Partners in Learning: Fresh Perspective From a Day at MetroHealth

I recently graduated from the AHRA Leaders of Choice program and started looking for what is next on the leadership growth horizon. I stumbled upon AHRA Partners in Learning and applied to the program.

This program is a gateway to further building your network and personal board of directors, fellow co-horts you can call upon for mentorship, leadership, or just someone whom you can bounce around ideas.

As part of the AHRA Partners in Learning program, I was invited to visit the Cleveland-based MetroHealth Glick Center where I met with Diana Weber, vice president of radiology, and her team of extraordinary leaders. I spent the day in a welcoming environment where we shared best practices, ideas, and thoughts for the future in imaging.

From the minute you walk in, you feel the community vibe of MetroHealth — people buzzing about, welcoming you, directing you to where you need to go. The system’s mission is devoted to hope, health, and humanity. It employs approximately 9,000 people and serves the community with four hospitals, four emergency departments, and more than 20 health centers and 40 additional sites throughout Cuyahoga County.

We started the morning with roundtable discussions featuring Diane and her team of leaders: Joe Karban, radiology manager; Morgan Kluge, nuclear medicine supervisor; Amanda Miller, diagnostic radiology and ultrasound manager; and Eileen Leyden, radiology scheduling supervisor.

The team shared employee engagement activities that are working well for their departments. They work on programs like department scavenger hunts, allowing staff to get to know one another; host lunch; and offer learning activities for different modalities, promoting continuing education. They also have a robust mentoring program led by Joe Karban, where the mentee manages a departmental project for process improvement. Thanks to these well-planned programs, employee engagement is at an all-time high.

I toured the department, starting with the Nuclear Medicine area. There I learned about the department’s recent expansion, including a new PET scanner coming soon to their new outpatient facility. They are performing state-of-the-art exams and expanding to Theragnostics to treat certain cancers.

We also toured the MRI area, which had holding bays on both sides for inpatients and sedations, and a nice waiting/changing area for outpatients. Every area was neat, clean, and organized. There were smiling faces everywhere — you’d almost forget you’re inside a healthcare facility.

During my visit I spent time with Eileen Leyden in central scheduling where we discussed the nationwide hot topic of patient access. We learned we have similar goals and metrics, as well as challenges.

Diane and I then traveled to MetroHealth Parma to get a close look and day in the life of the mobile mammography truck (picutred left). The MetroHealth mobile mammography truck goes out to local businesses, health fairs, and surrounding areas to bring the mammography experience to the patient versus the patient having to travel into a clinic or hospital. The mobile has a state-of-the-art 3D Hologic Mammography unit, where they serve about 40 patients per trip.

The AHRA Partners in Learning program is a great way for any leader to become a partner with another organization and share ideas of our day-to-day practice. The experience certainly reassures us that we share many of the same challenges and goals — and everything we do, no matter what state or facility we’re in, centers around our patients.