Life at The Resource Group | Intern Group Projects

By Amirra Burks & Rayne Little

Throughout the summer, The Resource Group's interns all participate in a group project. This year, there were six intern group projects including: Implementation Packet Supplement, Mapping & Communications for Integrated Participants, Medical Rental Equipment Investigation, Missed Opportunities Analysis, Sustainability Greenhouse Gas, and Symplr Playbook Development. These group projects not only provide an opportunity for collaboration but also support The Resource Group's overall business objective. Learn more about these group project and their lasting impacts below!

Implementation Packet Supplement

Project Lead: Matt Hoffman
Project Mentor: Shazia Nooruddin
Project Team: Kameron Jackson, Meera Ghaskadvi, Pamela Vega, Wenxin Zeng, Soma Ezzadpanah

Historically there has been limited visibility around the usage attribution (surgeons, procedures) of items in the surgical setting. Through this project, interns helped standardize and provide a uniform picture of surgical data to enhance product implementation/conversion process at our facilities.

Project Goals
  • Better understand the usage attribution for supply items in a surgical setting
  • Standardize reporting of the usage information across facilities
  • Provide a process document for associates to recreate the usage analysis for future product conversions
Project Milestones
  • Develop an understanding of the current product implement process
  • Engage with Data Action to understand the surgical warehouse data sources
  • Develop a supplement file to help standardize product implementation/conversion work
  • Create a presentation and process materials to share with stakeholders
Learning Outcomes
  • Communication: Work with end users and communicate both technical and non-technical aspects of the product
  • Project Management: Manage expectations with end users and define the scope
  • Technical Skills: Work with a variety of Google tools including Sheets and BigQuery (SGL)

Mapping & Communications for Integrated Participants

Project Leads: Danielle Langeneckert & Ryan Nelson
Project Mentor: Tania Alvarado
Project Members: Alexander Schirk, Brenda Herrera, Casey Ma, Francesca Trajano, Ronald Joel, Taylor Ward

This project addressed the communication gap between The Resource Group and our Integrated Participants. Interns developed a communication pathway for Integrated Participants, including a newsletter and Google Site. Interns also developed a GeoMap for Integrated Participant locations with key contacts for each site. 

 

Project Goals
  • Develop a source of information for our Integrated Participants
  • Create a process and plan for communications to Integrated Participants
  • Create a resource for contact information to our Integrated Participants
Project Milestones
  • Develop a Google Site based on the needs of our Integrated Participants
  • Create a newsletter/communication tool to provide news and updates to our Integrated Participants 
  • Create a GeoMap to provide contact information to Integrated Participants
Learning Outcomes
  • Critical Thinking: Assess Integrated Participant needs and strategies to best fill those needs
  • Teamwork: Collaborate as a group to develop various materials
  • Project Management: Identify scope of the project and manage the timeline and action items

Medical Equipment Rental Process Investigation

Project Lead: Brendon De Boer
Project Mentor: Mackenzie Ortlieb
Project Members: Ananya Parimi, Chloe Hill, Kathryn James, Miriam Barboza, Shelby Hix

The focus of this project was to improve the medical equipment rental process in our markets. The interns created flow charts to outline the current state of the rental process in each market and provided insights into opportunities for standardization. The team established multiple points of connection, investigated each market, and created a concise summary of the findings.

Project Goals
  • Document all steps in the current rental processes by market across Ascension
  • Produce current state process flow charts for medical equipment rentals
  • Recommend 3-4 standards to be included in medical equipment rentals across the system
Project Milestones
  • Identify and establish market points of contact
  • Create a template to record findings and results
  • Identify who and how rentals are approved in each market
  • Identify opportunities for improvement in facilities and ministries
Learning Outcomes
  • Executive Communications and Public Speaking: Present findings to the Vice President and Director of Clinical Asset Management with TRIMEDX and other key stakeholders
  • Project Management: Manage the scope timeline, and action items of the project
  • Stakeholder Influence and Engagement: Communicate areas of improvements to the rental process to the stakeholders

Missed Opportunities Analysis

Project Leads: Casey Rodriguez & Chris Tolan
Project Mentor: Rachel Provencher
Project Members: Abigail Stokes, Noah Ryle, Alyssa Sorensen

The goal of this project was to build a foundation for tracking compliance with high-priority initiatives, and create an automated tracker to identify when contractual compliance is not met. Through this project, interns built upon existing work effort to automate tracking and calculation of missed opportunities by supporting data collection for existing dashboards, creating process documentation to include ownership of responsibilities for maintenance, and presenting guidance on how the data can drive action locally.

Project Goals
  • Support data discovery, collection, and automation to create missed opportunity tracking within the existing dashboards
  • Create process documentation that includes clear roles and responsibilities
Project Milestones
  • Build out a project plan, complete discovery process, and identify data needed to create reporting trackers
  • Create process documentation and future maintenance proposal
  • Communication changed processes and project outcomes through organization-wide presentation
Learning Outcomes
  • Project Management: Prepare, facilitate, and implement actions to support progress, pivoting where necessary
  • Process Improvement: Understand how to create a process, review with key stakeholders, and implement the process
  • Data/Financial Analysis: Calculate monthly and annualized opportunity
  • Deliverable Creation and Presentation: Strategically organize and present on project outcomes

Sustainability Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Project Leads: Tom Kalla & Tyson Walter
Project Mentor: Theresa Chiang
Project Members: Isabella Demotto, Jillian Phillips, Shana Soyfer

The Resource Group's supplier greenhouse gas emissions indirectly impact Ascension's environmental sustainability goals. Interns researched suppliers' greenhouse gas reported emissions and identified suppliers' short-term and long-term goals to reduce emissions. Progress towards reducing emissions was captured through sustainability reports and tracked in a Tableau dashboard.

Project Goals
  • Enhance Supplier sustainability reporting by capturing Supplier Scope 1 and 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions
  • Incorporate 75 selected suppliers' performance into a Tableau dashboard
Project Milestones
  • Identify suppliers' sustainability reports and greenhouse gas emissions
  • Understand and document suppliers' greenhouse gas reduction goals
  • Develop a playbook to outline how supplier greenhouse gas emissions data should be reflected in documentation
Learning Outcomes
  • Healthcare Knowledge: Research and education on suppliers and sustainability practices
  • Industry Experience: Collaborate with Contract Design and Sourcing to understand supply chain contracting and end-user decision-making process
  • Environmental Sustainability Impact: Education on the decisions healthcare systems and suppliers are making that impact our planet

Symplr Playbook Creation

Project Lead: Cindy Schanuel
Project Mentor: Courtney Cole
Project Members: Ella Ducato, Robby Isaacs, Nicholas Sadowski

Through this project, our interns created documentation outlining why our vendor access management solution (Symplr) is important, how to navigate the solution, and the functionality within the solution to support Ascension's Vendor Access Policy. 

Learn more about Ascension Vendor Access Policy

Project Goals
  • Create a resource for Symplr admins to quickly reference
  • Provide support to the implementation of Ascension's Vendor Access Policy
Project Milestones
  • Development of Symplr Playbook
  • Finalize Symplr Playbook
  • Present the Symplr Playbook to the organization
Learning Outcomes
  • Business Writing: Document a procedure from start to finish
  • Critical Thinking: Align various procedures in a playbook for ease of reference by Symplr admins
  • Process Improvement: Understand the value of standardization and implementation of a changed process