2020-2021 participants

Carryn Anderson

Clinical Assistant Professor Radiation Oncology

Project focus: Improve recruitment for Radiation Oncology residency program by developing a strategic marketing and outreach plan.

Steven Anderson

Assistant Manager Guest Services

Project focus: Utilize the technology available via Epic Transport to automate transport assignments and making the patient escort program more efficient.

Lauren Dorzinski

Assistant Director Food and Nutrition Services

Project focus: Utilize Tableau to integrate existing CBORD data structures for enhanced decision support in food service operations.

Friederike Fischer

Hospitalist Internal Medicine

Project focus: The implementation of a timely inpatient medication reconciliation process to decrease length of stay, associated care costs, and to increase patient safety.

Max Freund

Director Marketing, Digital/Multimedia

Project focus: Rebuild of uihc.org and uichildrens.org on a new content management system. This project in full will tackle the functionalist, structure, and aesthetics of our two core patient-focused web properties.

Mariko Hagiwara

Clinical Assistant Professor Internal Medicine

Project focus: Streamlining the process of inpatient transfers between UIHC and ICVA to gain back time consumed by team members, resulting in decrease in hospital occupancy rate and length of stay.

Gary E. Harnet

Nurse Manager Nursing

Project focus: Implement best practice strategies and new technology, to improve patient perception of noise, in and around their room, during their inpatient stay.

Michelle Havinga

Director Population Health Operations/ACO

Project focus: Increase volume of diabetic eye exams performed via IDx-DR, an AI diagnostic system.

Hermann Hounkponou

Senior Application Developer HCIS

Project focus: Collaborate with the Cherwell team in order to improve the data request process, ticket prioritization and time tracking for the Reporting and Analytics Team in HCIS.

Becky Humpal

Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner Nursing

Project focus: Develop a comprehensive wound care approach to decreasing surgical site infections in cesarean section patients which can be expanded to an organizational level.

Randy Jenkins

Assistant Director Engineering Services

Project focus: Controlling Engineering Services supply costs by streamlining ordering and inventory processes.

Dana Jones

Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner Nursing

Project focus: Work with CMS and other major insurance companies to add a qualifier to coding and billing to allow APP specialty recognition for reimbursement for services.

Jennifer Krantz

Assistant Nurse Manager Family Medicine

Project focus: Improve the current workflow in which clinical delays are communicated to patients thus improving patient's perception about delays and also improving Press Ganey scores for IRL East Family Medicine patients.

Andy Kuse

Life Safety Manager Engineering Services

Project focus: Improve the accountability and accuracy of inspection testing and maintenances activities at UIHC through measurable database platforms.

Douglas E. Laux

Clinical Assistant Professor Internal Medicine

Project focus: Improve mentorship program for clinical investigators within the HCCC, and develop a program to train and assist physicians in conducting investigator initiated clinical trials.

Alex Mersch

Manager Specialty Pharmacy

Project focus: Enhancing prescription capture rate through growth of a centralized specialty pharmacy model.

Wendy Meyers

Administrative Services Specialist Marketing and Communication

Project focus: Strengthen communication to our UI Health Care providers, and implement ways to improve provider to provider communication - both internally and externally.

Alex Nance

Director Office of the Patient Experience

Project focus: Development of a comprehensive Ambulatory C3 Curriculum to be implemented in UI Health Care’s Clinics.

Santiago Ortega

Clinical Associate Professor Neurology

Project focus: Expand the neurointerventional program throughout the state including telemedicine, and satellite sites for acute coverage.

Dionne F. Peacher

Clinical Assistant Professor Anesthesia

Project focus: Improve patient safety and medication documentation administration by adoption of intraoperative infusion pump integration.

Stefanie Pirkl

HR Director Pediatrics

Project focus: Enhance Pediatric's administrative staff development.

Ryon Rasmussen

Fellow UIP

Project focus: Provide the appropriate resources for both employees and employers when it comes to COVID-19 testing.

Irena G. Rupp

Clinical Assistant Professor Surgery

Project focus: Evaluate impact of COVID-19 on surgeons and surgical patients, as well as volume of elective surgeries at UIHC compared to normal operation.

Kathryn Steffen

Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Pediatrics

Project focus: Evaluation of APP transition to practice at UIHC and implementation of Transition to Practice Fellowship to support new graduate APPs through formalized curriculum, mentoring and fostering of research and publication.

Bridget Toomey

Assistant Director OBGYN

Project focus: Institute a labor and delivery center of excellence by creating a culture of mutual respect, improving communication, improving maternal and neonatal outcomes, and planning an overall vision for OBGYN at UIHC.

Erin Willits

Fellow Hospital Administration

Project focus: Creating and implementing an electronic tool for timely review of staffing data.

Brandy Wood

Associate Director Finance

Project focus: Implementation of a rolling forecast to be used at UIHC, which will allow for real time assessments and increased flexibility in financial decisions.

Yousef Zakharia

Clinical Associate Professor Internal Medicine

Project focus: Grow the Phase 1 Clinical Trials Program at HCCC and bring innovative treatment options for our cancer patients.