September 10, 2024 • 41 mins
Ever wondered how a career in electronic engineering could transition into a fulfilling journey within healthcare technology management? Justin Smith, a veteran with over two decades of experience, takes us through his incredible path, from working in medical rentals to opening a standalone pediatric hospital in Orlando, Florida. He shares how mentorship has shaped his career and offers insights into the rewarding aspects of pediatric healthcare, emphasizing the essential role HTM professionals play in healthcare settings.
We are immensely grateful to our partners— College of Biomedical Equipment Technology, A.M. BICKFORD, INC., UptimeServices, PM BIOMEDICAL and Talent Exclusive—for their support in making this podcast possible. Their dedication to advancing the Healthcare Technology Management industry is truly commendable. For more information about their contributions and services, please visit their websites.
For more podcast episodes, motivational videos, blogs, and newsletters, make sure to visit our website at htmontheline.com. We look forward to connecting with you.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to another exciting episode of HTM on the
Line.
I'm your host, bryant HawkinsSr, and today we've got
something truly special for you.
Get ready for an inspiringconversation with my friend,
justin Smith, a trailblazer inthe healthcare technology
management industry With over 20years of experience.
(00:24):
Justin's journey is packed withdedication, leadership and
mentorship that will leave youfired up.
If you're searching formotivation and how to lead,
mentor and make a lasting impactin your community through HTM,
then buckle up.
This episode is made for you.
Welcome to HTM On the Line.
(00:58):
I have a special guest with metoday.
I'm joined by Justin Smith.
Justin, how are you doing today, man?
I'm doing well, Brian.
How are you?
I'm doing just great, man.
I'm glad you took a little timeout to be the schedule to join
me.
First thing, just tell thelisteners a little about
(01:22):
yourself, Justin.
Tell us about your journey inthe HTM industry.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Oh man, that could take a little bit right.
The short version Can I giveyou.
The short version.
Short version is I fell intothe industry and now I'm here.
No, but seriously, you know, forme my journey through the
industry was not like, unlikeother peoples.
But I will say this, this Ididn't know that our industry
(01:47):
existed, and I think that's apretty common theme throughout
our profession.
A lot of people, especiallyfrom you, know.
20 plus years ago I had thatsame kind of beginning.
So in my case I started in 99,2000.
I went to school for electronicengineering technology and I
(02:07):
just thought I was going to be aguy working on computers or
video games or installingnetwork systems, something to
that effect.
But life had a, you know, adifferent path for me, and with
that I ended up in the medicalindustry, working on the medical
rental side for many years.
I did that and with that Iended up in the medical industry
, working on the medical rentalside for many years.
(02:27):
I did that and that's how I gotmy first introduction to
clinical engineering orhealthcare technology management
, which was then more known asbiomedical engineering.
You know, from there I was ableto excel with the company that
I was with in medical rental.
That company no longer existsanymore, going through some
(02:49):
hands changing.
I did that for about three tofour years and then I found
myself working inside the actualhospital system up in
Jacksonville, florida, actuallyStayed with that organization
for several years, got a lot ofyou know training my expertise
was in ventilator, pulmonaryventilation, to be exact,
(03:13):
balloon pumps, patientmonitoring but I kind of did it
all, even learned how to dodental x-ray installations back
in those days all over the stateand even outside of the state
as well.
Then I got the opportunity toleave that organization and join
another organization in 2008.
And with that organization Igot an opportunity to start a
(03:38):
hospital from ground up,basically meaning it was owned
by one organization, a health.
I went to work for, purchase itand I got to go in and help
stand up that uh, that programfor HTM.
From there I was there.
I've got a lot of leadershipopportunities for both the
(03:59):
organizations.
I got in the leadershipprograms that they had
exclusively for individuals thatwere looking for that
opportunity to go up the ladder,and I was always pretty
ambitious and looking fordifferent projects and such and
I got into each of thoseprograms at the different
hospital organizations.
(04:32):
From there, I actually got thegreat opportunity to relocate
from Jacksonville, florida, toOrlando, florida, to open up a
brand new pediatric standalonehospital, and that experience to
date is one of the greatestexperiences that I ever had.
I mean, I got to get in therewith health care executives and
(04:53):
other leaders within the healthsystem and create a culture and
environment that to this day isstill standing, and I got to
create a team for the first timeon my own as being the leader
there, and I remained with thatteam for 14 years.
With that team for 14 years.
Fun fact, we were even featuredin the Tech Nation magazine
many years ago because of whatwe were doing, and so that was
exciting.
From there, I did a host ofdifferent things within the
(05:16):
organization that I work with.
I even did some things outsideof the organization as well to
help me gain further insightsinto our profession and what
we're doing.
I started doing more volunteerwork as well.
Outside of that, because of myconnection to what we do, I
(05:38):
became a member of a nonprofit,the Long Association of Central
Florida, the local chapter andthat's been very rewarding, and
you know I like to think aboutmy ascension, if you want to
call it, throughout my career,and how, at every step.
(05:59):
It was really a step that Icouldn't have foreseen for
myself, but I had mentors alongthe way that saw something in me
that I didn't have foreseen formyself.
But I had mentors along the waythat saw something in me that I
didn't even see in myself andgave me opportunities that I
come later to realize I earnedthose opportunities because of
the type of work, ethic andthings that I've done.
And you know, being inleadership is not easy, but you
(06:20):
know what?
Being a technician is not easy.
I always felt we were theunsung heroes when it came to
the organizations that we served.
We provided such a greatservice that sometimes goes
unnoticed, but I would say withthe work that you've been doing,
brian, and others in ourprofession, that has started to
(06:43):
shift pretty significantly.
It's still a long way to go,but it's definitely leaps and
bounds from what it was when Istarted over two decades ago.
So that's kind of a quicksynopsis of my journey.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Man, that's a nice journey you had there.
Brother, I picked up on yousaying you worked at a pediatric
hospital.
I'm currently working at oneand I can tell you that it's
like almost a blessing just togo to work every day and see the
good you do towards thosechildren, Helping them to get
(07:18):
the medical health care theyneed by keeping the equipment
functioning.
Let me just ask you this sinceyou worked at a pediatric, do
you have a story you can sharewith us, One great story working
at a pediatric hospital youcould share with us?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Oh man, you know, I think my journey was even a
little bit before that, workingfor that hospital and I'll tell
you a little bit of myconnection and purpose, and it
really should tie in into when Iwas working for the pediatric
hospital too.
So, like I said earlier in theconversation, I worked in
(07:53):
medical rental.
So for many years I learned howto work on ventilators.
I delivered ventilators tohospitals all over Florida and
even in some in Georgia, and inthat role I basically just
dropped equipment off therespiratory and went on to the
next hospital.
