Leveraging management engineering and business consulting for rapid response, mitigation and recovery during a pandemic

Author's Biography

Michele R. Hoover is an assistant professor of healthcare systems engineering at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and also clinical practice section head in the Department of Management Engineering and Consulting, where she provides leadership for strategic planning, healthcare incident command system response and strategic initiatives in the inpatient, outpatient and community practices. Previous responsibilities include the development and implementation of the Mayo Clinic Quality Academy and Fellows Certification Program, the Mayo Clinic Value Creation System quality improvement frameworks and initiatives and national healthcare research initiatives. Before joining Mayo Clinic, Michele served in internal and external consulting roles as a leader and practitioner of strategic planning, organisational development, performance improvement, leadership development and change management at Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, GP Strategies and GE Healthcare Performance Solutions. Her passion is enabling performance excellence through holistic organisational systems solutions. Michele earned a master’s degree in human resource development at Xavier University and a bachelor’s degree in engineering at Purdue University.

Janine R. Kamath is the Chair of ME&IC at Mayo Clinic. The strategic consulting and management engineering resources in ME&IC are responsible for systems analysis, design and implementation; re-engineering of core processes; and enabling business strategy, project management and business transformation initiatives. ME&IC provides business consulting and management engineering services to several areas at Mayo Clinic: clinical practice, research, education, administration and business development. Before joining Mayo, Janine was a manager at two large pharmaceutical companies. At Mayo, she has supported and led multiple initiatives related to Mayo’s electronic environment; facilities reintegration; operations optimisation; systems re-engineering; care model redesign; business development; and quality, safety and service programme. Janine is the president of the Association of Internal Management Consultants (AIMC) and a member of the INFORMS Roundtable. She was a course director for the Mayo Clinic Conference on Systems Engineering and Operations Research. Janine has presented at national and international conferences and educational programmes. She has had articles published in peer-reviewed journals and has authored book chapters and a book on the legacy of management engineering and consulting at Mayo Clinic. Janine actively participates in several professional organisations and has received multiple awards and professional commendations.

Sarah R. Dhanorker is a manager in the Department of Management Engineering and Consulting (ME&C). She is an assistant professor of healthcare systems engineering at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and is an ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt. Sarah has over 12 years of experience leading clinical healthcare initiatives in the clinical practice on business operations, clinical quality, patient safety improvement and electronic medical record implementation. In her current role, she provides leadership to project managers and engineers supporting various projects at all Mayo Clinic sites. Sarah also provides leadership support to education and professional development and equity, inclusion and diversity efforts within ME&C. Sarah completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science and earned a master’s degree in health services administration from Florida International University. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and has received several awards, including Mayo Clinic Teamwork awards and the 2015 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award.

Chris Schieffer leads the research, education, administration and project management teams in the Department of Management Engineering and Consulting. These strategic resources are responsible for systems analysis, design and implementation, re-engineering and enhancement of important processes, assisting with business strategy and planning, project management and supporting business transformation initiatives within practice, research, education and administration. Chris also leads facilities activities in collaboration with internal facilities project services teams and various funding bodies. He is an assistant professor of healthcare systems engineering at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He teaches topics in engineering, computer programming, quality improvement, statistics, applied technology and applied analytics. Before joining Mayo Clinic, Chris worked in research and operations, developing and improving high-speed optoelectronic products and processes in data communications. He earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering and a master of engineering in systems engineering from Iowa State University, where he also held a faculty appointment teaching engineering fundamentals and multidisciplinary design. His areas of interest include teaching, problem-solving, conflict resolution, data quality, visualisation, analytics, automation, simulation and optimisation and machine learning.

Carolyn M. Macken is a manager in the Department of Management Engineering and Consulting (ME&C) at Mayo Clinic. She provides leadership and oversight to healthcare systems engineers who are responsible for systems analysis, design and implementation and process re-engineering; assists with business strategy and planning; and supports business transformation initiatives. ME&C provides business consulting and management engineering services to clinical practice, research, education, administration and business development at Mayo Clinic. Carrie has supported and led multiple institutional initiatives related to the electronic health record and revenue cycle systems; quality, safety and service programmes; and the Department of Finance initiatives. Previously, she served as a course developer and instructor for ME&C’s Consulting Model and Project Life Cycle educational offerings. She has also served as the leader of the department’s recruitment efforts and new staff onboarding programme. She earned her master’s degree at Cardinal Stritch University and bachelor’s degree at the University of Kentucky.

Amerett L. Donahoe-Anshus is a manager in the Department of Management Engineering and Consulting (ME&C). She began her career as a physical therapist with Mayo Clinic’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 1983. After 15 years of providing health care in clinical settings, she joined ME&C. Amy has led teams of engineers and project managers and assisted with implementation of hospital- and clinic-based electronic applications, quality initiatives, practice improvement and strategic priorities. Her leadership and consulting roles cover a wide spectrum of initiatives in collaboration with administrators and physicians. She received the academic ranks of instructor in physical therapy in 1987 and assistant professor of healthcare systems engineering in 2014. Amy is Prosci certified in change management and assisted with curriculum development and instruction for Mayo Clinic’s change management offerings. Amy has received multiple Excellence Through Teamwork awards during her career. She has a master’s degree in human and health service administration from St. Mary’s College of Minnesota, a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from University of Health Sciences/Chicago Medical School and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the College of Saint Benedict.

Anthony A. Chihak is a manager in the Department of Management Engineering and Consulting (ME&C) at Mayo Clinic. He provides leadership and oversight to health systems engineers who are responsible for systems analysis, design and implementation and process re-engineering; assists with business strategy and planning; and supports business transformation initiatives. ME&C provides business consulting and management engineering services to clinical practice, research, education, administration and business development at Mayo Clinic. Tony has supported and led multiple institutional initiatives, starting with the initial growth and expansion of Mayo Clinic in Florida; the implementation of the electronic health record both in Florida and in Rochester, Minnesota; major institutional practice redesign, cost reduction and quality; safety; and service projects. He has also served as the leader of the department’s new staff onboarding programme. He earned a master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of North Florida and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering at the University of Wisconsin in Platteville.