Good Samaritan Medical Center

In conversation with MedTech Outlook magazine, Leslie sheds light on the emerging trends and challenges prevalent in the medical imaging space.

What are your current key roles and responsibilities as the Director of Radiology and Imaging Services at Good Samaritan?

As the director, I am accountable for keeping tabs on everything that goes on across various departments. Within the main hospital, I oversee everything related to imaging. We additionally have three outpatient centers and an off-campus emergency room, which function under the guidance of supervisors and managers. The managers report directly to me during the weekly roundings and fill me in on the major updates. I additionally take the initiative to personally meet the supervisors, even though they primarily report to the managers, to ensure that everyone is kept in the loop and feels included per se. As for my frontline staff, they are my primary contacts, and I regularly check in with them. Being the director, I like to lead by example. I ensure that all the employees have autonomy and are empowered, and as long as they follow proper protocol and procedure and patient safety, I support them in my full capacity.

From your experience in this industry, what do you think are some of the major challenges that are prevalent in the radiology and medical imaging equipment space?

Currently, the biggest challenge in the field of radiology is high employee turnover. To minimize the turnover rate, it is critical to come up with ways to engage new hires and current employees and re-evaluate the recruitment process. It is always a good idea to put in efforts to get to know the expectations of the employees and make necessary arrangements to fulfill them. Earlier, most people used to stick with their jobs for most of their lives, but that is not the case in today’s world. People are constantly on the lookout for better opportunities. So, it is important to think outside the box, find out the kind of work[1]life balance that all the employees, new and old, are striving to achieve, and support them in every little way possible.

“It is interesting to see how healthcare can stay the same and yet differ so much based on patient demographics”

Are there any market trends or developments that you’ve seen emerging to help tackle the challenges that you mentioned?

We, as a business entity, perform regular market evaluations. When we do the evaluations, we look beyond the state of Florida, where we are based. Comparing and contrasting with other hospitals that are our own size, within the state and beyond, gives us an idea of what the clients’ demands are. Another factor that poses a challenge is increased demand in the market and limited resources. Traditionally, when hospitals or business facilities do their market evaluations, they limit the evaluations to their local periphery. We, as a business entity and as employers, look further and offer lucrative work-life balance to our employees alongside lucrative monetary value.

Is there a project initiative that you’re currently working on?

Well, we’re working on upgrading one of our imaging equipment, specifically an MRI machine. So far, it has been a wonderful learning experience. Before starting this particular project, to be fiscally responsible, we looked at both the pros and cons to conclude whether it was a better option to purchase a brand new MRI machine or opt for an upgrade. We compared the possible outcomes in both cases and evaluated whether they would impact patient care, revenue, et cetera. After thoroughly considering and taking into account all the possibilities, we chose to upgrade the machine and work in collaboration with the team, patients, and their due requirements, which touches upon so many different aspects within healthcare.

What is the one piece of advice that you would like to give your fellow peers, as well as the upcoming professionals in this field?

I would say, on a personal level, follow your heart. Every day, when you wake up, remind yourself of why you chose to be in this profession. On the leadership side, I would say that for new leaders or people who want to get into leadership, stay humble. At the end of the day, I would not be where I am if I had not started my journey as an X-ray tech and hadn’t done those overnight shifts or worked on weekends. I know what it’s like to be on the front line and I try to remember that when I make decisions for my team. So, never forget where you came from, and stay humble.