2021 Health Care Champions Technician: Kenneth Goodman

Kenneth Goodman says he’s motivated by his love of serving.

That’s looked different over the years, from protecting the public as a law enforcement officer in Texas and working as an EMT to making crowds smile as a Branson singer and serving as a chaplain for a local motorcycle group. But at 54 years old, he took a leap into a new career by going back to school to earn his associate degree in radiologic technology.

“I wanted to make a difference in our community and the lives of our next generation as they saw what a true servant’s life should be,” Goodman says. “This also was the deciding factor when I went back to college.”

In his nearly four years as a radiologic technologist at CoxHealth, his aptitude for the role and team-player approach made an impression on his co-workers. CoxHealth’s Dr. Jonathan Mikail says Goodman is universally respected by staff and has quickly become an invaluable asset.

“He possesses an intrinsic warmth, an empathetic demeanor and creates an environment that puts patients at ease. This is especially important in the urgent care setting that often involves the stress of an acute illness,” Mikail says. “I have worked with numerous radiology technicians in my capacity as a pediatric urgent care and pediatric ED physician, and Mr. Goodman is the best I’ve ever seen.”

Goodman says if it’s in his scope of training or skills, he’ll do whatever task is needed to make a patient feel valued, from getting a warm blanket to praying with patients to comfort them. He also says he walks through procedures step by step with patients.

“I’ve been told by many patients and providers that my ‘confident and calming voice’ helps relieve what could be a scary and uncertain experience,” he says.

He says his approach to care has a way of influencing others, and he takes that influence to the class of new recruits at Cox College.

“Being kind, friendly, encouraging and always willing to take extra shifts and tasks has a way of rubbing off on your fellow health care providers,” he says. “By setting a true good example, I try to lead the way to a great healthy environment to work in.”

That was critical at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as Goodman says the “rad techs” had to adopt new protocols for keeping patients safe and pick up extra shifts to meet the personnel demand. He says he went from working about 45 hours a week to 56 hours.

“Through it all, I continued to assure my patients that their decision to seek help was a wise one and our team was on their side in providing the best needed treatment they could get anywhere,” he says.

He says his proudest accomplishment started before he started working at CoxHealth, but the ripple effects continue. Goodman has taught basic life support classes for health care providers for two decades, and he continues to have co-workers who remember him and his courses.

He often hears from doctors, nurses or other health care employees comments like, “I still remember what you taught me in BLS because you made the classes fun and gave us easy ways to remember how to perform CPR and react to an emergency,” Goodman recalls.

“That’s when I know I have accomplished my goal of contributing to health care and it continues on.”