Helen grew up in Ames, Iowa. She graduated from Syracuse University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Child and Family Studies and worked as a Lead Teacher at an early childhood education center following graduation. She is a third year dual Medical Doctorate (MD) and Master of Public Health (MPH) student. During her year of MPH training, Helen is working as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Master of Public Health Program. Helen is enjoying learning about all areas of public health and is particularly interested in the fields of pediatrics, maternal and child health and health policy. She serves as Co-President of the Pediatrics Interest Group and as a VP for the American Medical Association-Iowa Medical Society Student Organization at the Carver College of Medicine. She has recently begun volunteering for the Mobile Clinic. Helen enjoys cooking, spin classes, listening to public radio and traveling to visit family and friends around the country.
One of the best opportunities that we have as students is
the chance to attend a wide range of conferences and meetings around the state
and the nation. Not only are these
generally at a lower price (or free) for students, but they are also a way to learn
and important current issues outside of the classroom and to meet other
professionals in your field. On Tuesday,
I attended a one-day conference in Des Moines called Rebalancing Healthcare inthe Heartland 5, Shaping Iowa’s Health Care Landscape. This conference was hosted by the University
of Iowa Health Sciences Policy Council with the purpose of “bringing together
health care policymakers and key decision makers to identify priorities that
address health care issues of Iowans.”
Speakers at the conference included The College of Public
Health’s own Dean Susan Curry and the University of Iowa’s Jean Robillard, VP
of Medical Affairs, and our new Dean of the Carver College of Medicine Debra
Schwinn along with several other UI Faculty.
The Keynote address was delivered by Susan Dentzer, the Editor-in-Chief
of Health Affairs and on-air analyst for PBS NewsHour. The conference was filled with speakers with
great expertise – all of whom, you can read more on at this website. I had to leave before the closing remarks to
get back to Iowa City for a class but these were delivered by Iowa Senator Jack
Hatch and Representative Dave Heaton. The
topics of conversation too, can be found on the website but generally
discussion centered around improving healthcare and obtaining the Triple Aim: Better Care, Better Health and Lower Cost outlined by Don Berwick, the
development of ACOs in Iowa and issues such as Medicaid expansion and Medicaid exchanges.
The chance to hear from such informed and passionate members
of the healthcare and policy community is a very special opportunity for
University of Iowa students and I would encourage everyone to take advantage of
as many of these opportunities as you can.
On my way out of town I drove by the State Capital and the Iowa Department of Public Health where I am working on setting up a practicum project for this summer – More to come on this soon.
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