Well, when I got theopportunity to work in the
(08:15):
hospital in Jacksonville, Iactually myself had a
six-month-old daughter at thattime one of my four kids that I
have and I remember walkingthrough that NICU and seeing the
ventilators that I had workedon.
That had my my credentials onthe sticker that said that
(08:40):
Justin said that this device wasready to be used to support
sustaining life.
That hit me in a different kindof way that I didn't expect at
that time and I would say, youknow, bringing something to a
community that didn't exist inthat immediate area it does
(09:05):
exist from a pediatricstandpoint in the city, but in
this standalone way and openingthe doors for the first time,
bringing in the first patientand knowing that the team had
done everything that they couldto make sure that equipment was
ready to go, was always justsuch a great achievement for the
(09:27):
overall team and for theorganization.
I would say, as far as that onestory that hits the hardest, I
still think it's just acombination of things, and what
I mean by that all of them atany given time felt just special
(09:48):
always made me feel as thoughwhat we were doing meant so much
and it meant so much more tothe people that were receiving
the care, you know, the parents,the grandparents, the other
guardians and, of course, thechild.
Right, and knowing that thehealthcare organization that I
(10:12):
worked for was actuallyproviding a high level of care
on a consistent basis and theteam that supports those medical
devices were doing the thingsthat needed and were supposed to
be done and our equipment washelping them save or enhance
lives.
It meant was helping them saveor enhance lives.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Wow, let's just switch gears a little bit here.
Now.
You mentioned you started inthis industry back in 2000, 2002
, something like that.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Yeah, it was late, 99 , 2000.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
We're looking at almost 25 years.
Over 25 years, actually.
That's a long time.
Congratulations.
Now, how, in your opinion, doyou think the HTM industry has
evolved over the years, and whatsignificant changes have you
witnessed?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
And what significant changes have you witnessed?
Well, I think that, thinkingabout when I first got in one I
don't believe as the industry wewere, we saw ourselves as the
professionals that we are and Idon't know if that was just the
(11:38):
culture of which some of usworked in or it was just a
mindset, but I've seen thatdefinitely shift over the past
two and a half decades.
Now in our industry is the factthat we're getting to sit at
the table to talk to the leadersacross health systems to help
(11:59):
them see how we can support themin their efforts to provide
care, and then the technologythat we started to really put in
place and the partnershipsthat's been made to enhance
training opportunities for ourtechnicians and the training
opportunities that organizationsare also providing their
(12:21):
leadership.
I think in the past, leaderswere not necessarily given the
additional training that theyneeded and that affected the
culture of which we were in atthose times, because they just
didn't know they come up throughdifferent ways, through
different non-corporate entities, maybe some small business,
(12:46):
maybe other informal ways, andwith that it was just a lot of
things that some of us, we justdidn't know.
Myself included in that, and Ilike to say now, with platforms
like yours, that's bringing adifferent kind of awareness as
well and kind of, you know, likea little bit more of a rock
(13:06):
star type of vibe to it.
We were able to reach adifferent age group as well and
getting them involved in what wedo I mean the work that you're
doing within your localcommunity, brian, is has been
inspiring to me as well, orinspiring, I should say.
You know, I wish we would havehad something like that when I
(13:30):
was in high school.
Even in college, trying tofigure out what I really was
going to do, there was nobodyhighlighting that this
profession existed.
And there's more work, so muchmore work being done in that,
with all of the different showsthat's out there locally,
statewide and even nationally,and I think those are some of
(13:52):
the biggest accomplishments inour profession.
And I could probably keep going, but I just had to kind of
highlight a few things.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I appreciate that kind words, the kind words also,
but one of the reasons why Icreated this podcast so people
like you can come on here andshare your stories, Because
there's a lot of stories outthere we often go on with.
But I think personally, whenindividuals can hear the
challenges that HGNprofessionals go through, it
(14:22):
kind of humanizes our industry alittle more and gets more
appreciation for it.
Now you mentioned you touchedon leadership how you see that
people are being trained more,how to become better leaders.
What leadership qualities doyou believe are essential for
success in the HTM industry?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
You know, I think that when a leader has the
ability to help their people inways that's unexpected and what
I mean by that is one we allneed to have higher levels of
emotional intelligence in ourworkspace.
But going to our technicians oreven our own bosses or
(15:06):
colleagues and having theconversations about things that
we're experiencing meaning thechallenges, the great
accomplishments and all thatmakes up the environment that
we're in I think one of thethings that resonated with me as
(15:27):
a technician and I tried totake with me when I got into
leadership was when I had aleader that identified that I
was doing something well and didit before it was time for
annual review.
You know, had purposefulconversations with me about the
(15:48):
work that I was doing well orsomething that I could improve
upon, that I was doing well orsomething that I could improve
upon in right, understandingthat the people that they're
leading are still human beingsand we all are going to have
times where we're not performingat the highest.
But if we don't give thatcrucial feedback as positively
(16:10):
as possible, as positively aspossible, then we are not doing
justice to our team.
And, I think, alsounderstanding, as a leader,
where you need improvement,self-awareness right.
We're not always the smartestperson in the room for whatever
(16:31):
technology we're responsible for, but understanding who you can
get with to help you gain theinsights that you need meaning
your technician, or calling avendor partner, whomever, that
is understanding your resourcesand a lot of times those
resources are right at yourfingertips.
And it's a call, it's an email,it's a text, it's just a
conversation.
(16:51):
And if I had to add anythingelse and notes, probably going
to seem very minimalized, but Ilearned this from a former
colleague a long time ago beingpersonable and remembering
people, even if you don'tremember the name.
If you can remember somethingabout them, it humanizes
(17:14):
yourself, but it also lets themknow that you were paying
attention to whateverconversations you may have had
in the past.
And those things help you buildrelationships.
Building relationshipsthroughout, not just your team,
but outside of your peer group,on executive levels, in your
community.
Building those relationshipswill help you gain far more
(17:36):
success than a lot of otherthings that you may think.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
That's so true.
That's so true.
Now, I love the qualities youmentioned about being a leader
and, along with that, that mostleaders should always, in my
opinion, look at themselves asmentors, and no doubt, just from
talking with you, I'm sure youprobably have a mentor, or
(18:04):
plenty mentors, in your career.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
And, if so, can you share a story about a mentor who
probably influenced you in yourprofessional growth?
Yeah, you know I had a mentor.
It was.
It was.
It's interesting because thiswas a gentleman that actually
(18:37):
saw something in me, and I wouldsay midway through my career to
date, and I was a technicianand I just did what was needed
to be done to make sure that wewere prepared for, you know,
regulatory visits and things tothat nature.
