Professor Jessica Holmes will be offering a new JTerm academic internship course called “Health Policy in Action”. Perfect for students interested in health care, public policy, and/or government affairs This course will combine a four day/week internship (Tuesday-Friday) at a Vermont health care organization with one day/week in the classroom (Mondays 9-11), providing the opportunity to apply liberal arts learning to real-world experience in addressing critical issues facing the state of Vermont and its citizens. Students will work with local organizations on specific topics such drug-reimportation, hospital-produced environmental waste, food insecurity and diabetes, childhood trauma, health policy legislation in the VT statehouse, physician burnout, hospital quality, and workforce shortages. Class time will be spent debriefing the internship experience, building skills relevant to health policy analysis and working on the research project. Grading will be based on participation, evaluation by internship sponsor, evidence of personal growth, and performance on final research project.
Enrollment in the course is by approval only. Interested applicants must submit a resume to Professor Jessica Holmes (jholmes@middlebury.edu with subject line JTERM) and a short online application (LINK to app is here: https://goo.gl/forms/CJ5IaN5J0fLcvJLb2) by October 20.
Please note: The College has rented a shared house for students doing internships in Montpelier/Waterbury. There are some funds to defray travel expenses (gas and/or ACTR to Burlington) and we will cover hotel accommodations in Burlington during bad weather. Some students may be asked to offer short rides to/from work for others without cars.
Below you will find more specific information about the internships available. If you have questions, please reach out to Professor Jessica Holmes (jholmes@middlebury.edu).
Internships:
Vermont Agency of Human Services (Waterbury, VT)
Sponsor: Ena Backus, Director of Health Care Reform for the State of VT
Project will explore drug re-importation as a strategy to reduce the cost of pharmaceutical drugs in VT.
Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (Montpelier, VT)
Sponsor: Jeff Tieman, President and CEO
Project will focus on how Vermont can reduce the long-term consequences of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and specifically the role that hospitals might play in reducing the causes and consequences of childhood trauma.
House Health Committee-Vermont state legislature (Montpelier, VT)
Sponsors: Rep. Bill Lippert, Chair, and Rep. Anne Donahue, Vice Chair
Intern will serve as a research assistant for the House Health Committee, providing background and analysis for health policy bills as they arise in session.
Vermont Medical Society (Montpelier, VT)
Sponsor: Jessa Barnard, Executive Director
Project will focus on identifying strategies to reduce the administrative burden currently faced by many providers in the state.
Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care (Montpelier, VT)
Sponsor: Catherine Fulton, Executive Director
Project will focus on how we might better measure and compare hospital quality in the state.
Bi-State Primary Care Association (Montpelier, VT)
Sponsor: Georgia Majeras, Executive Director
Project will focus on better understanding the link between food insecurity and the prevalence of diabetes in VT.
University of Vermont Health Network (Burlington, VT)
Sponsor: Eve Hoar, Network Director, Strategic & Business Planning
Two possible projects: One will evaluate how to measure the “return on investment” for dollars earmarked for improving population health, and the other will rely on lessons learned in behavioral economics to develop strategies to engage and “nudge” consumers to make healthier choices.
University of Vermont Medical Center (Burlington, VT)
Sponsor: Mitchell H. Tsai, MD, MMM
Project will evaluate the environmental impact of hospital services in Vermont (e.g., disposal of solid waste, use of reusable vs single-use equipment, drainage of intravenous medications into local and regional water systems) and make recommendations for waste mitigation.
Green Mountain Care Board (Montpelier, VT)
Sponsor: Susan Barrett, Executive Director of Green Mountain Care Board
Two possible projects: One will help the GMCB design a health resource allocation plan for the state of Vermont and the other will help identify workforce strategies to reduce the growing shortage of health care providers in the state.