Tiffany Wunderlich, Iowa Healthcare- Accounting and Financial Services (MHA '25)

 Hello everyone! 

This summer, I had the privilege of interning with Finance and Accounting Services (FAS) at UI Healthcare. Under the guidance of Senior Director of Financial Strategy, Beth Jaggers, and alongside five accomplished financial directors, I immersed myself in the very extensive, but intriguing world of healthcare finance and accounting. This experience has provided me with invaluable insights into key areas such as financial analysis and reporting, cost accounting, budgeting, and the intricacies of healthcare financial operations. It has been a transformative opportunity that has well prepared me for work within the healthcare sector. 

This internship has provided me with a comprehensive understanding of financial operations within a large academic medical center. Throughout the summer, I had the opportunity to engage deeply with various aspects of finance and accounting through diverse projects overseen by the directors. These projects included ensuring accurate and updated reporting of quality metrics related to Medicaid Directed Payments. I also gained hands-on experience with cost accounting, involving both hospital and physician charges, and learned about the allocation process across different departments. I worked with the other UI Healthcare interns to complete the annual space survey which would be utilized in that allocation process. Additionally, I worked with operational budgets specific to HVC and CCOM codes, gaining insight into how financial planning supports these specialized areas. Collaborating with the population health team on a Provider Incentive Program was another highlight, where I contributed to evaluating providers' performance on value-based clinical quality measures which considers provider eligibility criteria, incentive earnings, and payments. Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to enhance the Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) Program in partnership with Johnson County Ambulance Service (JCAS). This program aims to deliver proactive at-home care to individuals identified as high-risk for emergency department, hospital, or ambulance utilization.  

The last major project I was involved in was the Compass Rose CCM project which helps in identifying high-risk patients to improve care management activities. The purpose was to standardize and better document activities to support CCM billing requirements using the Compass Rose tool.  Although, these projects are not exhaustive, these experiences have broadened my skills in financial management but also deepened my understanding of healthcare operations and their impact on patient care and community health. Moving forward, I will continue this internship into the school year as a graduate assistant alongside the other FAS intern, Naudya. This will not only allow me to take on new projects but continue the ones I had already begun.  

Outside of the internship, I was able to have fun spending time with friends and family, reading some new books, and going to varying concerts. One of my favorite memories from the summer would be attempting to bring my cat, Honey, on a walk around the neighborhood – this was a humorous reminder of her indoor preferences. Overall, this internship has been a wonderful experience and has allowed me to gain a great foundation for finance and accounting within a healthcare setting, and I am thankful for the mentorship I was able to receive from the finance directors throughout this experience.