But I guess somewhere along theline I must have pressed upon
him that I wanted to be more, domore, and as the years passed
(19:04):
on he tapped me to do morethings, different projects and
such.
Well, he ended up leaving theorganization and went to another
organization.
So I lost contact with him,knew he was out there but didn't
know exactly where he was at.
Well, that pediatric onlyhospital that I was talking to
you about, he ended up being aleader there and in the midst of
(19:25):
going through the process oflooking for leadership for
clinical engineering, I got theopportunity to put in for that
role and I ultimately got thatrole and so I got to stay under
his leadership for a pretty longtime pretty much 10, 12 years
(19:47):
span in total.
Well, during my time there, itwas instances where, like
everybody, we have somethingthat comes up and you know, all
hands on deck and we need toformulate a plan around whatever
is going on and do it.
Well, this one particular time,my mentor came to me because we
(20:08):
had different conversationsabout me wanting to grow and
potentially look at going intohigher levels of leadership.
Well, we needed to open a unit,right, who?
Who's in our profession haven'thad to do that?
Right, you, you gotta, yougotta shift.
You got an influx of patientscoming in because the census is
high and you, you gotta open upthis area that you don't use
that often.
(20:28):
And, of course, uh and and andhealth care fashion the
equipment that was theirs foundits way off somewhere else.
You know it grows feet at times.
And so he asked me would I go inand help lead the efforts to
get that unit up?
And at the time, brian, I was abit set back because in my mind
(20:54):
I thought that was a clinicianthing to do, because it wasn't
just about the medical equipment.
And I even asked him hey, yousure you want me to take the
lead on doing this?
And he said I called you didn't.
I and I said yes, you did.
And I said yes, you did.
(21:28):
And so we went from there.
I was able to formulate a teamthat was not just health care
technology team but alsoclinical leaders, environmental
service, able to come together,identify what we need and we got
that area up and ready forpatients in the time that was
needed so we didn't have tocontinue to hold and like the EB
and other places like that.
And you know that mentor choseme to do that in that moment
(21:50):
because he needed someone thatcould execute the plan in a way
that he thought it needed to bedone and somebody that would
tell him hey, this is thebarriers that we have and this
is the proposed solution thatwe've come up with as a
collective team, so that hecould help remove those barriers
.
And I don't think that wouldhave happened if it had not been
(22:12):
for a mentor like him, who hadseen me grow from a technician
and get into leadership and justgive me that kind of
opportunity.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
That's awesome, honestly, to have a mentor like
that and you guys still friendsto this day.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Unfortunately he passed last year.
Great guy, great, great guy.
He was a mentor to so manypeople.
Quite honestly, and I thinkabout him consistently,
especially if I'm going throughhere and I could call him up and
ask him.
And you know, he just gave meso many tools over the years
(22:59):
that I felt like I've beenprepared to sit in a room with
anyone and quite honestly I have.
I've sat in a room with a lotof people that some might think
I don't belong there, but I have.
I've been there and had greatoutcomes and continue to have
good relationships and even newrelationships like ours.
(23:20):
Brian, you know we're we'rewe're fairly new friends and but
it's been great in the shortamount of time that we've been
able to, you know, just justdialogue.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Hey man, I've never met a stranger, so we're friends
from hell.
But that's inspiring.
My condolences, too, on yourmentor passing, but obviously
that's the beauty of mentoringbecause it lives on and it lives
on through the people that youmentor and inspire and it's
truly a blessing to see how he'sinspired you and no doubt that
(23:55):
inspiration and mentorship thathe put up on you you probably
passed on to many people.
And just thinking, youmentioned how you assisted open
up a hospital and you worked invarious roles in various
organizations.
You was a leader of a HTM team.
Couple all that in and with allthe changes you've seen since
(24:17):
1999 in the HTM industry.
What advice would you give tosomeone just starting out in the
HTM industry?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
I would say probably a couple of things.
One, you know always do yourdue diligence about this
profession and what it is thatwe do.
Find someone that you can tieyourself to as a mentee meaning
find yourself a mentor in thisspace, if at all possible.
(24:52):
You know, stay up on any typeof articles and the different
advances in technology outsideof health care, because it's the
same Like the technology thatyou use at home is being used in
health care in a lot of waystoo as well.
And the other thing I would sayis have a level of patience as
(25:16):
you go through and navigate thisprofession and be okay with
being uncomfortable.
And when I say be okay withbeing uncomfortable, meaning
that we are in a health careenvironment.
We do have to go into roomswhere people are in situations
(25:38):
that we may not have encounteredbefore.
We are expected to conductourselves as though it's us that
needs that help and care.
One day it really probably willbe that, um, us that's in that
that patient bed or on that orour table.
Be curious and come from aplace of curiosity when you're
(26:01):
asking questions and you'reseeking knowledge and find that
thing that you think that youwould love to do for a long time
, because that's the thing thatwill keep pressing you forward
in your technology space and askfor what you want.
(26:22):
If you want to learn how towork on a piece of equipment,
ask, and if you can't get thetraining at a school, then
that's where relationshipsevolve from with your peer group
.
If possible, ojt is still agreat thing to get.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Awesome.
Now I've seen this report aboutyou, sir, where you received
some recognition for what you dooutside of work.
Tell us about that recognitionyou received and why did you
receive that recognition?
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Well, you know, I like to think it's because of
the way I participated in otherthings within the organization
as well and I'm not afraid tospeak on what I believe and I
(27:23):
don't have a problem withsharing and being transparent
parent.
And in that particular instance, I had the opportunity to take
time off that was provided by myorganization and I was able to
use it in a way that was justreally powerful and a little bit
(27:46):
emotional for me and kind ofwent like this have a day, I can
use it out the year to dodifferent things, and the intent
of that day is to findsomething that you want to
experience, you want to learn,or something in the community,
whatever it is that you want todo with that day.
(28:07):
And for me, in that instance, Iwas trying to figure out what
was that, what did I want to do?
Well, I went to church oneSunday and you know they're
doing their announcements, I'msure we're familiar with that
and so happened a food drive wasgoing to be done on my actual
(28:30):
birthday, which was also alsohappened to be a weekday, and I
leaned over to my wife and said,hey, that's what I want to do
for my birthday and that's whatI want to use that day for and,
out of everything almost a yearhad gone for me trying to figure
out what I was going to do withthat that was the only thing
(28:50):
that felt right and so I didthat.
It was the best day ever.
The sun was out, the wind wasblowing.
It was just a perfect day togive back to the community and
doing that event.
I got to take part in helpingover 700 families receive food
(29:14):
that otherwise they may not havehad and just being able to
connect with people and themsaying you know, saying thank
you for this, some of them intears.
You've been having me getting alittle bit emotional because I
was getting.
I was able to be impactful in adifferent way and in that there
(29:37):
was a highlight in there ofgetting some recognition for for
giving back to the communityand just sharing that story and
how it really did touch me andit continues to fuel energy
today for other things that I dooutside of that.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Right, that was a beautiful impact that you
provided for the community.
Now getting back to the job,the career.
What do you think our HTMindustry's impact is on patient
care?
Speaker 2 (30:13):
in your opinion?
Oh man, I think it's.
I think our impact on patientcare is right up there with, and
maybe arguably so is right upthere with, the people who are
given direct care, and what Imean by that is it's a lot of
things that we do that help themto help the patient.
(30:34):
It's things that we service.
We get to provide thereliability on that as far as
it's supportable for an extendedamount of time.
We also are helping identifypotential cyber risk in the HTM
(31:15):
as well now, and we also are ina position to help organizations
minimize waste so that they canutilize funds in order to
provide higher levels of care topatients, provide higher levels
of care to patients, and Icould keep going.
But I just feel like our impactmay not be felt by those
(31:40):
directly on the outside, butwithout us, we as an industry
not saying just HTM, but as ahealthcare industry would not be
in a great place.
That's my personal opinion.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Collaboration.
I'm real high on collaboratingwith people within our different
departments in the hospital.
Now, how important do you thinkcollaboration is for HTM
professionals?
Speaker 2 (32:14):
You got to be able to collaborate.
You got to be able tocollaborate with those hospital
leaders and departments.
And when I say leaders, I don'tmean just the director or
manager of a departmentSometimes it's just the new tech
in radiology right, there'sstill a leader in what they're
(32:38):
doing, because at that point intime in which they're providing
patient care right, they'releading that patient in and
they're being trusted to be ableto provide a diagnostic test,
right.
So if you can have a partnershipwith every level of a
department in some shape or form, right when you need access to
get a piece of equipment or youtrying to find a piece of
(33:01):
equipment that you haven't beenable to find, those
relationships help you besuccessful and help them be
successful so they can have theequipment they need when they
need it.
The other thing that I believecomes out of those relationships
is and just to be transparenteverything is not going to go
(33:22):
100 percent correct and in thosetimes those relationships can
be the determinant factor andthose times those relationships
can be the determining factor.
If you have longevity and againthis is my opinion it helps you
(34:06):
have longevity within yourdepartment because people see
you as somebody who is acollaborative person or you have
a collaborative team versussomeone that's adversarial.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Yes, that's exactly true.
Collaboration works so manyways.
I mean, if you head on with thedirectors and departments, we
have to collaborate with them,because that's the only way
we're going to get a seat at thetable, because we're already
stuffed way in the back of thehospital so we have to come out
the back cave or the basement,you know, back in the back by
(34:46):
the morgue.
So if we don't come out thoseoffices and collaborate with
these individuals and a lot ofthat comes from doing daily
rounds that can be the beginningof it.
But let me ask you this onemore question here what drives
you to stay passionate about theHTM industry every day?
What's your motivation?
Speaker 2 (35:09):
You know, I think for me the thing that drives my
motivation, it extends back tothe beginning and I remember my
mom asking me what type ofcompany or what type of
organization and what kind ofwhat.
(35:31):
What did I want to do?
And I told her that I wanted towork for a big, small industry.
And she said what does thateven mean, son?
And so I said to her I said Iwant to work for a organization
and industry that is doing a lotfor people, want to work for a
(35:53):
organization and industry thatis doing a lot for people and it
may not be fully known to theextent of what they are doing,
but they're doing some bigthings.
They might not be the householdname, they might not be the one
you you first even think about,but they're, they're having
impact on, on life in thecommunity.
And so every now and then I getback and thinking about, hey,
(36:14):
why did I get in this industry?
And then I can look back overthe timeline of life and think
about the different instances ofways that, because of my
support of healthcare system andthe team support that I was a
part of, we were able to do thething that I said all those
years ago.
And it also helps that my wifeis also in healthcare as well
(36:38):
too, and so, while I don't workin the same environment that I
did work in all the time throughher, I still see the impact of
what it is that we do in ourindustry to support their
efforts, and I have otherfriends that are that.
And then I do go to hospitalsstill and do things to support
(37:01):
them.
And I would say something thatjust happened recently, just
happened recently, and Iwouldn't even call it an aha
moment, but I would say wow, itwas a increased connection to
purpose.
I was visiting a client and Iwas just parked in the parking
garage, walking into thebuilding and a husband and wife
(37:26):
were were coming out and thewife had made it to the vehicle
and the husband was in awheelchair.
The husband said excuse me, sir, could you please help me?
And I said yes, sir, what can Ido for you?
He said I can make it to my car, but I know I don't have the
gas left in my tank to put thewheelchair in the back.
(37:48):
Could you please assist me withthat?
I said, yes, sir, whatever itis that you need, I got you.
And so he made it.
He was able to get out thewheelchair, got it, fold them up
and he was just so appreciativeand so thankful for the fact
that I took a moment to assisthim and his wife and she was.
She was so happy that as well,life and she was.
She was so happy that as well,because she looked like she was
(38:10):
tired, and in that moment for meit was like, wow, I got for a
brief moment in time to take asmall tiny burden off of
somebody, to give them a littlemoment of peace and a lack of
worry.
So when those type of thingslike that happen, it just keeps
(38:36):
me engaged and wanting to be apart of this thing we do in
healthcare, this wonderfulprofession that found me in a
lot of ways and that I've chosento continue to be in and will
continue to be in for years tocome.
And so I would say you know,those moments are what keeps me
(38:57):
energized.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
Yes, that's it, man.
That sense of purpose isamazing.
You can't put a price tag onthat and that's what really
drives most HTM professionals,because what we do, I mean it's
life-saving work and we pay acontributing part to the
day-to-day ongoings in thehospital, in the healthcare
(39:20):
ecosystem as a whole, for thatmatter.
So you hit it on the head whenyou have that purpose, that
makes everything.
It stops becoming work and itbecomes a purpose, like I like
to tell people sometimes.
It becomes your calling for youto do the things you're doing.
And I thoroughly enjoyedtalking with you, justin, man.
You have to come back again,man, I really enjoyed it.
(39:41):
I mean, you have a veryinspiring story and I'm more
than sure it's going to benefitsomeone, because it definitely
benefited me today, and I thankyou for your time and you're
welcome back anytime you want,brother, sure it's going to
benefit someone because itdefinitely benefited me today.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Thank you for your time and you're welcome back
anytime you want, brother.
Hey man, Thank you so much,Brian, for the invite.
I welcome the opportunity tocome back and talk about
whatever topics that we need to.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
That's a wrap for today's episode of HTM on the
Line.
Justin Smith's journey inhealthcare technology management
has been nothing short ofremarkable.
His leadership, mentorship anddedication to both his
profession and his communitytruly exemplify what it means to
make a lasting impact.
(40:27):
Justin's story is a powerfulreminder of how we can all
contribute to the betteroutcomes in healthcare.
Thank you for joining us and,as always, stay motivated, keep
learning and let's continueelevating the HTM industry
together.
You.
Welcome to another exciting episode of HTM on the
Line.
I'm your host, bryant HawkinsSr, and today we've got
something truly special for you.
Get ready for an inspiringconversation with my friend,
justin Smith, a trailblazer inthe healthcare technology
management industry With over 20years of experience.
(00:24):
Justin's journey is packed withdedication, leadership and
mentorship that will leave youfired up.
If you're searching formotivation and how to lead,
mentor and make a lasting impactin your community through HTM,
then buckle up.
This episode is made for you.
Welcome to HTM On the Line.
(00:58):
I have a special guest with metoday.
I'm joined by Justin Smith.
Justin, how are you doing today, man?
I'm doing well, Brian.
How are you?
I'm doing just great, man.
I'm glad you took a little timeout to be the schedule to join
me.
First thing, just tell thelisteners a little about
(01:22):
yourself, Justin.
Tell us about your journey inthe HTM industry.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Oh man, that could take a little bit right.
The short version Can I giveyou.
The short version.
Short version is I fell intothe industry and now I'm here.
No, but seriously, you know, forme my journey through the
industry was not like, unlikeother peoples.
But I will say this, this Ididn't know that our industry
(01:47):
existed, and I think that's apretty common theme throughout
our profession.
A lot of people, especiallyfrom you, know.
20 plus years ago I had thatsame kind of beginning.
So in my case I started in 99,2000.
I went to school for electronicengineering technology and I
(02:07):
just thought I was going to be aguy working on computers or
video games or installingnetwork systems, something to
that effect.
But life had a, you know, adifferent path for me, and with
that I ended up in the medicalindustry, working on the medical
rental side for many years.
I did that and with that Iended up in the medical industry
, working on the medical rentalside for many years.
(02:27):
I did that and that's how I gotmy first introduction to
clinical engineering orhealthcare technology management
, which was then more known asbiomedical engineering.
You know, from there I was ableto excel with the company that
I was with in medical rental.
That company no longer existsanymore, going through some
(02:49):
hands changing.
I did that for about three tofour years and then I found
myself working inside the actualhospital system up in
Jacksonville, florida, actuallyStayed with that organization
for several years, got a lot ofyou know training my expertise
was in ventilator, pulmonaryventilation, to be exact,
(03:13):
balloon pumps, patientmonitoring but I kind of did it
all, even learned how to dodental x-ray installations back
in those days all over the stateand even outside of the state
as well.
Then I got the opportunity toleave that organization and join
another organization in 2008.
And with that organization Igot an opportunity to start a
(03:38):
hospital from ground up,basically meaning it was owned
by one organization, a health.
I went to work for, purchase itand I got to go in and help
stand up that uh, that programfor HTM.
From there I was there.
I've got a lot of leadershipopportunities for both the
(03:59):
organizations.
I got in the leadershipprograms that they had
exclusively for individuals thatwere looking for that
opportunity to go up the ladder,and I was always pretty
ambitious and looking fordifferent projects and such and
I got into each of thoseprograms at the different
hospital organizations.
(04:32):
From there, I actually got thegreat opportunity to relocate
from Jacksonville, florida, toOrlando, florida, to open up a
brand new pediatric standalonehospital, and that experience to
date is one of the greatestexperiences that I ever had.
I mean, I got to get in therewith health care executives and
(04:53):
other leaders within the healthsystem and create a culture and
environment that to this day isstill standing, and I got to
create a team for the first timeon my own as being the leader
there, and I remained with thatteam for 14 years.
With that team for 14 years.
Fun fact, we were even featuredin the Tech Nation magazine
many years ago because of whatwe were doing, and so that was
exciting.
From there, I did a host ofdifferent things within the
(05:16):
organization that I work with.
I even did some things outsideof the organization as well to
help me gain further insightsinto our profession and what
we're doing.
I started doing more volunteerwork as well.
Outside of that, because of myconnection to what we do, I
(05:38):
became a member of a nonprofit,the Long Association of Central
Florida, the local chapter andthat's been very rewarding, and
you know I like to think aboutmy ascension, if you want to
call it, throughout my career,and how, at every step.
(05:59):
It was really a step that Icouldn't have foreseen for
myself, but I had mentors alongthe way that saw something in me
that I didn't have foreseen formyself.
But I had mentors along the waythat saw something in me that I
didn't even see in myself andgave me opportunities that I
come later to realize I earnedthose opportunities because of
the type of work, ethic andthings that I've done.
And you know, being inleadership is not easy, but you
(06:20):
know what?
Being a technician is not easy.
I always felt we were theunsung heroes when it came to
the organizations that we served.
We provided such a greatservice that sometimes goes
unnoticed, but I would say withthe work that you've been doing,
brian, and others in ourprofession, that has started to
(06:43):
shift pretty significantly.
It's still a long way to go,but it's definitely leaps and
bounds from what it was when Istarted over two decades ago.
So that's kind of a quicksynopsis of my journey.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Man, that's a nice journey you had there.
Brother, I picked up on yousaying you worked at a pediatric
hospital.
I'm currently working at oneand I can tell you that it's
like almost a blessing just togo to work every day and see the
good you do towards thosechildren, Helping them to get
(07:18):
the medical health care theyneed by keeping the equipment
functioning.
Let me just ask you this sinceyou worked at a pediatric, do
you have a story you can sharewith us, One great story working
at a pediatric hospital youcould share with us?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Oh man, you know, I think my journey was even a
little bit before that, workingfor that hospital and I'll tell
you a little bit of myconnection and purpose, and it
really should tie in into when Iwas working for the pediatric
hospital too.
So, like I said earlier in theconversation, I worked in
(07:53):
medical rental.
So for many years I learned howto work on ventilators.
I delivered ventilators tohospitals all over Florida and
even in some in Georgia, and inthat role I basically just
dropped equipment off therespiratory and went on to the
next hospital.
Well, when I got theopportunity to work in the
(08:15):
hospital in Jacksonville, Iactually myself had a
six-month-old daughter at thattime one of my four kids that I
have and I remember walkingthrough that NICU and seeing the
ventilators that I had workedon.
That had my my credentials onthe sticker that said that
(08:40):
Justin said that this device wasready to be used to support
sustaining life.
That hit me in a different kindof way that I didn't expect at
that time and I would say, youknow, bringing something to a
community that didn't exist inthat immediate area it does
(09:05):
exist from a pediatricstandpoint in the city, but in
this standalone way and openingthe doors for the first time,
bringing in the first patientand knowing that the team had
done everything that they couldto make sure that equipment was
ready to go, was always justsuch a great achievement for the
(09:27):
overall team and for theorganization.
I would say, as far as that onestory that hits the hardest, I
still think it's just acombination of things, and what
I mean by that all of them atany given time felt just special
(09:48):
always made me feel as thoughwhat we were doing meant so much
and it meant so much more tothe people that were receiving
the care, you know, the parents,the grandparents, the other
guardians and, of course, thechild.
Right, and knowing that thehealthcare organization that I
(10:12):
worked for was actuallyproviding a high level of care
on a consistent basis and theteam that supports those medical
devices were doing the thingsthat needed and were supposed to
be done and our equipment washelping them save or enhance
lives.
It meant was helping them saveor enhance lives.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Wow, let's just switch gears a little bit here.
Now.
You mentioned you started inthis industry back in 2000, 2002
, something like that.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Yeah, it was late, 99 , 2000.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
We're looking at almost 25 years.
Over 25 years, actually.
That's a long time.
Congratulations.
Now, how, in your opinion, doyou think the HTM industry has
evolved over the years, and whatsignificant changes have you
witnessed?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
And what significant changes have you witnessed?
Well, I think that, thinkingabout when I first got in one I
don't believe as the industry wewere, we saw ourselves as the
professionals that we are and Idon't know if that was just the
(11:38):
culture of which some of usworked in or it was just a
mindset, but I've seen thatdefinitely shift over the past
two and a half decades.
Now in our industry is the factthat we're getting to sit at
the table to talk to the leadersacross health systems to help
(11:59):
them see how we can support themin their efforts to provide
care, and then the technologythat we started to really put in
place and the partnershipsthat's been made to enhance
training opportunities for ourtechnicians and the training
opportunities that organizationsare also providing their
(12:21):
leadership.
I think in the past, leaderswere not necessarily given the
additional training that theyneeded and that affected the
culture of which we were in atthose times, because they just
didn't know they come up throughdifferent ways, through
different non-corporate entities, maybe some small business,
(12:46):
maybe other informal ways, andwith that it was just a lot of
things that some of us, we justdidn't know.
Myself included in that, and Ilike to say now, with platforms
like yours, that's bringing adifferent kind of awareness as
well and kind of, you know, likea little bit more of a rock
(13:06):
star type of vibe to it.
We were able to reach adifferent age group as well and
getting them involved in what wedo I mean the work that you're
doing within your localcommunity, brian, is has been
inspiring to me as well, orinspiring, I should say.
You know, I wish we would havehad something like that when I
(13:30):
was in high school.
Even in college, trying tofigure out what I really was
going to do, there was nobodyhighlighting that this
profession existed.
And there's more work, so muchmore work being done in that,
with all of the different showsthat's out there locally,
statewide and even nationally,and I think those are some of
(13:52):
the biggest accomplishments inour profession.
And I could probably keep going, but I just had to kind of
highlight a few things.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
I appreciate that kind words, the kind words also,
but one of the reasons why Icreated this podcast so people
like you can come on here andshare your stories, Because
there's a lot of stories outthere we often go on with.
But I think personally, whenindividuals can hear the
challenges that HGNprofessionals go through, it
(14:22):
kind of humanizes our industry alittle more and gets more
appreciation for it.
Now you mentioned you touchedon leadership how you see that
people are being trained more,how to become better leaders.
What leadership qualities doyou believe are essential for
success in the HTM industry?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
You know, I think that when a leader has the
ability to help their people inways that's unexpected and what
I mean by that is one we allneed to have higher levels of
emotional intelligence in ourworkspace.
But going to our technicians oreven our own bosses or
(15:06):
colleagues and having theconversations about things that
we're experiencing meaning thechallenges, the great
accomplishments and all thatmakes up the environment that
we're in I think one of thethings that resonated with me as
(15:27):
a technician and I tried totake with me when I got into
leadership was when I had aleader that identified that I
was doing something well and didit before it was time for
annual review.
You know, had purposefulconversations with me about the
(15:48):
work that I was doing well orsomething that I could improve
upon, that I was doing well orsomething that I could improve
upon in right, understandingthat the people that they're
leading are still human beingsand we all are going to have
times where we're not performingat the highest.
But if we don't give thatcrucial feedback as positively
(16:10):
as possible, as positively aspossible, then we are not doing
justice to our team.
And, I think, alsounderstanding, as a leader,
where you need improvement,self-awareness right.
We're not always the smartestperson in the room for whatever
(16:31):
technology we're responsible for, but understanding who you can
get with to help you gain theinsights that you need meaning
your technician, or calling avendor partner, whomever, that
is understanding your resourcesand a lot of times those
resources are right at yourfingertips.
And it's a call, it's an email,it's a text, it's just a
conversation.
(16:51):
And if I had to add anythingelse and notes, probably going
to seem very minimalized, but Ilearned this from a former
colleague a long time ago beingpersonable and remembering
people, even if you don'tremember the name.
If you can remember somethingabout them, it humanizes
(17:14):
yourself, but it also lets themknow that you were paying
attention to whateverconversations you may have had
in the past.
And those things help you buildrelationships.
Building relationshipsthroughout, not just your team,
but outside of your peer group,on executive levels, in your
community.
Building those relationshipswill help you gain far more
(17:36):
success than a lot of otherthings that you may think.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
That's so true.
That's so true.
Now, I love the qualities youmentioned about being a leader
and, along with that, that mostleaders should always, in my
opinion, look at themselves asmentors, and no doubt, just from
talking with you, I'm sure youprobably have a mentor, or
(18:04):
plenty mentors, in your career.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
And, if so, can you share a story about a mentor who
probably influenced you in yourprofessional growth?
Yeah, you know I had a mentor.
It was.
It was.
It's interesting because thiswas a gentleman that actually
(18:37):
saw something in me, and I wouldsay midway through my career to
date, and I was a technicianand I just did what was needed
to be done to make sure that wewere prepared for, you know,
regulatory visits and things tothat nature.
But I guess somewhere along theline I must have pressed upon
him that I wanted to be more, domore, and as the years passed
(19:04):
on he tapped me to do morethings, different projects and
such.
Well, he ended up leaving theorganization and went to another
organization.
So I lost contact with him,knew he was out there but didn't
know exactly where he was at.
Well, that pediatric onlyhospital that I was talking to
you about, he ended up being aleader there and in the midst of
(19:25):
going through the process oflooking for leadership for
clinical engineering, I got theopportunity to put in for that
role and I ultimately got thatrole and so I got to stay under
his leadership for a pretty longtime pretty much 10, 12 years
(19:47):
span in total.
