Advocate Health Support Services Operations Director, Operations and Strategy Greg Czajka, CBET, CHTM, is among the next generation of healthcare technology management (HTM) leaders. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering and an MBA with a concentration in Health Services. Advocate Health is a large healthcare system created in December of 2022 when Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health completed a large merger.
The system is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium’s home turf, with a significant base in Chicago and Milwaukee, home base for Advocate Aurora. Advocate Health is the nation’s fifth-largest nonprofit health system, serving 6 million patients annually. The merger unites more than 21,000 physicians and 42,000 nurses under the same umbrella and includes more than 1,000 sites of care as well as 67 hospitals, according to reports.
TechNation recently learned more about this up-and-coming HTM professional.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: A small town in the south Chicago suburbs.
Q: Where did you receive your HTM training/education?
A: After graduation, it was on-the-job training at Loyola University Medical Center in my first role as a BMET.
Q: How did you first discover HTM?
A: The then-director of clinical engineering came to my school looking for upcoming grads for an entry-level position. I interviewed alongside my peers and made the cut!
Q: Why did you choose to get into this field?
A: I was not even aware of this field until I got the job! I had
envisioned working in a manufacturing capacity while going to school, but I’m glad I stumbled into HTM.
Q: What interests you the most about HTM?
A: I always liked the satisfying feeling of figuring out a difficult repair, especially when you went down to the board level and found a failed component that you could replace for a few cents instead of the whole board for significantly more. I also really liked the quick fixes that would make the nurse say “Wow!” when you repaired something on the spot, or you came prepared with the part it needed.
Q: What has been your greatest accomplishment in your field thus far?
A: I’m not sure this qualifies, but what I feel most proud of is that both sites where I was in leadership, I left them better than when I found them. I made improvements to operations, team morale, and even cleaning up the shops.
Q: What goals do you have for yourself in the next 5 years?
A: Who knows what the future holds?! Health care is changing so fast that most experts say it won’t look the same in 5 years as it does today. I plan to continue climbing the corporate ladder as I become more experienced. I will also continue to stay active and involved in the health care community. I’m working on my Six Sigma Green Belt now and will consider other certifications once that is complete.
