Meeting A Familiar Face | by Anthony Rodriguez

Performing my practicum at CCSR has been an eye opening experience into the public health field. Throughout the 2013 fall semester I learned an enormous amount of exciting information while interning at Wichita State’s Center for Community Support and Research (CCSR). This is my final semester before I graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Health Science from WSU.

Anthony Rodriguez in Lindsborg,
Kansas.

I am working on a public health project that CCSR has with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) with my preceptor, Sonja Armbruster, public health initiatives coordinator. Through this work, I’ve been introduced to both local and state-wide systems related to local health departments ranging from community health improvement coalition work to Medicaid billing.


In October I attended a meeting in Lindsborg, Kansas about the role hospitals play in impacting the health of the population with Sonja and Amy Delamaide, director of community and organizational development. Approximately 50 hospital executives from critical access hospitals came together to discuss challenges and opportunities related to public health and primary care integration in Kansas. This was the most informative and encouraging meeting I attended during my internship because there were so many hospital executives talking about health related issues in their communities and everyone was working together to try to find solutions.

One of the people I met who had some great integration ideas was Jeremy Armstrong, CEO at St. Luke Hospital and Living Center in Marion, Kansas. Jeremy not only caught my attention with his vast knowledge and ideas at this meeting, but he did a few weeks later when he was a guest speaker in my Health Care Organization class.

After my class I introduced myself to Jeremy and told him how I remembered him from the meeting in Lindsborg. We had a brief discussion about some of the ideas he had introduced. Also he explained to me in more detail from his guest presentation to the class, the importance of joining a health organization or coalition after graduation or, if possible, even while I am still in school.

One organization Jeremy recommended I join was the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) especially if I wanted to be in an administrative job once I graduated. A couple of reasons for joining a health organization, Jeremy mentioned, were the continuing education and networking possibilities for those in health organizations.

Meeting and having this discussion with Jeremy was just one of many great experiences I had during my practicum. It was great to have been able to meet so many new and influential people that were involved in the public health field.

This has been an amazing experience for me and I hope to continue to meet more influential people and find more familiar faces who are involved in the health field after I graduate.