Originally from New Jersey and currently living in Florida, Chloe Young is an online MPH student at GPH. She earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell University in Biology & Society with minors in Law and Nutrition. She currently serves as a senior program coordinator on the NIH-funded RECOVER Initiative. Chloe is passionate about improving health disparities within the US, particularly within maternal health outcomes, and hopes to continue her work in the field of clinical operations, research, and medicine.
Degree Program/Concentration: MPH in Public Health Nutrition
Internship Company: SimpliFed
Internship Location: Remote
SECURING THE INTERNSHIP
Why an internship at SimpliFed?
When I was an undergraduate at Cornell University, I was lucky enough to work with Andrea Ippolito, who was deeply involved in the entrepreneurship community there. She went on to become founder & CEO of SimpliFed, a free virtual platform for feeding babies. Under the Affordable Care Act, you’re supposed to have access to baby feeding support, fully covered by your health insurance plan at no cost to you. SimpliFed's mission is to collaborate within the system so that families can get access to these services by trained professionals.
My concentration is Public Health Nutrition, my main interest is maternal health, and the company’s values align with the culturally-competent care that we learn about in our MPH classes. It was an added plus that their entire team is remote, so it gave me the flexibility to complete the internship while also having a full-time position at NYU Langone. I could work and still earn my APE credits by making a real difference to improve maternal health outcomes across the country.
How did NYU GPH help you secure the internship?
The consistent advice was to make use of our networks, either with connections from our undergraduate career or in the MPH community. When the time came to apply for my APE, I emailed Andrea to set up a time to talk. Then I pitched the idea for my internship focus and how it could help SimpliFed simultaneously. The GPH team was great in supporting me to advocate for myself throughout the process.
THE GIG
What were your main responsibilities as an intern?
My job was to clear a backlog of provider credentialing applications while also streamlining the process; it’s a nitty-gritty, behind-the-scenes task that involves a lot of paperwork and submitting the same types of documents repeatedly. I worked to complete applications for Medicaid programs across several states, ensuring those patients specifically can receive lactation support. Ultimately, it enables patients to see providers without high out-of-pocket costs, in turn improving equitable access to care.
Over the course of the internship I made steady progress on a list of delayed applications and eliminated the backlog. I also created and tested a standardized process for submitting these applications in the future. I stayed motivated by thinking of the increase in access to care that would be possible after my efforts.
What's been a surprising or unexpected part of the job?
Many people think that healthcare delivery is quite uniform across the United States, but that could not be further from the truth. Especially in regard to Medicaid, each state has unique differences in their policies that subsequently bleed into their application processes. Completing applications across multiple states was a great way for me to see the variations between them. For my role, it simply meant collecting more kinds of paperwork from providers—but in the real world, this means that the quality and accessibility of care is significantly limited based on someone’s zip code or state. This experience led me to author an Op-Ed advocating for the creation of a federal standard for lactation providers, which would in turn reduce the differences at the state level.
How has your internship allowed you to use current skills and develop new ones?
At GPH we learn a lot about the social determinants of health and how harmful they are to individuals, especially in marginalized groups and communities. With this internship I saw firsthand how and why these disparities exist, and I was able to theorize potential changes to the system that might alleviate some of these inequalities. Working on State Medicaid provider applications allowed me to see how real-world delivery of healthcare can diverge from policy and further exacerbate disparities across the country.
What’s been the biggest learning curve for you?
Processing these tedious applications was frustrating at some points, with all the differences between state portals and requirements. I had to learn how to focus on the problem at hand, while at the same time wanting to tackle the larger, more complicated systemic problems. The SimpliFed team sympathized with my frustrations and acknowledged the challenges. We agreed that while solving those systemic issues is important, it’s critical that we move forward within the current system and help as many people as possible, while also pushing for change on a broader level. It felt better to know my frustrations were shared by the team, and they were supportive throughout.
THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPERIENCE
How did you connect with other interns and employees?
I set up weekly check-ins with all the relevant people; it established a good working relationship with the team, and over time we built personal relationships, too. Since the team is all remote, they're highly skilled at open and clear communication. I sent my questions to them, even if it was after hours, and they responded when they were available. I never felt like I was working in a silo all alone; many people may question if you can build a work culture remotely, but it’s possible, especially when everyone on the team "buys in" to the mission and shared vision of the company.
ADVICE FOR OTHER STUDENTS
What advice do you have for students looking for a similar internship?
While you can find internships through traditional paths like job postings, don’t limit yourself. Find an opportunity you really care about, and put yourself out there even if they don’t have an official opening. SimpliFed didn’t have one, but that didn't stop me from cold-emailing the CEO and asking for some time to pitch my idea for an internship that could also help them. As second-year MPH students who have completed their core courses, we’re great assets and they appreciate the work that can be accomplished. If you’re interested in a company or lab, send them an email advocating for yourself and how you can also help them. Don’t sell yourself short—you'd be surprised how many people want to have a NYU MPH student working for them! People are always impressed with a bold request, ask for what you want, and sometimes you will get it.
HIGHLIGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
What was your favorite part of the internship?
I was incredibly lucky to work with kind and intelligent people, who also care deeply about improving public health. Andrea and Marissa are powerful allies for maternal health in the United States; working with and learning from these two leaders was an invaluable experience, and it’s inspired me to bring my own passion for equitable access to maternal nutrition support and apply it to my work every day.
Can you describe a memorable moment or accomplishment?
I'm proud to have completed the lengthy list of provider application requests I was given at the beginning of my APE. Achieving that goal was so satisfying that it motivated me to complete even more applications beyond the initial batch! Across the 180 hours of my internship, I was able to submit over 60 credentialing applications, each requiring at least several hours of work. It was a tangible way I could increase access to care for new parents, which clearly aligns with my career goal to improve maternal health in the United States.