University of Iowa Health Management & Policy

Name:  Anna Saxon Hometown:  Andover, MN Undergraduate University / Degree:  Concordia College, Bachelor of Arts: Business - Healthcare Leadership Current Program:  Masters of Health Administration Areas of Interest:  Telehealth, Consulting, Collaboration/Co-management of patients between primary and specialty providers Why Iowa?  Exposure to Rural Health initiatives, alumni network, the faculty and staff Why Healthcare?  Growing up, members of my family had some health issues spanning the entire continuum of care, giving me an immense amount of exposure to the inner-workings of the industry. Since then, I have constantly been intrigued and found ways to learn more through course work and employment/volunteering. Healthcare is a passion; once it's in your blood, you can't get rid of it. In kindergarten, what did you want to be when you grew up?  A teacher or an inventor What would we be surprised to ...

Name:   Kristy Walker Title(s) and Position(s):  Chief Information Officer  |  University of Iowa Health Ventures Adjunct Associate Professor | College of Public Health | University of Iowa How long you have been teaching at Iowa?  4+ years Graduate Training:  MBA Classes you teach:  Health Information Systems Why Iowa?  Why not? What is public health and how does it relate to what you do now?  Supporting population health through the power of data management tools If you could have a super power, what would it be?  Mindreading ·      

AJ Smith  is a Decision Support Coordinator at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, IA. He works closely with clinical leaders at Mary Greeley to develop staffing initiatives and coordinates the annual budget. AJ is currently involved in creating a hospital-wide Business Intelligence program. Prior to joining Mary Greeley, he worked in supply chain analytics and contracting for Centura Health in Denver, Colorado and Via Christi Health in Wichita, Kansas. AJ graduated from Wichita State University with a BA in Finance. He is a process examiner with Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence (IRPE). AJ is a member of the Iowa Hospital Association Leadership Series class of 2015. AJ is married to Lindsay Smith, an At-risk Youth Counselor. He has a three-year-old son, and always looks forward to the daily game of hide and seek. AJ enjoys home remodeling, mountain biking, and spending time with friends and family.

Tatiana Izakovic  graduated from the College of Medicine, Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia in 2009 with the Doctor of Medicine degree. Following graduation, she worked at the Obstetric and Gynecology and Emergency Departments of the University Hospital in Bratislava, Slovakia. Her interest in different health care systems, and the US health care system in particular, led her to visit hospitals in different countries including the United States and Iowa City area as an observer and trainee. With the intention to relocate to Iowa, which she fell in love with, Tatiana became certified by Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates in 2013. Tatiana's medical background, exposure to different health care systems and desire to improve health of the whole population, not only individual patients, has sparked her interest in health care management and administration. In 2015, she graduated from the Master of Health Administration Program jointly sponsored between St. E...

Last Friday MHA students attended the first all- member meeting of the 2016-2017 school year. There was plenty of excitement at the meeting as the first year class was wrapping up their first week of classes and other students were returning to school from summer internships. Students also had the opportunity to welcome Dr. Dan Gentry, the new MHA Program Director. During the meeting, students participated in several team building exercises.  An Appreciative Inquiry exercise broke up students into 7 smaller teams to determine the strongest aspect of the MHA Program.  As shown by the picture to the right, all 7 groups responded with the Program's Alumni Network. These results highlight the appreciation current students have towards the program's alumni.  Many students have had opportunities to reach out to, network with, and even engage in project work with alumni.  The alumni base is one of the finest in the country and serves as an excellent recruiting tool a...

By: Joy Woods Magical rings. Giant’s toes. Enchanted woods. Radioactive spider webs. All these things sound like an elaborate science fiction novel or the latest Marvel movie; however, this was our day with the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center staff at the “High Ropes Course.” Even though our group did not participate in the high ropes activities, we did quite a few other team building exercises. These activities required us to blindly trust each other—literally and figuratively. What made this day so great was the fact that I had to allow myself to trust a person (or persons in this case) I just met less than forty-eight hours prior. We had to figure out a way to solve a problem— crossing a wire suspended above the ground without falling off or fitting 20 plus adults through a “spider web” without touching any of the web. A group of adults, all varying not only in age but in thought process, were thrown together to solve an immediate issue. Doesn’t that sound familiar? Someth...

Jonathan Wilson  is a health-system pharmacy administration resident at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Minnesota in May 2016. In addition to completing two years of residency training, Jonathan will be serving as an adjunct instructor and preceptor for the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. His interest in pharmacy administration developed from past work experience at Allina, Fairview, and Park Nicollet/Health Partners, where he worked as a pharmacy intern in the inpatient setting. Jonathan enjoys spending free time attending sporting events, running, camping, traveling, and visiting family and friends in Minnesota. He is involved with numerous professional organizations, but will be working on several projects this year through the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. Jonathan looks forward to advancing his training and education through the MHA program to gain the skill...