For Henry Ford Health, earning Bronze-level recognition was not a cue to pause. Instead, leaders used feedback from that process to pinpoint what needed to improve—from leadership development to team survey measures and physician efficiency tools—as they prepared their next push toward Silver-level recognition.
“Last year, we applied and received feedback, something I highly recommend organizations do. It’s really helpful for identifying opportunities for improvement or even realizing you're doing the right things but didn’t describe them clearly,” said Lisa MacLean, MD, a psychiatrist and chief clinical wellness officer for Henry Ford Health.
That practical mindset shaped Henry Ford Health’s response for the AMA Joy in Medicine® Health System Recognition Program. Rather than rush back with another application, Dr. MacLean and her team chose to take a closer look at where the gaps were and what would be needed to return with a stronger application in 2026.
“There were a couple of areas where we saw opportunities to grow,” Dr. MacLean said, and that helped guide the next phase of work. Instead of seeing the process as a setback, she framed it as a chance to come back with a stronger case and stronger infrastructure behind it.
That approach reflects one of the clearest takeaways from Henry Ford Health's story: recognition works best when organizations treat it as a tool for improvement, not just celebration.
Henry Ford Health is part of the AMA Health System Member Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
Strengthening leadership measures
One of the changes that Henry Ford Health made involved leadership development and measurement. Dr. MacLean said the health system already used Press Ganey leadership questions, but those measures were not enough to support the next stage of progress.
"To advance our Joy in Medicine program recognition level, we rolled out the Leadership Index to our department chairs to show that we were really committed to their development,” she said. “With strong support from leadership, we created a psychologically safe process, so leaders could use the feedback for growth rather than fear."
The goal was not simply to gather data, but to show that leadership development was being taken seriously and measured in a meaningful way.
“We want to help our leaders develop themselves, so that was really helpful,” Dr. MacLean said, noting that “the AMA called upon us to have a measurement and to be able to testify to that.”
Asking better questions about teams
Another area of feedback Dr. MacLean received from the AMA was around “our increased focus on team member well-being.”
Henry Ford Health had reduced the number of survey questions during a year of major organizational change. That decision made sense operationally, but it left too little information to support the expectations in the team section of the application.
It wasn’t that leaders were opposed to stronger team questions, said Dr. MacLean. In many cases, they simply did not realize that trimming those items could affect both the system’s visibility into team well-being and its ability to demonstrate progress.
“We reduced the number of questions on our annual survey because we didn’t want to overload it,” she explained. “But that also meant we didn't have enough team-related questions to meet the expectations for the team section."
"As a member of the strategic committee guiding our overall well-being strategy for the entire enterprise, I was able to say, ‘We need to ask more questions. We need to show through the survey that we truly care about team well-being. We have to make sure we’re asking questions that reflect cohesiveness and collegiality,'" Dr. MacLean said.
That became another example of how well-being leaders often need to connect the dots across Henry Ford Health. Operational decisions that seem small on the surface can shape how well an organization understands teamwork, safety and support.
Pushing harder on efficiency
Henry Ford Health also used the period after receiving Bronze to put more focus on efficiency in the practice environment by increasing its commitment to tools that could help cut administrative burden and improve physicians’ day-to-day work. This included use of augmented intelligence (AI).
“We adopted DAX and other AI tools to improve efficiency,” Dr. MacLean said, describing that she works in close collaboration with Henry Ford Health’s informatics leadership to push for more support in that space, while also noting that progress depended on leadership backing across the organization.
“The system has helped support advancement of those tools so that in the efficiency section, we could meet those expectations as we prepared for the next level,” Dr. MacLean said.
Planning for what comes next right away
Perhaps the strongest lesson from Dr. MacLean is that recognition should immediately prompt planning for the next stage. For Henry Ford Health, that meant not treating Bronze as the end of a cycle. Instead, it treated it as the beginning of the next leg in the journey.
“Once you receive that recognition, you immediately begin planning for the next step in the ongoing well-being journey—you don't stop,” she said. “You have to look at what you learned, identify where the gaps are and determine how much time it will take to address them."
“I knew I wouldn't be ready in a year, so I decided early on that I would aim for Silver two years later. When there's clarity on what's expected, that helps guide your planning," Dr. MacLean said.
After setting a two-year timeline, she worked backward from there. With clear criteria mapped out with visible gaps identified, the work became about making those changes happen.
“And it’s my job to make it happen,” Dr. MacLean said.
Download the 2025 AMA Joy in Medicine magazine (log into your AMA account to view) to see whether your organization is part of the prestigious group of 164 organizations across 40 states and the District of Columbia that are currently recognized for their dedication to physician well-being.
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