Isaac Marquardt- Yampa Valley Medical Center (MHA '25)

Hello from Yampa Valley!  

 



This summer I have the privilege of serving as the Administrative Intern at Yampa Valley Medical Center (YVMC) in Steamboat Springs, CO. YVMC is a 34-bed community hospital in Northern Colorado and serves as the regional hub for healthcare services. In 2017, YVMC signed a partnership with UCHealth making YVMC an affiliate hospital with UCHealth joining more than 15 other hospitals and several clinics across Colorado, Wyoming, and Western Nebraska. The hospital serves nearly 40,000 patients in the primary service area of Routt and Moffat counties.  


My preceptor, Soniya Fidler, is the President of YVMC and has been in the role since 2019. Leading up to her current role, Soniya held multiple other positions with YVMC starting in 2005 including Recruiter, Director of HR, and Chief Operating Officer. She is invested in my professional development and is always available if I have a question or a topic I want to discuss. Soniya does an excellent job including me in executive leadership meetings and asking for my input or thoughts when appropriate.



With Soniya’s direction I am working on a variety of different projects this summer. Currently, I am analyzing bringing on an APP to support both the Endocrinology and Neurology departments at YVMC. New patients are required to wait too long to see these doctors, creating an access issue for people in the community. An APP will allow doctors in both departments to take on new patients sooner and practice closer to the top of their license. The analysis includes building proformas to analyze the financial feasibility for YVMC and looking into the space and scheduling changes required with a higher patient volume. Additionally, I am assisting with the employee housing project the hospital has taken on. The lack of accessible and affordable housing is a significant problem in Steamboat Springs and YVMC just finished a lottery for 42 brand new units in the development which is a mile from the hospital. Working on logistics involved with housing was not exactly the type of project I thought I would work on this summer, but I am                                                   learning a lot, and the project will be a great benefit for employees here.        

Outside of projects I am rounding in departments across the hospital including Food and Nutrition, EVS, Central Supply, and Sterile Processing to name a few. Spending time in the departments has helped fill out my total internship experience and notice connections across the hospital overall. I had the opportunity to assist with the summer BBQ which was a great event to show appreciation to the staff. The food service team put together an amazing meal which was free for employees and very tasty. 


I am lucky to spend time outside of work participating in all the activities

Steamboat Springs offers including; rafting on the river, lots of mountain bike rides,

pickleball, rock-climbing, sand volleyball league,

road biking, a two-night backpacking trip with my family and trail runs. There has already been so much packed into my time here and I am enjoying taking in as much as possible. I am grateful for this experience and will surely take lessons from this summer into my second year in the MHA program and beyond into my career.

                                                                            


















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