Well, during my time there, itwas instances where, like
everybody, we have somethingthat comes up and you know, all
hands on deck and we need toformulate a plan around whatever
is going on and do it.
Well, this one particular time,my mentor came to me because we
(20:08):
had different conversationsabout me wanting to grow and
potentially look at going intohigher levels of leadership.
Well, we needed to open a unit,right, who?
Who's in our profession haven'thad to do that?
Right, you, you gotta, yougotta shift.
You got an influx of patientscoming in because the census is
high and you, you gotta open upthis area that you don't use
that often.
(20:28):
And, of course, uh and and andhealth care fashion the
equipment that was theirs foundits way off somewhere else.
You know it grows feet at times.
And so he asked me would I go inand help lead the efforts to
get that unit up?
And at the time, brian, I was abit set back because in my mind
(20:54):
I thought that was a clinicianthing to do, because it wasn't
just about the medical equipment.
And I even asked him hey, yousure you want me to take the
lead on doing this?
And he said I called you didn't.
I and I said yes, you did.
And I said yes, you did.
(21:28):
And so we went from there.
I was able to formulate a teamthat was not just health care
technology team but alsoclinical leaders, environmental
service, able to come together,identify what we need and we got
that area up and ready forpatients in the time that was
needed so we didn't have tocontinue to hold and like the EB
and other places like that.
And you know that mentor choseme to do that in that moment
(21:50):
because he needed someone thatcould execute the plan in a way
that he thought it needed to bedone and somebody that would
tell him hey, this is thebarriers that we have and this
is the proposed solution thatwe've come up with as a
collective team, so that hecould help remove those barriers
.
And I don't think that wouldhave happened if it had not been
(22:12):
for a mentor like him, who hadseen me grow from a technician
and get into leadership and justgive me that kind of
opportunity.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
That's awesome, honestly, to have a mentor like
that and you guys still friendsto this day.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Unfortunately he passed last year.
Great guy, great, great guy.
He was a mentor to so manypeople.
Quite honestly, and I thinkabout him consistently,
especially if I'm going throughhere and I could call him up and
ask him.
And you know, he just gave meso many tools over the years
(22:59):
that I felt like I've beenprepared to sit in a room with
anyone and quite honestly I have.
I've sat in a room with a lotof people that some might think
I don't belong there, but I have.
I've been there and had greatoutcomes and continue to have
good relationships and even newrelationships like ours.
(23:20):
Brian, you know we're we'rewe're fairly new friends and but
it's been great in the shortamount of time that we've been
able to, you know, just justdialogue.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Hey man, I've never met a stranger, so we're friends
from hell.
But that's inspiring.
My condolences, too, on yourmentor passing, but obviously
that's the beauty of mentoringbecause it lives on and it lives
on through the people that youmentor and inspire and it's
truly a blessing to see how he'sinspired you and no doubt that
(23:55):
inspiration and mentorship thathe put up on you you probably
passed on to many people.
And just thinking, youmentioned how you assisted open
up a hospital and you worked invarious roles in various
organizations.
You was a leader of a HTM team.
Couple all that in and with allthe changes you've seen since
(24:17):
1999 in the HTM industry.
What advice would you give tosomeone just starting out in the
HTM industry?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
I would say probably a couple of things.
One, you know always do yourdue diligence about this
profession and what it is thatwe do.
Find someone that you can tieyourself to as a mentee meaning
find yourself a mentor in thisspace, if at all possible.
(24:52):
You know, stay up on any typeof articles and the different
advances in technology outsideof health care, because it's the
same Like the technology thatyou use at home is being used in
health care in a lot of waystoo as well.
And the other thing I would sayis have a level of patience as
(25:16):
you go through and navigate thisprofession and be okay with
being uncomfortable.
And when I say be okay withbeing uncomfortable, meaning
that we are in a health careenvironment.
We do have to go into roomswhere people are in situations
(25:38):
that we may not have encounteredbefore.
We are expected to conductourselves as though it's us that
needs that help and care.
One day it really probably willbe that, um, us that's in that
that patient bed or on that orour table.
Be curious and come from aplace of curiosity when you're
(26:01):
asking questions and you'reseeking knowledge and find that
thing that you think that youwould love to do for a long time
, because that's the thing thatwill keep pressing you forward
in your technology space and askfor what you want.
(26:22):
If you want to learn how towork on a piece of equipment,
ask, and if you can't get thetraining at a school, then
that's where relationshipsevolve from with your peer group
.
If possible, ojt is still agreat thing to get.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Awesome.
Now I've seen this report aboutyou, sir, where you received
some recognition for what you dooutside of work.
Tell us about that recognitionyou received and why did you
receive that recognition?
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Well, you know, I like to think it's because of
the way I participated in otherthings within the organization
as well and I'm not afraid tospeak on what I believe and I
(27:23):
don't have a problem withsharing and being transparent
parent.
And in that particular instance, I had the opportunity to take
time off that was provided by myorganization and I was able to
use it in a way that was justreally powerful and a little bit
(27:46):
emotional for me and kind ofwent like this have a day, I can
use it out the year to dodifferent things, and the intent
of that day is to findsomething that you want to
experience, you want to learn,or something in the community,
whatever it is that you want todo with that day.
(28:07):
And for me, in that instance, Iwas trying to figure out what
was that, what did I want to do?
Well, I went to church oneSunday and you know they're
doing their announcements, I'msure we're familiar with that
and so happened a food drive wasgoing to be done on my actual
(28:30):
birthday, which was also alsohappened to be a weekday, and I
leaned over to my wife and said,hey, that's what I want to do
for my birthday and that's whatI want to use that day for and,
out of everything almost a yearhad gone for me trying to figure
out what I was going to do withthat that was the only thing
(28:50):
that felt right and so I didthat.
It was the best day ever.
The sun was out, the wind wasblowing.
It was just a perfect day togive back to the community and
doing that event.
I got to take part in helpingover 700 families receive food
(29:14):
that otherwise they may not havehad and just being able to
connect with people and themsaying you know, saying thank
you for this, some of them intears.
You've been having me getting alittle bit emotional because I
was getting.
I was able to be impactful in adifferent way and in that there
(29:37):
was a highlight in there ofgetting some recognition for for
giving back to the communityand just sharing that story and
how it really did touch me andit continues to fuel energy
today for other things that I dooutside of that.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Right, that was a beautiful impact that you
provided for the community.
Now getting back to the job,the career.
What do you think our HTMindustry's impact is on patient
care?
Speaker 2 (30:13):
in your opinion?
Oh man, I think it's.
