Emily Jensen, WinnMed (MHA '25)

 Hello from Decorah, Iowa! 

This summer I have been enjoying the absolute privilege of serving as the summer

administrative intern at WinnMed. WinnMed is a regional hub for healthcare services, serving the community of Decorah and several of its neighboring communities in Northeast, Iowa. It is a 25-bed critical access hospital, and one of the largest, most specialized hospitals in the region. The health system is made up of nearly 600 medical and support staff who work alongside over 35 Mayo Clinic Health System and Gundersen Health System physicians. The primary service area population is estimated at over 56,000 people and growing. To accommodate and support this growth of patient volumes and new innovative technology coming to the organization, WinnMed has begun construction for the “Transforming Tomorrow” project. This project involves a major facility expansion and remodeling of the Decorah Campus. Lots of new, exciting changes are coming to WinnMed and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be here and learn through them all! 

WinnMed’s administrative internship is project-based, along with full access to round in any area of the hospital desired. The internship provides the opportunity to engage with, learn from, and work directly alongside the executive leadership team and all department directors. My preceptor, Steve Slessor, is the Chief Administrative Officer and Iowa MHA alum. I wanted to ensure my summer internship gave me the opportunity to see as much as I could and engage with as many people in a health system as possible. WinnMed has the perfect place for this. It is small enough to gain a hands-ons, deep dive into an organization, but also large enough to give me a wide variety of experiences. My preceptor and everyone here are genuinely invested in my success as an intern and a student, and I couldn’t have imagined a better opportunity for myself.  


From my first day here, I was included in executive leadership and organization committee meetings, rounded throughout all 26 departments, joined the $50 million “Transforming Tomorrow” project on the OR and OB phasing teams, and even starred in a WinnMed commercial my third day on the job. I immediately got to work on multiple organization-wide projects, I have been able to lead. I work every day with multi-disciplinary teams of department directors and leadership to complete projects and accomplish my goals. I am currently working on several projects in different areas of admin, including performance excellence, human resources, and finance. My latest project has been a financial assessment and SBAR for a compensation incentive program for clinical staff that I will pitch to the Administrative Council in the coming weeks. I have also been working on developing the annual Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement report, a formal standardized process for system wide stay surveys, a plan of action for WinnMed virtual strategy I will present to the Board of Trustees at the end of the summer, and a five-year proforma for a new da Vinci robot surgical system coming to WinnMed. Along with these projects, I have been a part of several process improvement teams across the hospital that are working on extensive, long-term projects. Every day looks different and each morning I come to work knowing I will learn something new and valuable. 

Outside of projects, I have had the opportunity to round and shadow in several departments. I was able to attend the Iowa Hospital Association’s Leadership Forum in Des Moines where I connected and learned from rural health leaders across the state. I have also participated in lots of community engagement activities such as school board meetings, discussions with representatives for the local public health department, and I even got to volunteer at the Winneshiek County Fair. There is such a strong sense of community in Decorah, and I have truly been so fortunate to become a part of that community this summer! 

Outside of work, I have been able to spend lots of time with friends and family! I travelled to Waikiki, Hawaii to visit friends and Grand Lake, Colorado for a family vacation. Although I have enjoyed my travels, I have also made sure to leave plenty of time to stay and explore the beautiful city of Decorah. I have loved showing family and friends around the limestone bluffs, exploring hiking trails, campgrounds, adorable shops, and trying out local breweries. This summer has definitely been one for the books and I can’t wait to see what the rest of my time here with WinnMed will have in store! 

 

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