University of Iowa Health Management & Policy

By Alyssa Pennington The first year MHA and MPH in Policy students recently visited the city of Chicago on April 17-19. The trip included visits to a wide variety of health care providers as well the opportunity to meet and network with alumni currently working in the Chicago area. Students were first treated to a visit with both the American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association where each of the organizations gave presentations regarding how they are influencing the future of health care delivery. During the time in Chicago we also visited several different health care organizations including The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Vanguard corporate offices, and John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County. Ever since entering the MHA program at Iowa, my classmates and I have heard about how exciting and enriching the Chicago trip had been for past first year classes. Other than getting a few days away from class to enjoy ...

Cerone sharing presentation tips with the class By. Jeremy Murdock One of the best aspects of the Iowa MHA program is the tremendous Iowa alumni support. This support comes in many different ways and is very much appreciated and acknowledged by current students. The extent to which many alumni give of their time, talents, and resources is inspiring and I believe it instills the need for current students to “pay it forward” and find ways to stay connected and support the program beyond graduation day.   On the first Friday in April, the 1 st year MHA students were enlisted in what you might call a one-day “Presentation Skills Bootcamp” organized and directed by two Iowa MHA alumni, Shane Cerone, '95, and Chris Klitgaard, '99. Mr. Cerone is President of Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak Michigan and Mr. Kiltgaard is the President of MediRevv, a revenue-cycle management company based in Coralville. Both healthcare professionals, by virtue of their years of exper...

By Claire Watkins Current MHA students were among the many DM participants this year Dance Marathon is a non-profit organization that raises money for children’s hospitals all across the nation.  Participants work year-round to fundraise and plan events to raise awareness about this remarkable cause for the kids.  All of the hard work and dedication culminates in the marathon itself where participants stay awake for hours on end, dancing and standing for those who can’t.   I was introduced to this organization my sophomore year of undergrad at Indiana University when I participated as a dancer for the first time.  I immediately fell in love with the cause and was blown away by the miracles it can make in the lives of children.  My junior year I became a member of the Morale committee, and my senior year I had the opportunity to lead all of the dancers in the teaching of our Morale line dance.  After three years of participation in the org...

By Andrew Patzke Imagine how you would feel if you were afflicted with a disease that you did not fully understand, the cost of your medical treatments had consumed all of your family’s resources, and you were suffering from immense pain that you could no longer afford to manage properly. Such are the circumstances of many of the patients that Pallium India serves. Pallium India is an NGO that seeks to provide the population of Trivandrum, India with access to hospice and palliative care. As a result, Pallium India is also giving its patients access to dignity and relief during an incomprehensibly difficult time. Over the past three weeks, I have spent my winter break studying hospice and palliative care at Pallium India in Trivandrum, Kerala. This unique opportunity has afforded me the ability to learn about several different aspects of health care delivery in great detail that will greatly supplement the “normal” course work I have and will complete as a master of health admin...

Steve Birchard, '86, presenting to current HMP Students On December 3, two program alumni, Steve Birchard, ’86, and Nathan Patton, ’11, presented a workshop on consulting for current students. Birchard is a Partner and Patton is a Senior Consultant at Deloitte Consulting. During the event they discussed a day in the life of a consultant, example projects, summer internship and postgraduate opportunities, and held a question and answer session for interested students. Students were very appreciative of the opportunity to explore and learn about other careers in healthcare and would like to thank both Mr. Birchard and Mr. Patton for taking their time to visit. Nathan Patton, '11, fielding questions from students

During the recent Fall 2012 College of Public Health Poster Session, 3 HMP students presented their posters on various topics. The following students were among many presenters that participated in the day: Nico Aguilar : “Health Policy Practicum – US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions” John Heinemann : “Public Health Advocacy & Policy Development: A Reflection of my MPH Practicum” Jessica Waters : Implementing the Johnson County School-Based Pertussis Immunization Program Below are photos from the event: Third-year MHA/ MPH student John Heinemann Third-year MPH student Jessica Waters Second-year MHA/ MPH Student Nico Aguilar

Before students left for break, the Iowa Student Association of Healthcare Leaders (ISAHL) hosted a potluck for the students, faculty, staff, and their families to celebrate the holidays together. Attendees each brought a dish to share and it was a great way end the semester. Below are photos of the celebration: