CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Julia Kramer

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This week at the Providing Better Healthcare Through Systems Engineering seminar series, students, staff, faculty, clinicians, and community members gathered to discuss client-provider tension in contraceptive care for low-resource communities.

Julia Kramer, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. In her research, she focuses on equity-oriented engineering solutions to modern healthcare issues. This Monday, Kramer presented an insightful seminar on human-centered design as it applies to her research promoting rights-based family planning for contraceptive care.

Contraceptive care and human-centered design

With a variety of contraceptive methods available, such as insertive IUDs, hormone injections, and oral contraceptives, it can be difficult for patients in low-resource communities to feel adequately informed and advised in their contraceptive healthcare journey. Continue Reading »

Alumnus Ryan Chen speaks at IOE 101 Career Seminar Series

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On Friday, September 29th, Center for Healthcare Engineering & Patient Safety (CHEPS) alumnus Ryan Chen participated in the Industrial and Operations Engineering (IOE) 101 Career Seminar Series hosted by the University of Michigan’s IOE Department.

Having graduated from U-M in 2014 with dual degrees in IOE and Euphonium Performance, Chen told students and faculty about the formative experiences he had as a student at Michigan. Chen began working at CHEPS shortly after its 2011 founding, noting that he still keeps in touch with some of the friends he made here years ago.

“One of the places I really got to learn a lot from was CHEPS, and that is where I really formed myself as an intellect at Michigan.” Continue Reading »

CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Sung Won Choi and Jodyn Platt

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Jodyn Platt (left) and Sung Won Choi.

Once considered a “last resort” for those diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, bone marrow transplants (BMTs) have become a more successful treatment option in recent decades. As the number of BMTs performed around the world continues to rise, so do questions about its ethical complexities.

On Monday, September 25th, the Center for Healthcare Engineering & Patient Safety (CHEPS) partnered with Sung Won Choi, MD, MS and Jodyn Platt, MPH to discuss the intricacies of informed consent.

Bone marrow basics

Depending on the kind of cancer a patient is diagnosed with, there are different methods for BMT: while autologous transplants allow a person to “donate” their own pre-chemotherapy stem cells to themselves, allogeneic transplants require donation from another person. Continue Reading »

CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Max Li and Dana Habers

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From left: Max Li, Amy Cohn, Dana Habers.

This week at the Providing Better Healthcare Through Systems Engineering Seminar Series, students, staff, faculty, clinicians, and community members had the opportunity to discuss the intersection of two distinct industries: pharmaceuticals and aerospace.

Drones and privacy

Max Li, PhD, MSSE is an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Industrial and Operations Engineering at U-M. He joined us on Monday to offer his expertise on drones—a novel subject for many working in healthcare.

One of the main considerations necessary when speaking about drones is privacy. Just like with commercial air traffic, tracking and surveillance (via radar, satellites, etc.) Continue Reading »

CHEPS Fall 2023 Seminar Series: Alexander T. Janke

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Dr. Janke (left) and Professor Cohn.

Same series, new structure

This year in U-M’s Industrial and Operations Engineering (IOE) 813 course, the Center for Healthcare Engineering & Patient Safety (CHEPS) is experimenting with a new format focused on enhancing innovation by leveraging resources across the University.

Titled Providing Better Healthcare Through Systems Engineering and led by Professor Amy Cohn, this series comprises eleven brainstorming sessions with healthcare professionals about ways to strategically utilize engineering to improve care delivery for all. Instead of a traditional lecture series, these sessions are intended to function more as “no such things as bad ideas” brainstorming workshops. Continue Reading »

Cole Weber, Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate

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Cole Weber, a Biomedical Engineering student at U-M, muses on his motivation for working in healthcare, remaining true to himself, and the power of parental support.

At birth, I almost killed my mom. During the fifty-six hour labor in a Wisconsin blizzard (once again, sorry Mom), she started to hemorrhage to the point where the doctor was flabbergasted she was still awake. If you know my mom, you wouldn’t be surprised. However, through medical intervention, my mom was okay, and her first child—a beautiful baby boy, I may humbly add—was born.

Baby Cole with his mom.

After a doctor in training was thrown to the floor because they tried to turn my neck the wrong way, almost killing me, my mom started to notice that I wasn’t breathing correctly. Continue Reading »

Summer Moments at CHEPS

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Yueyun Xia, an Industrial and Operations Engineering student at U-M, reflects on her summer at CHEPS.

Looking back at my time at CHEPS this past summer, all of the memories swirl in my head: my handwriting on the whiteboards for the optimization model, meetings with collaborators, lunch and learns…but there are a few special moments that I’ll cherish most of all.

Amy’s chocolate

Professor Amy Cohn is one of the biggest reasons I joined CHEPS. She (and the sense of community she helps create) is my everyday motivation for work. We are encouraged to share our knowledge, collaborate between project teams, and explore new things. Continue Reading »

University of Michigan’s Amy Cohn identified as top Chief Transformation Officer

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According to Becker’s Hospital Review, Center for Healthcare Engineering & Patient Safety (CHEPS) Faculty Director Amy Cohn is one of 49 chief transformation officers to know in 2023.

Becker’s explains that “Chief transformation officers inspire, model and implement lasting change at their organizations. Armed with problem-solving and leadership skills, these executives set the goals and tone for each transformation initiative.”

Having applied such skills to enact great operational change during that uncertain first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Cohn was appointed as CTO of Michigan Medicine in 2021. She has since expanded the scope of her CTO projects to tackle challenges like provider burnout, resident mental health, emergency room capacity, and access to prenatal care.

Continue Reading »

CHEPS Takes Toronto: Aparna Reddy’s Experience at the 2023 INFORMS Healthcare Conference

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Aparna Reddy, a Public Health student at U-M, reflects on her experience traveling to Toronto, Canada to present her CHEPS research at the 2023 INFORMS Healthcare Conference.

Aparna smiling and looking slightly upwards while typing on a laptop.

My name is Aparna Reddy, and I am a rising senior at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Last month I had the opportunity to attend the 2023 INFORMS Healthcare Conference in Toronto, Canada, where I presented our work at CHEPS in a talk called “Modeling Resource Needs for Screening and Specialty Care in the U.S. Veterans Healthcare System.”

INFORMS (the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences) is an international professional organization for practitioners in the field of operations research. Continue Reading »

From Healthcare Novice to Healthcare Innovator

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Maddy Heyer, a Computer Science and Engineering student at U-M, shares about what she has learned from her summer at CHEPS.

Maddy Heyer smiles while using a computer beside another CHEPS student.

“We had a young patient in critical condition today, but thankfully we got them stabilized.”

“Creating this month’s schedule was such a headache.”

“My feet are already aching and I have two more twelves this week!”

With aunts and cousins who are all nurses, hospital stories have been a constant topic of discussion during our family gatherings. Just a few months ago when they asked about my summer plans, I told them I would be working at the Center for Healthcare Engineering & Patient Safety (CHEPS). Continue Reading »