Incorporating health systems engineering into COVID-19 vaccine planning and administration

Author's Biography

Tarin A. Casadonte is a Principal Health Systems Engineer in the Department of Management Engineering & Consulting at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. She earned her BS and MS degrees in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Tarin has 10 years of experience in healthcare consulting and five years in healthcare operations management. She is also a veteran of the United States Army and Wisconsin National Guard. Tarin has been committed to the expansion of connected health services to rural communities and to supporting the implementation of the first-ever carbon ion therapy facility to North America. Her current focus is the COVID-19 effort.

Atul S. Dhanorker is a Principal Health Systems Engineer in the Department of Management Engineering & Consulting at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is trained as a mechanical engineer with a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Nagpur University, India, and a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. His experience has spanned two decades, and his skills range from strategic planning to data and analytics. Most recently, Atul has served Mayo Clinic’s Departments of Cardiology and Neurology, translating artificial intelligence research into clinical practice. (Photograph used with permission of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.)

Sandra J. Elsen is a Health Systems Engineer with Mayo Clinic’s Management Engineering & Consulting Department based out of Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin—La Crosse, a BS in Clinical Laboratory Science from the University of North Dakota and a BS in Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. With more than a decade at Mayo Clinic and over seven years in the quality field, her background includes clinical genetics, quality management systems and process engineering. She recently supported COVID-19 process improvements and management efforts at Mayo Clinic on the topics of telehealth, COVID testing facilities, strategic practice ramp up and surge planning. With insatiable curiosity, she enjoys problem-solving and creating positive change.

Nalini P. Krishnan is a Senior Health Systems Engineer with the Department of Management Engineering & Consulting at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She supports Mayo Clinic’s primary care practice in Rochester and the Southeast Minnesota regions of the Mayo Clinic Health System. She is a physician and holds a master of healthcare administration degree from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Nalini’s expertise and background include planning and operationalising Mayo Clinic’s mass influenza vaccination programme and vaccinations for underserved communities, making her a valuable addition to the COVID-19 vaccination project team. (Photograph used with permission of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.)

Shane A. Lohmann has been with Mayo Clinic for eight years. He is a Senior Health Systems Engineer who works for the Minnesota regions of the Mayo Clinic Health System. Shane has a master of business administration degree from Liberty University, a bachelor of science degree in management/leadership from the University of Minnesota at Mankato and an associate degree in allied health science from the Community College of the Air Force. Shane supported the development and implementation of the COVID-19 mass testing facilities and COVID-19 mass vaccination centres. He has comprehensive knowledge in the areas of healthcare systems engineering and process improvement, the medical field, military, finance, manufacturing and management/leadership. (Photograph used with permission of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.)

Luqing Lu is a senior Health Systems Engineer in the Department of Management Engineering & Consulting at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. She earned her master and bachelor of science degrees in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Wisconsin‒Madison. She has six years of experience in healthcare consulting, partnering with clinicians and administrators to provide business consulting services. In 2020 and 2021, Luqing supported the implementation and optimisation of COVID-19 vaccination distribution planning and operations. She is passionate about leveraging continuous improvement methodologies and advanced analytics into better experiences for patients and healthcare practitioners.

Jana Macickova joined Mayo Clinic as an associate in the Management Engineering & Consulting Fellowship in September 2020. She has a bachelor of business administration degree from Babson College and a master of healthcare analytics degree from Carnegie Mellon University. She was earlier a financial services professional. (Photograph used with permission of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.)

Sonia C. Martindale-Mathern is a senior principal health systems engineer in the Department of Management Engineering & Internal Consulting at Mayo Clinic. She has 20 years of experience in strategic planning, systems implementation and organisational transformation. In her current role she supports the clinical practice on strategy, business operations, and Epic EHR–RCM implementation and change management initiatives. She has a Prosci Change Management Practitioner certification and was recently a lead for the enterprise change management strategy for Epic implementation at Mayo Clinic. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Health Services from the University of South Dakota, USA. She also holds a Master of Health Administration and a Master of Business Administration, both from the University of Iowa, USA.

David A. Ring is a Health Systems Engineer in the Department of Management Engineering & Consulting at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He earned his master of business administration degree from Viterbo University and his bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from Iowa State University. His background is in manufacturing and process engineering, and he has more than two years of experience in healthcare consulting. David recently worked with the COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites in process and operational improvement, but his current focus is analytics used to increase the value of care by reducing hospitalisation length for patients. (Photograph used with permission of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.)

Joseph R. Stearly is a Health Systems Engineer who works with the northwestern Wisconsin region of Mayo Clinic Health Systems; he has been with Mayo Clinic for more than two years. Previously, he worked as the outcomes coordinator for Shriners Hospital for Children in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Joe has a master of healthcare administration degree from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor of healthcare management degree from the University of Minnesota‒Crookston. He has experience in health system operations, virtual care, physician relations and practice analysis.