Nicole Anderson, BA
Program Administrator
Nicole is an Iowa native who received her BA in English from the University of Iowa. Nicole began working at UIHC as a student and found her passion for administrative support in medical academia. After graduation she moved to Colorado and began working for the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center where she helped develop the Laboratory for Genetics and Genomics Fellowship program before moving to CU Innovations where she helped with the creation and implementation of the SPARK Entrepreneurship Program. She was then recruited by Norwich University to open their first satellite office in Denver. After the launch of the office Nicole returned to Iowa in the summer of 2020 and accepted a role as the Program Coordinator for the Health Resources Services Administration grant to help improve maternal health care in the state of Iowa. She is the Program Manager for the Iowa Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative (IPQCC), the Iowa Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) Program, and the Iowa Statewide Mobile Obstetric Simulation Team.
Kristal Graves, DNP, MSN, RN
Dual Improvement Advisor, Iowa AIM, Obstetrical Simulation
Kristal received her ADN from Hawkeye Community College in 2000. She continued her education to obtain her master's degree in nursing education, and in 2020 obtained her Doctor of Nurse Practice from Allen College. She has worked in a critical access hospital for 19 years as a labor and delivery nurse. She also taught clinical, classroom, simulation, and lab for 12 years in the areas of obstetrics and pediatrics at the LPN, ADN, and BSN levels. She has been active in the areas of education and quality improvement within her career. She currently works for the University of Iowa, under the HRSA MHI grant as a Clinical Nurse Improvement Coach for the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) Program and Iowa Mobile Simulation Team. Kristal is passionate about bringing quality improvement initiatives and education to Iowa's obstetrical units.
Kim Lake, MLS (ASCP)CM
Data Support
Kim has been involved in various aspects of healthcare for over 20 years. She is a certified Medical Laboratory Scientist who has had Quality and Management roles in pathology laboratories around Iowa City, most recently managing the Anatomic Pathology Laboratory at the University of Iowa Health Care. Throughout her roles she has maintained a passion for data and a firm belief in the power of its use to drive informed decisions and create lasting change.
Kim is currently working at UI under the HRSA Maternal Health Innovation grant as an Epic Application Developer and Excel wizard. Her multiple certifications in Epic applications make her an excellent resource for both general electronic medical record questions and Epic-specific information. Kim is also DELIGHTED to talk about reporting data and Excel with anyone and everyone.
Julie Lindower, MD, MPH
Neonatal Collaborative Director
Julie is a native Iowan, having received her medical training at University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine after completing a BA in biology at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. She continued at Iowa for her pediatric residency. She completed her fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, followed by a return to Iowa where she has been a clinical neonatologist in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Lindower obtained her MPH at UI College of Public Health in 2005. She has been a faculty member at the Carver College of Medicine in Iowa Healthcare's Stead Family Children's Hospital since 2008. She serves as Quality lead for the NICU and Site Sponsor for the national Children's Hospital's Neonatal Consortium.
Stephanie Radke, MD, MPH, FACOG
Maternal Collaborative Director, AIM Program Director
Stephanie is a native Iowan and received her medical degree from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. She then completed residency training in Obstetric & Gynecology at the University of California Davis Medical Center and spent 3 years in community practice in Sacramento, CA. She returned to the University of Iowa to join the faculty in 2016 and is currently a Clinical Associate Professor. She is active in department quality improvement leadership and is a co-investigator on the HRSA Maternal Health Innovation grant help by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Through this work she has created a Quality Collaborative for maternal health with the goal of improving the quality, safety, and equity of maternity care in the state. She completed her Master's in Public Health in 2022 and is Co-PI on a Center for Disease Control Perinatal Quality Collaborative grant aimed at forming a maternal and neonatal QI collaborative for the state.
Penny Smith, BSN, RNC-NICU
Neonatal Improvement Coach
Penny is a seasoned NICU nurse and Nurse Clinican at University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. She has served for many years as the neonatal nurse specialist for Iowa's Statewide Perinatal Care Program. Penny is currently the president of the Iowa Association of Neonatal Nurses and Co-Chairs the University of Iowa Safe Sleep Task Force. She is a published author of peer-reviewed papers with her institutional partners regarding safe sleep, newborn drug testing, and perinatal care in Iowa. Penny facilitates learning statewide as a lead instructor for the S.T.A.B.L.E. Program, and as a Regional Trainer for the AAP's Neonatal Resuscitation Program. She has recently participated in the IHI Breakthrough Series College in Boston to prepare for her newest role as an Improvement Coach for the neonatal quality improvement initiatives within the IPQCC.
Amanda Staab, MSN, RNC-OB
Maternal Improvement Coach, Iowa AIM, Obstetrical Simulation
Amanda completed her master's degree through the Clinical Nurse Leader program at the University of Iowa in 2010. She worked at UnityPoint Health - St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids for 13 years. She has done a variety of roles in the Birth Care Center, including labor & delivery, postpartum, scrub/assist, anesthesia RN, charge, and OB Educator. During COVID she took on the challenge of the House Supervisor Role. She has served on numerous unit-based, hospital-wide, and system-wide committees, simulation teams, and statewide initiatives. She serves as the AWHONN Chapter Leader for the East Central Iowa group and coordinates vendors for the Iowa AWHONN Conference. She was chosen for AWHONN's Emerging Leaders Program for 2023-2024. She currently works for the University of Iowa, Under the HRSA MHI grant as a Clinical Nurse Improvement Coach for the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) Program.
Kokila Thenuwara, MD, MBBS, MME, MHCDS
Statewide Obstetric Mobile Simulation Director
Kokila is a Clinical Professor in Obstetric Anesthesia at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Thenuwara obtained her medical education in Sri Lanka. She completed her internship in internal medicine, and residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Iowa. She obtained her Master's in Medical Education at the University of Iowa and Master's in Health Care Delivery Science from Dartmouth College.
She is the Director for the New Faculty Development Program, and Chair of the Best Practices Committee at the department of Anesthesia, University of Iowa. She is the chair of the Simulation-Based Education subcommittee, supported by a Health Resources and Services Administration grant. She is a written and applied examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology, specializing in ethics and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.