This blog post is part of a series titled Taking the Lead: An Inside Look at Eskenazi Health's Leadership. Different leaders throughout Eskenazi Health will be featured, giving an inside look at their work roles, backgrounds, passions and even hobbies. We hope you enjoy learning about some of the exceptional leaders Eskenazi Health is proud to employ.
As a certified nuclear medicine technologist and director of Eskenazi Health Imaging Services, Janice Walker leads a number of important services at Eskenazi Health.
Walker oversees X-Ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound and vascular ultrasound, nuclear medicine, mammography, Eskenazi Health West 38th Street X-Ray and mammography, and the cardiac diagnostics lab.
In college, Walker majored in nuclear medicine imaging sciences at the University of Arkansas. She chose that field because she loved seeing how the cells in the body functioned. Her favorite class in college was microbiology.
Walker previously worked locally at Community Health Network in ambulatory services where she had management responsibilities for five outpatient imaging centers.
After starting her career at Community Health as a front-line technologist, Walker went into a lead tech role before becoming a manager. As she became more proficient with her leadership skills, Walker sought a new opportunity to learn and grow, and Eskenazi Health offered her that challenge. She enjoys the fact that every day is a little different because the patients and their needs are different, and she appreciates being able to enact change not only in her area, but also in the organization as a whole.
Once on board, Walker quickly began to respect Eskenazi Health’s values and mission, and she appreciates how Eskenazi Health stands for and is dedicated to the people of Marion County.
Walker takes pride in Eskenazi Health Imaging Services and how it consistently demonstrates exceptional expertise while seeing a large volume of patients. She believes imaging staff members at Eskenazi Health care deeply about their patients and continually strive to provide the best possible service. Walker has empowered her staff to make decisions and take an active role in the direction the department is going.
Walker values building relationships with people and feels that she’s been given the opportunity to connect with not only Eskenazi Health patients but also front-line staff and senior leaders. She also believes strong relationships with people helps bring about positive change that directly impacts patient care and contributes to them being well taken care of. For Walker, that’s what Eskenazi Health is all about.
She is a member of the Association for Medical Imaging Management, an organization that focuses on collaboration, innovation, quality and professional development in medical imaging.
Walker wants to be thought of as someone who is positive and proactive with impeccable follow-through. She feels it’s important for patients and employees to know their leaders are listening, following through with their commitments and constantly advocating on their behalf.
In her spare time, Walker enjoys kayaking, snowboarding, hiking and swimming. A gymnast for 15 years in her younger days, Walker will proudly tell you she can still do a back flip.