Ivan Koutsopatriy ‘16 – Healthcare. That one word has a lot packed into it. In the United States healthcare is a very complex system that currently has many issues. I am aspiring to go to medical school and acquire an M.D./PhD; changes in healthcare will impact me heavily. From what I have been learning on this immersion trip, these changes are going to affect everyone in this country.
So far I have heard the business end of healthcare from a hospital manager’s perspective, a practitioner owned hospital’s perspective, a medical director of a hospital, and a medium sized healthcare related business’ perspective. It has been busy and fruitful with the knowledge that I have had the privilege of acquiring. I think the Affordable Care Act is a complicated beast that I still don’t feel I have a grasp on, even after almost two days of discussing it. I like the open discussion method of presenting that our speakers have conducted with us, it allows for us to really get involved in the conversation.
My favorite experience today was Dr.Bernie Emkes giving us a tour of the St. Vincent and Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. He allowed us to stand in on a “huddle” that the hospital leadership gets together and has every morning at 8:30. We walked in a few minutes late. From what I gathered the huddle is a meeting where everyone attending stands and discusses the bad and good that has happened in the hospital since the previous huddle session, and what actions to take to improve on the bad. The session ended with a prayer and I was thankful to have been able to experience the huddle.
Dr.Emkes introduced us to many individuals within the hospital who were more than happy to shake our hands with a smile and wish us a pleasant rest of the day as we continued on our tour. Everyone was friendly and welcoming. We were even fortunate enough to meet a Wabash graduate in the emergency room, Dr.Jason Little ’92. Dr. Little told us a little about what it is like working as an emergency doctor there. The willingness of Wabash alumni to help out current students is inspiring.
After our tour of the magnificent hospital we then went to a meeting room on the eighth floor of St.Vincent. We discussed some of what is going on with healthcare with Dr.Emkes. I have learned a lot about healthcare and some of what is going on currently. I am hungry to find out more. This trip has been an enjoyable one thus far. I want to thank the Alumni for making this trip possible, and for some of the luxurious accommodations that we are indulging in.
Today we went to Bru burger bar for dinner. I am not from around Indianapolis and I have not been to Indianapolis more times than I can count on one hand. I appreciate the chance to indulge in some of the local flavor. Dr.Barney Niezer, Dr.Frank Kolisek, Dr. Bernie Emkes, Scott Benedict and Tx:Team deserve a thank you for taking time out of their busy schedules to indulge us with their wisdom and knowledge. I want to thank Betsy Knott and Frank Howland for their leadership, time, and effort in this opportunity that they set up for us.
