Determined to Integrate Physical and Mental Health Care

Katie Klingel chose the field of public health because she wanted to gain a better understanding of how evidence-based delivery models and public health interventions are integrated into large health care systems. It wasn’t until she began working in the grants department of a non-profit healthcare organization that she fully appreciated how many people other than clinicians and direct service providers are involved in health care work, and she saw a way that she could make a difference.

Integrating Physical and Mental Health Care

“Most large health systems have yet to solve the problem of how to successfully coordinate and integrate physical and mental health care. There are several reasons for this — low reimbursements, provider shortages, stigma — but I want to be at the forefront in helping systems overcome these barriers through new models of care, and I decided to enroll in the School of Public Health Master of Healthcare Administration program because I knew I’d graduate with the tools to better serve the Twin Cities population.

Organizational Change

Large systems are notoriously resistant to change, prone to function by the dictum ‘we do this because we’ve always done it this way.’ It is important to me, as an administrator, to be able to move past this way of thinking and encourage others to accept innovative change.

Interprofessional Collaboration

What I like about the University of Minnesota School of Public Health is the focus on interprofessional collaboration across health sectors, and the opportunities I’ve had to work with students from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, social work, and other allied professions. It’s really helped shape my understanding of how providers, administrators, and employees need to work together to promote better health and health care.”