes to put me on the spot), meeting George W. Bush’s Attorney General, helping represent Bothwell at a festival on a military base during the week of Fourth of July (I got to pet an alligator), and attempting to play golf (look out alumni golf event). I am sure much more will happen between now and the end of the internship, so I look forward to seeing what else this town puts me through.

I will provide a quick summary of my two biggest projects so far, the Pulmonology Clinic Options project and the EyeBOX project. Finding a new clinic can be tough, but the rural setting provides more interesting challenges. Bothwell has two pulmonologists and has just hired a new one. The current two are a father and son duo, and the dad has had a clinic here since the 1970s. The areas under consideration at first had been considered for over a year now. When it came down to the day before the presentation, we came up with one additional new option called the Jigsaw method that required moving multiple clinics around to better-suited locations. Low and behold, after my presentation over the finances and requirements of each option, the board chose the jigsaw method. The EyeBOX has been especially interesting. It is the first FDA-approved objective-based aid in diagnosing concussions. It has grants from the Department of Defense and investors such as Microsoft and the Green Bay Packers (boo but oh well). This device scans one’s ocular motor nerve function while a person watches a video move around a screen for five rounds. Based on how well the eye moved along with the video, the

EyeBOX would be able to suggest if someone had a concussion and how severe it is. It is not approved to be a stand-alone tool, so it must be paired with another concussion tool to be used properly.

Missouri has not only given me such a fun experience but a unique one. Since I am getting both a Masters in Healthcare Administration and a Masters in Public Health and Policy, I have been able to witness both worlds at the same time. Missouri is one of the lowest vaccinated states in the country and a hot spot for the new delta variant of COVID-19. I experienced many perspectives through events like vaccine clinics and meetings with representatives of the state and public health officials. I also spent a couple of days in the delta hotspot, Springfield, with the CEO of Cox Health, Steve Edwards. Steve and Lori both discussed how they were working against not only a harsher version of the virus and employees that are burnt out from the last wave, but a stronger response from those who choose not to believe science and argue against safety measures. Being able to see it in person and witness those in the position to make change have such a backlash against doing so has been eye-opening to me. It has been a very interesting experience and one that will shape my career going forward.

On a lighter note, I have been spending my personal time to the fullest. I have been learning how to longboard, fishing on a paddleboard, get a record in a game, and play Dungeons and Dragons with some friends. I also had two weddings, my family moving out of their old house, me moving out of my old apartment to a townhouse in Iowa City, and going to see family up in Washington state. Long story short, a lot of traveling. I look forward to seeing all my friends and professors again for another exciting year at Iowa! Go Hawks!

*A Note From The Editor*

If you would like to keep up with Quincy, you can find him here on LinkedIn!