We're happy to celebrate Zafiro Portillo Primera, a high school intern at Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver, CO, who is graduating from Arrupe Jesuit High School this month and has received the prestigious Daniels Scholarship. She has been accepted into the nursing program at Regis University. Portillo Primera is one of many students from Arrupe and Denver Public Schools who participate in an internship, mentorship, or job training program at the hospital each year. Saint Joseph’s Community Benefit team organizes five separate programs to provide job training and work experience in the emergency department, nursing, simulation education, the foundation and in physician clinics. In August, the hospital will add Project SEARCH which provides internships designed for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “These high school career education programs serve multiple purposes. They give students the chance to see options for careers that pay livable salaries, and they help grow the future healthcare workforce,” said Chuck Ault, Intermountain community benefit manager. The internship at Saint Joseph influenced Portillo Primera's decision to pursue nursing in college, she said. “I found it fascinating that medicine helps the human body heal itself,” she said. “Nurses play a huge role in interacting more with patients in an impactful way.”
A man in Texas needed an MRI. He called several providers in his local market for quotes, and all of them more than doubled the cost of an airline ticket to Utah, a hotel room and the flat scan rate of $550 at Tellica Imaging, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intermountain Health. Setting aside the price, just the fact that Tellica posts its pricing on its homepage challenges a market where, even in the face of transparency legislation, actual transparency is hard to come by. “We have treated patients from 22 U.S. states,” says Brad M. Isaacson, PhD, MBA, MSF, PMP, Tellica president and chief operating officer, “despite having locations in two states presently. The fact that we have people flying in from out of state to see us shows we’re providing immense value.” This was the original mission of Tellica: to make medical imaging more transparent and affordable – to a radical degree. “The creation of Tellica stemmed from a need to rethink care delivery, affordability and access to CT and MRI imaging exams,” says Nannette Berensen, Intermountain’s chief operating officer and founding board chair of Tellica. “Location, scheduling difficulty and cost are barriers for many.” In terms of patient experience, it’s a concept almost revolutionary in its simplicity: tell people how much it costs, and make it cost as little as possible. And it’s had an enormous impact.
Happy National Speech Pathologist Day! 🎉 Today, we celebrate the incredible impact speech pathologists have on our patients, helping them communicate more effectively and connect with the world around them. Thank you for all you do! #NationalSpeechPathologistDay
Caregiver Appreciation Week is in full swing, recognizing the work of each and every caregiver at Intermountain Health. How our teams are celebrating may look different if they're a clinical or a non-clinical caregiver or depending on which region they work in. But wherever we’re located and whatever we do, we’re Better Together. And we have the photos to prove it! Rob Allen, president and CEO, visited with caregivers at the Central Laundry facility in North Salt Lake on Wednesday, May 15th to share cookies and appreciation. “These caregivers provide an invaluable service in keeping many Intermountain Health hospitals stocked with clean, comfortable linens to care for patients. I appreciate their important contributions to our mission. To each of our 68,000 Intermountain caregivers, thank you, and Happy Caregiver Appreciation Week.”
For more than 20 years, 102-year-old Shirley Schultz has volunteered weekly at St. Mary’s Regional Hospital in Grand Junction, CO sorting papers and doing what she refers to as “grunt work” because she says it’s what keeps her going. Shirley celebrates her 102nd birthday on May 13th, so St. Mary’s held an early birthday party for her, complete with cake, singing and dancing. Shirley is a three-time cancer survivor with an adventurous spirit and a passion for living life to the fullest. She says her secret to living a long and happy life is having a positive attitude no matter what life throws at you. “Every single day I enjoy life,” said Shirley. “I learned that through tragedies, and I enjoy every bloody day. Friends and family are the biggest things in my life. Without my family, I don’t think I’d be where I am.” She also credits her happiness to volunteering, saying that it’s part of what made her who she is today and what keeps her going, along with her massages on Thursdays and lunches on Fridays. “My advice for people is to be positive and enjoy,” she said. “If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. Do the best you can and stop worrying about what people think about you.”
As senior advisor to chief clinical officer JP Valin, Jen House applies her data and performance improvement skills to moving the needle on patient care and outcomes. It’s her favorite part of the job – but she didn’t always know she wanted to do it. She started out with a degree in mechanical engineering, and it took an experience repairing a sewing machine in rural Honduras to set her on the path to clinical excellence. Jen explains what she does, what she likes about it, and how she got there in the story below. ⬇️
Intermountain Health has been named to the Women Tech Council’s 2024 Shatter List, an annual collection of top companies creating inclusive, empowering cultures for female workers! 🎉 Intermountain has been an honoree every year since the list’s inception in 2018. We joined 39 other organizations on the list for building inclusive cultures with meaningful measures that help women break and surpass the glass ceiling in technology. “We’re honored that we made the list and that Intermountain as a whole supports and empowers our female workers,” said Meridith McGlincy, Cybersecurity consultant and a participating member of the Women Tech Council. “With 74% of our total caregivers being women, it’s vital to ensure we can move forward in blazing our career paths. Plus, I enjoy volunteering time to mentor young girls in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics program." “At Intermountain, we’re dedicated to creating a culture of inclusion and empowerment for our female workers,” said Melinda Mendoza, chief compliance officer. “We strive to break the glass ceiling and provide opportunities for growth and development so our female workers can reach their full potential and drive innovation." Intermountain has an internal program designed to empower and support women in leadership and women in technology by mentorship and coaching, leadership training, and networking opportunities.
In recognition of National Hospital Week, let's take a moment to celebrate and thank all our incredible hospital caregivers for their unwavering commitment to providing compassionate care. You make a profound difference in the lives of those you serve each and every day! 🏥💖
As we celebrate Caregiver Appreciation Week, we'd like to recognize the incredible dedication and compassion of our 66,000+ caregivers across Intermountain Health. We are truly #BetterTogether!
For Stacey Dozer and her sister, Tammy McCoy, decades of seeing God's healing and grace through the staff at Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge, CO has been a blessing. Their families’ decades-long journey at Lutheran is a testament to resilience, love, and the unwavering support of a compassionate medical team. Through the highs of births and the lows of devastating losses and cancer treatments, Lutheran has been more than a hospital; it's been a sanctuary of hope, healing, and love for their family. “It warms my heart to think of all the life and love Lutheran has given to us,” Stacey said. “They’ve helped us navigate some of the best and hardest times of our lives. There have been many tears, joyous moments and so much perseverance, but our faith has remained, and God stayed close and we’re so grateful for the beauty and healing Lutheran has provided.”
