Kayla Rinderknecht (MPH’24): Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield


Hello from Des Moines, Iowa! This summer, I completed a 12-week internship with Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS). Wellmark Inc. is a mutual health insurance company, with policyholders throughout Iowa and South Dakota. As a market leader, Wellmark’s mission is to make healthcare better and improve the health of the communities that they serve. Throughout the summer, I experienced Wellmark’s positive culture and contributed to its mission. 

 

My Community Health Research Internship was housed under Wellmark’s Division of Health Equity, Access, and Improvement. The division’s strategy is to improve the health of all Iowans and South Dakotans, not just Wellmark’s policyholders. To improve the health of all Iowans and South Dakotans, the division focused on improving community health, addressing health equity, and improving rural health. My project focused on improving community health, in which I analyzed community data for Iowa and South Dakota, conducted evidence-based research, and helped create meaningful and measurable solutions that address prominent issues within communities. 


More specifically, my project focused on the prominent issue of youth mental and behavioral health. In Iowa and South Dakota, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for youth. To combat this problem, Wellmark joined the Blue Cross Blue Shield National Association in their effort to address youth mental and behavioral health by partnering with the Boys and Girls Club of America. In addition to joining the national effort, Wellmark is taking a step further to enhance local-level Boys and Girls Club programming through specialized solutions. This local-level programming will target specific community needs. My main deliverables were tailored to help enhance the local-level club programming, in which I created organizational assessments and research profiles while developing a community data matrix based on the social determinants of health (SDOH). 

 

I had the best summer internship experience with Wellmark and my amazing team. I gained insight into how a health insurance company can impact its policyholders and their important role throughout the community they serve.  Additionally, the internship program provided many networking opportunities across the company. I participated in fun intern events such as volunteering, while also connecting with professionals in different departments.

I look forward to applying what I have learned this summer to the last year of my graduate program!

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