Strategic, Determined and Ambitious: DeGroote MBAs in the Workplace

Michael Garron Hospital had the unique idea of spreading its annual surge budget from the Ministry to partners in the community. In preparation for the 2019 flu season, Matthew Hygnius was able to participate and facilitate conversations with partners from the community to strategize for the upcoming season.

In healthcare systems and multinational corporations alike, purpose-driven DeGroote MBA students are making an impact. Earlier this year, the School nominated five MBA Co-op students for the annual CEWIL (Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada) Awards for their extraordinary achievements on behalf of their employers and communities.

Implementing A New Model of Care for More than 870,000 Patients

Working with over 100 partners, Barbora Hrapkova (MBA Candidate ‘21), led a team looking to find efficiencies in a process that required all of these stakeholders to tell their story multiple times along their care journey; sometimes not being sure of where to turn during a crisis.

A proposal was tabled to develop an Ontario Health Team serving the Brampton, North Etobicoke, Malton, and West Woodbridge communities.

The proposal envisioned creating an Integrated Care Hub to help with transitions in care, provide 24/7 system navigation and care coordination services, and be a “one-stop-shop” for patients, caregivers, and community providers to access services.

One hundred eighty partners (patients, caregivers, physicians, community organizations, technology companies, and more) came together to develop the Integrated Care Hub concept and proposal to the Ministry of Health. This work was due to the relationships built as a result of the planning sessions organized by Barbora.

With the proposal accepted, William Osler Health System is now one of the first Ontario Health Teams to implement a new model of care for over 870,000 patients in our region; achieving a significant milestone as part of its strategic plan (Health System Leadership).

Identifying New Market Segments for 3M

Jade Yang (MBA ‘20) completed co-ops at the Hospital for Sick Children, Baycrest Health Sciences, and 3M Canada, where she was hired full time as a Marketing Support Supervisor in their Medical Solutions Division.

While at 3M, Jade was given a challenge – build a sales and marketing plan, including key growth targets, in a difficult to penetrate the market.

Jade, up to the challenge, performed a market assessment, identifying a new clinician segment. Now representing, according to her supervisor at the time, “one of the largest and most accessible opportunities for our Medical Solutions Division,” Jade translated her research insights into an action plan now being executed by 3M Canada.

Minimizing Employee Training Time through Standardized Procedures

Completing his co-op with Burlington based manufacturer The StressCrete Group, Mitchell Fasken developed partnerships with some of North America’s leading telecommunications and engineering firms.

In addition to co-developing the go-to-market strategy for StressCrete’s Smart Pole product line, Mitchell developed digital standard operating procedures that incorporated a series of training videos implemented across all three manufacturing plants in North America (Burlington, Kansas, and Alabama).

These videos provide training methods for new employees who may struggle with English literacy or learning in traditional ways. Additionally, they reduced training time, improved the quality of training, and lessened operational costs associated with excessive training and scrapped products caused by poorly trained plant employees.

Building the Foundations for Future Innovation

Matthew Hyginus laid the foundation for the future launch of the Partnership Council Steering Committee, an inter-professional committee at Michael Garron Hospital.

Partnership Councils at the hospital are self-governed forums that give the inter-professional staff of all levels the autonomy and protected time to make decisions and innovate in their respective departments.

Matthew helped create this new steering committee to bridge support for partnership councils looking to connect, share, and learn from other councils, as well as implement standardized evaluation criteria and metrics.

This development will significantly improve how these councils will operate moving forward, impacting not just front line staff but also the many thousands of patients they care for each year.

Transforming Traditional Approaches

Modern workplaces collect vast amounts of data, from their product to their market segment. Data is a valuable resource for any organization.

Just as valuable is the ability to interpret, communicate, and use data to solve complex problems.

It is Rey Kindar Jr. Cale’s (MBA Candidate ‘21) talent to interpret data that caught the eye of his supervisor at De Havilland Aircraft of Canada.

His supervisor credits Rey’s exceptional work in developing a market and fleet forecast, which is an important input into the company’s overall strategic plan.

As the first MBA program to have included co-op work terms as part of the curriculum, DeGroote is committed to working with employer and community partners interested in hiring for experiential learning opportunities. Interested in more information and hiring opportunities? Fill out one of the forms below.