I think our impact on patientcare is right up there with, and
maybe arguably so is right upthere with, the people who are
given direct care, and what Imean by that is it's a lot of
things that we do that help themto help the patient.
(30:34):
It's things that we service.
We get to provide thereliability on that as far as
it's supportable for an extendedamount of time.
We also are helping identifypotential cyber risk in the HTM
(31:15):
as well now, and we also are ina position to help organizations
minimize waste so that they canutilize funds in order to
provide higher levels of care topatients, provide higher levels
of care to patients, and Icould keep going.
But I just feel like our impactmay not be felt by those
(31:40):
directly on the outside, butwithout us, we as an industry
not saying just HTM, but as ahealthcare industry would not be
in a great place.
That's my personal opinion.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Collaboration.
I'm real high on collaboratingwith people within our different
departments in the hospital.
Now, how important do you thinkcollaboration is for HTM
professionals?
Speaker 2 (32:14):
You got to be able to collaborate.
You got to be able tocollaborate with those hospital
leaders and departments.
And when I say leaders, I don'tmean just the director or
manager of a departmentSometimes it's just the new tech
in radiology right, there'sstill a leader in what they're
(32:38):
doing, because at that point intime in which they're providing
patient care right, they'releading that patient in and
they're being trusted to be ableto provide a diagnostic test,
right.
So if you can have a partnershipwith every level of a
department in some shape or form, right when you need access to
get a piece of equipment or youtrying to find a piece of
(33:01):
equipment that you haven't beenable to find, those
relationships help you besuccessful and help them be
successful so they can have theequipment they need when they
need it.
The other thing that I believecomes out of those relationships
is and just to be transparenteverything is not going to go
(33:22):
100 percent correct and in thosetimes those relationships can
be the determinant factor andthose times those relationships
can be the determining factor.
If you have longevity and againthis is my opinion it helps you
(34:06):
have longevity within yourdepartment because people see
you as somebody who is acollaborative person or you have
a collaborative team versussomeone that's adversarial.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Yes, that's exactly true.
Collaboration works so manyways.
I mean, if you head on with thedirectors and departments, we
have to collaborate with them,because that's the only way
we're going to get a seat at thetable, because we're already
stuffed way in the back of thehospital so we have to come out
the back cave or the basement,you know, back in the back by
(34:46):
the morgue.
So if we don't come out thoseoffices and collaborate with
these individuals and a lot ofthat comes from doing daily
rounds that can be the beginningof it.
But let me ask you this onemore question here what drives
you to stay passionate about theHTM industry every day?
What's your motivation?
Speaker 2 (35:09):
You know, I think for me the thing that drives my
motivation, it extends back tothe beginning and I remember my
mom asking me what type ofcompany or what type of
organization and what kind ofwhat.
(35:31):
What did I want to do?
And I told her that I wanted towork for a big, small industry.
And she said what does thateven mean, son?
And so I said to her I said Iwant to work for a organization
and industry that is doing a lotfor people, want to work for a
(35:53):
organization and industry thatis doing a lot for people and it
may not be fully known to theextent of what they are doing,
but they're doing some bigthings.
They might not be the householdname, they might not be the one
you you first even think about,but they're, they're having
impact on, on life in thecommunity.
And so every now and then I getback and thinking about, hey,
(36:14):
why did I get in this industry?
And then I can look back overthe timeline of life and think
about the different instances ofways that, because of my
support of healthcare system andthe team support that I was a
part of, we were able to do thething that I said all those
years ago.
And it also helps that my wifeis also in healthcare as well
(36:38):
too, and so, while I don't workin the same environment that I
did work in all the time throughher, I still see the impact of
what it is that we do in ourindustry to support their
efforts, and I have otherfriends that are that.
And then I do go to hospitalsstill and do things to support
(37:01):
them.
And I would say something thatjust happened recently, just
happened recently, and Iwouldn't even call it an aha
moment, but I would say wow, itwas a increased connection to
purpose.
I was visiting a client and Iwas just parked in the parking
garage, walking into thebuilding and a husband and wife
(37:26):
were were coming out and thewife had made it to the vehicle
and the husband was in awheelchair.
The husband said excuse me, sir, could you please help me?
And I said yes, sir, what can Ido for you?
He said I can make it to my car, but I know I don't have the
gas left in my tank to put thewheelchair in the back.
(37:48):
Could you please assist me withthat?
I said, yes, sir, whatever itis that you need, I got you.
And so he made it.
He was able to get out thewheelchair, got it, fold them up
and he was just so appreciativeand so thankful for the fact
that I took a moment to assisthim and his wife and she was.
She was so happy that as well,life and she was.
She was so happy that as well,because she looked like she was
(38:10):
tired, and in that moment for meit was like, wow, I got for a
brief moment in time to take asmall tiny burden off of
somebody, to give them a littlemoment of peace and a lack of
worry.
So when those type of thingslike that happen, it just keeps
(38:36):
me engaged and wanting to be apart of this thing we do in
healthcare, this wonderfulprofession that found me in a
lot of ways and that I've chosento continue to be in and will
continue to be in for years tocome.
And so I would say you know,those moments are what keeps me
(38:57):
energized.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
Yes, that's it, man.
That sense of purpose isamazing.
You can't put a price tag onthat and that's what really
drives most HTM professionals,because what we do, I mean it's
life-saving work and we pay acontributing part to the
day-to-day ongoings in thehospital, in the healthcare
(39:20):
ecosystem as a whole, for thatmatter.
So you hit it on the head whenyou have that purpose, that
makes everything.
It stops becoming work and itbecomes a purpose, like I like
to tell people sometimes.
It becomes your calling for youto do the things you're doing.
And I thoroughly enjoyedtalking with you, justin, man.
You have to come back again,man, I really enjoyed it.
(39:41):
I mean, you have a veryinspiring story and I'm more
than sure it's going to benefitsomeone, because it definitely
benefited me today, and I thankyou for your time and you're
welcome back anytime you want,brother, sure it's going to
benefit someone because itdefinitely benefited me today.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Thank you for your time and you're welcome back
anytime you want, brother.
Hey man, Thank you so much,Brian, for the invite.
I welcome the opportunity tocome back and talk about
whatever topics that we need to.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
That's a wrap for today's episode of HTM on the
Line.
Justin Smith's journey inhealthcare technology management
has been nothing short ofremarkable.
His leadership, mentorship anddedication to both his
profession and his communitytruly exemplify what it means to
make a lasting impact.
(40:27):
Justin's story is a powerfulreminder of how we can all
contribute to the betteroutcomes in healthcare.
Thank you for joining us and,as always, stay motivated, keep
learning and let's continueelevating the HTM industry
together.
You.
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