Colin Keyes completed an internship with Winona Health in spring of 2022. Now, a Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana) graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health, he joined Winona Health’s Continuous Systems Improvement & Innovation team. He plans to eventually earn his master’s in Public Health. Here, Colin shares his path to Winona Health and what led him to pursue a position here after earning his degree.
I met Rod Baker, a Purdue alum, through some campus connections. We had a phone interview and then met in person when he happened to be in town. That went well, so I visited Winona to interview with a couple of other people at Winona Health including CEO Rachelle Schultz. What I was interested in aligned with what Winona Health was looking for in a Public Health intern!
As a public health major, I was really interested in Winona Health’s work in the area of population health. Everyone here is committed to advancing a community health model where everyone benefits from healthcare services and non-clinical resources that improve people’s lives. I’m so impressed by the innovative ways Winona Health collaborates with other area organizations to help community members and, ultimately, improve peoples’ health. When I was considering whether I wanted to do an internship at Winona Health, I researched the community and learned that Winona is 93% white. That was really intimidating for me to look at. I thought okay I can handle that. It’s not the first time I’ve been one of a very few people of color. What surprised me when I got here is how committed this organization is to diversity, equity and inclusion. At first, I wondered what makes them care so much, but when I got here and started working with the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Allyship) team, it was abundantly clear that people here DO care about equity and are committed to learning. And it’s not because it affects them personally, but because it matters and they want to do something about it. It’s the commitment to allyship — and learning about how to be an ally—that makes this commitment so authentic. They want to make sure EVERYONE has access to the care they need regardless of demographics.
Everyone has the ability to make or propose changes to improve care. There is an organization-wide commitment to and understanding of continuous improvement. Any employee can say, “this isn’t right,” or “this could be better,” and propose a change. I find the concept of incremental change inspiring. Winona Health has an ongoing commitment to improvement – for example, the concept of getting 1% better every day leads to incremental changes that add up to a big difference. Everyone has the ability to make or propose changes to improve care. It also seems like everyone I’ve met at Winona Health wants to be here because they like working at a smaller community healthcare organization. They don’t want to be at a big system. I think they want to be here because they know that they can make a difference here.
Art and culture. The presence of the arts in this town is incredible. I was genuinely shocked. Not just visual art, but music and culture. For example, the celebration of other cultures and the representation of the polish culture. The architecture – from the schools to the banks. The number of national – and international businesses founded and headquartered here is also surprising. The landscape…I’ve seen hills and mountains, but it’s unique how these bluffs rise up from nowhere. There is just so much here. [Colin: Thinking for a minute] Ok. I’ve also got to say I was surprised by how damn cold it is here. It was storming the day I moved to Winona. We complain about winter in Indiana, but that’s nothing compared to here. I asked someone how they handle a Minnesota winter. They said: Good hat, great gloves. I found out that, for me, mittens are really the only option!
I hoped this experience would lead to those ‘Aha moments’ to supplement my education. This is the best learning experience that I could have imagined. It’s given me experiential learning opportunities, a broad understanding of what happens and what a hospital does every day. I’ve gotten an inside and behind-the-scenes look. There’s so much work and care that is not even visible to patients and their families.
At this point I can’t say ‘this is the one problem in healthcare I’d like to fix.’ There are just too many unknowns in healthcare. Things can change fast. Right now, my main goal is to continue to learn how to decrease/remove barriers so as many people as possible have access to healthcare. Eventually, I see myself focusing on questions like: How can we create policies that bridge gaps in care? What kind of advocacy is needed to ensure that barriers are removed so people have access to the care they need? I’d like to be in a position to help an organization continue to change to meet the changing challenges in providing healthcare to everyone.
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