When Jaclyn Dyreby’s mother died, Jaclyn knew it would have a major impact on her life. What she didn’t know was the great impact it would have on the lives of others.
Inspiration from Experience
Inspired by her mother, Jaclyn focused her Capstone project on access to care for cancer patients. Inspired by the pandemic, she focused on making that access to care safer. “I thought about how there are so many patients out there that are like my mom who are receiving care today. And they’re going to these hospitals to get this treatment that could potentially save their lives, but they’re at risk of being exposed to a virus that could kill them.”
A student in The Chicago School’s Master of Health Services Administration and Master of Public Health (MPH/MHSA) dual enrollment program, Jaclyn developed a capstone project that could change the face of healthcare. “My project is a program for hospitals across the country to transition blood donation vehicles into external cancer treatment centers. These blood donation vehicles are not being utilized very often. How many blood drives do you have a month and how much time of that month is a blood donation vehicle, just sitting there? You have the resources and the materials needed to treat this population. The implementation part is actually the easy part, because really it just takes the acceptance of an organization and the allocation of resources.” An innovative solution to meet the needs of the people being served.
Safe Care through Innovation
Having been the primary care provider for her mother, Jaclyn remembers taking her mother to chemo appointments. As the pandemic progressed, she tried to imagine the difficulties families were experiencing. “We think that you’re safe because you’re in a hospital, and that’s not the case. You have so many people there that are even going there to seek treatment for COVID.” This creates a high-risk environment for immunocompromised cancer patients. When Jaclyn began to work on her Capstone project, past and present experiences collided. The external cancer treatment centers became a very real and actionable concept for her.
No healthcare facilities have implemented her idea, but, Jaclyn is hopeful one will soon. “This program is so much bigger than myself and bigger than my own ideas, if it’s implemented on a large scale, we could change a lot of people’s lives.”
Changing lives and making patient care better is after all why Jaclyn enrolled in The Chicago School.
As she enters the final phase of her program, she is excited to take the knowledge she has gained and change the face of the healthcare industry. She knows her concept can have long–lasting impact on how healthcare is managed throughout the United States and looks forward to continuing to be innovative.