Radiology/Medical Imaging – Henry Ford Health – South Market MBA candidate – University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Dan Herzberg

Finding radiology technologist (rad tech) roles was a struggle for new graduates for many years. Now, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we face a critical shortage—a complex reality demanding proactive recruitment and retention strategies.

At Henry Ford Health, we recognize the vital role of partnerships in securing future talent. Our connections with local colleges and universities provide a direct pipeline for future technologists. Among these are an in-house sonography program and a partnership between the Wayne State University Radiologic Technology program and our flagship Henry Ford Hospital—an 877-bed tertiary care hospital, education and research complex in the heart of Detroit. During their junior and senior years, students are embedded in the hospital, working alongside our staff across our modalities and gaining early exposure to some of the most complex cases they will face in the profession. For us, this serves as a 2-year audition to show the students why Henry Ford Health is where they should begin their careers. As a result of investing in the education and development of students, we have enjoyed a 1-year post-graduation retention rate of over 90% in recent years. Additionally, we foster relationships with other colleges across southeast Michigan, facilitating clinical rotations and engaging students through site visits led by our dedicated recruitment team.

Retention presents its own challenges. The prevalence of lucrative travel positions coupled with organizational financial woes has made retention  just as difficult as recruitment. Add in increasing burnout, retirements, departures from the healthcare field, and the rise of workplace violence, and the challenges become untenable. It is important to build and maintain a culture of belonging now more than ever. To do this, there must be a continuous focus on staff well-being and process improvement.

"It is important to build and maintain a culture of belonging now more than ever. To do this, there must be a continuous focus on staff well-being and process improvement."

In her book “Unconventional Leadership: What Henry Ford and Detroit Taught Me About Reinvention and Diversity” former CEO Nancy Schlichting urges readers to “find the disruptors in your organization – and listen to them.” We embrace this mentality at Henry Ford by consistently meeting staff where they work, observing, and asking questions. If a staff member comes to us with concerns or ideas, we prioritize giving them our undivided attention above all else. We then act on the information and requests with urgency. An example of this was with a large team that was struggling with decreased morale, rapidly increasing burnout and a higher-than-normal rate of call-ins and resignations. By meeting with the team over multiple sessions, it was determined that a driving factor was a desire for better work-life balance by adjusting to more 10-hour and 12-hour shift opportunities. This is not always easy to achieve at a level 1 trauma center, especially when already experiencing staffing gaps. Despite the challenge, our leadership team spent almost 2-months meeting individually with each staff member and mapping out everyone’s wishes. The team was able to piece together this complex puzzle, and the results over the last few months have clearly shown the efforts were worthwhile, as we have seen decreasing burnout, call-ins, and resignations and an increase in staff morale. All of this has resulted in better access to care for our patients.

We are poised to continue facing unprecedented staffing challenges in radiology for months, if not years, to come. In times like these, it can be easy to lose sight of what is truly important—the people. By prioritizing consistent staff rounding, observing and correcting workplace challenges, and collaborating with local colleges and universities, we lay the groundwork for successfully navigating these turbulent times.

BIO

Dan Herzberg serves as Manager of Radiology/Medical Imaging for the South Market of Henry Ford Health. In this role he oversees over 250 employees and strategic operations of advanced medical imaging services at the organization’s flagship 877-bed Level 1 Trauma Center, Henry Ford Hospital, and 14 ambulatory sites.

A dynamic healthcare leader, Dan has 8-years of military medical experience. He graduated top of his class in the joint services radiography program and has been exposed to a wide range of clinical settings to include ship-board combat medicine, public health, operations, and strategic planning.

 He has been awarded 2 Navy and Marine Corp Commendations and was selected for the highly competitive Administrative Fellowship at Henry Ford Health in 2021. 

He holds a BS in Exercise Science from Western Michigan University and a master’s in Healthcare Administration from the University of Scranton. He is PMP and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified, and is a registered radiographer and mammographic technologist through the American Registry of Radiographic Technologists.  He is currently pursuing an MBA from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.