He carried the same mindset into the creation of the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance (EDBA) in 1994. That, too, was the result of an administrator asking him to justify ED throughput times.  Dr. Janiak realized he had no meaningful way to compare his department’s performance to others. He called colleagues, learning that no one else knew how to compare themselves against their peers either.

The EDBA was built around one simple question: How do I know I am doing a good job? Dr. Janiak insisted that physicians, nurses, and administrators all be involved. Redacted patient charts were shared. Care was reviewed at the patient level. Every administrative decision required a clinical endpoint. Improvement was never abstract. It was always tied back to patient care. The organization has since grown to include more than 1,500 EDs and continues Dr. Janiak’s original mission of using data in a positive manner to support frontline staff and managers.

Although he never wanted to leave the ED, Dr. Janiak retired in 2019 to care for his wife. She passed away in 2025 after 52 years together and 14 children.

Janiak’s Words of Wisdom

Dr. Janiak said he believes that emergency medicine must take care of its people. Janiak cautions against letting money drive decisions and warns that graduating physicians without job opportunities represent a failure of stewardship. He takes pride in emergency medicine, a specialty born in the United States now practiced around the world.

To new emergency physicians, his message is simple: Enjoy your patients, be proud of your work, and remember that you are the only clinical specialists available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And if you feel overwhelmed or discouraged, he still offers himself as just an email away.

Thank You Dr. Janiak!

Bruce, this article is our way of saying congratulations and thank you. Thank you for helping create the specialty we love. Thank you for building emergency medicine around patients, teamwork, and joy in the work itself.

We are sorry it took so long after your retirement to write this. We know Michele would have loved sitting beside you, listening as you read it, and seeing you recognized for the extraordinary and lasting impact you have had on the field she also loved.

You will be missed in the emergency department but never forgotten.

Dr. Canellas is an associate chief medical officer at UMass Memorial Health, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at UMass Chan Medical School, and a research affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan’s Operations Research Center in health care AI. She serves on the board of directors for the Emergency Department Benchmarking Alliance, where she focuses on advancing data-driven strategies and innovations to improve emergency department and hospital operations nationwide.