Ensuring that diversity, equity and inclusion becomes part of a health system’s bloodstream—and not just a program or a box to check—is vital to effective leadership that ensures provider teams feel well cared for, want to stay, and perform at the top of their abilities, system leaders say.
Karen Mayer, RN, FACHE, professor at Rush University College of Nursing’s doctoral program, is concerned about whether and how well healthcare organizations will continue to be able to recruit diverse workforces that match their patient populations.
At Rush, the biggest challenge in that regard historically had been finding enough Latinx nurses, although the medical center has made great strides in the past 10 years, says Mayer, former vice president of patient care services at Rush Oak Park Hospital. “It’s an ongoing challenge,” she says. “Organizations need to be more intentional in their tracking—not just [saying], ‘We need to be diverse,’ but monitoring to make sure it’s actually happening.”
To ensure they do, Mayer encourages healthcare leaders to support schools of nursing and other allied health professions so they can bring in a greater economic diversity of students. She also suggests hiring diverse employees for entry-level positions like nursing assistants and then offering them educational staff benefits so they can work their way up. A focus on the social determinants of health in lower-income neighborhoods also further diversifies efforts by ensuring that “surrounding neighborhoods see that the hospital cares about their health,” she says.
Advocate Aurora Health in Downers Grove, Ill., and Milwaukee, Wis., has had a robust DEI stance for many years, says Mary Beth Kingston, PhD, RN, FAAN, CNO. She notes the efforts are nothing new and “not a program—it’s more the way we work, but the pandemic highlighted equity issues. We’re doing a tremendous amount of work on that. We have metrics built into leadership goals and incentives. We focus on having diverse leadership, a diverse supply chain, and reducing turnover in leaders and team members of color,” she says. “We firmly believe we will not be able to close the gap in health equity if we do not have diverse, inclusive leadership.”
The health system has tied diversity and well-being efforts together, “especially when things happen out in society that cause concerns,” says the Rev. Kathie Bender Schwich, FACHE, chief spiritual officer at Advocate Aurora. “We have ‘real talks’ convened by the DEI team and the spiritual care team, where people come together in small groups and say, ‘This is what I’m feeling.’ And get support and feel cared for on an individual level.”
“We ask, ‘How are things impacting you,’ but also, ‘What biases are you bringing to the table?’” Kingston adds. “We all have them. We create a safe space, to be able to openly talk about those. … Real talk has been great—we get a cross-section of people from throughout the healthcare system.”
Ed Finkel is a freelance writer based in the Chicago area.
Karen Mayer, RN, FACHE, professor at Rush University College of Nursing’s doctoral program, is concerned about whether and how well healthcare organizations will continue to be able to recruit diverse workforces that match their patient populations.
At Rush, the biggest challenge in that regard historically had been finding enough Latinx nurses, although the medical center has made great strides in the past 10 years, says Mayer, former vice president of patient care services at Rush Oak Park Hospital. “It’s an ongoing challenge,” she says. “Organizations need to be more intentional in their tracking—not just [saying], ‘We need to be diverse,’ but monitoring to make sure it’s actually happening.”
To ensure they do, Mayer encourages healthcare leaders to support schools of nursing and other allied health professions so they can bring in a greater economic diversity of students. She also suggests hiring diverse employees for entry-level positions like nursing assistants and then offering them educational staff benefits so they can work their way up. A focus on the social determinants of health in lower-income neighborhoods also further diversifies efforts by ensuring that “surrounding neighborhoods see that the hospital cares about their health,” she says.
Advocate Aurora Health in Downers Grove, Ill., and Milwaukee, Wis., has had a robust DEI stance for many years, says Mary Beth Kingston, PhD, RN, FAAN, CNO. She notes the efforts are nothing new and “not a program—it’s more the way we work, but the pandemic highlighted equity issues. We’re doing a tremendous amount of work on that. We have metrics built into leadership goals and incentives. We focus on having diverse leadership, a diverse supply chain, and reducing turnover in leaders and team members of color,” she says. “We firmly believe we will not be able to close the gap in health equity if we do not have diverse, inclusive leadership.”
The health system has tied diversity and well-being efforts together, “especially when things happen out in society that cause concerns,” says the Rev. Kathie Bender Schwich, FACHE, chief spiritual officer at Advocate Aurora. “We have ‘real talks’ convened by the DEI team and the spiritual care team, where people come together in small groups and say, ‘This is what I’m feeling.’ And get support and feel cared for on an individual level.”
“We ask, ‘How are things impacting you,’ but also, ‘What biases are you bringing to the table?’” Kingston adds. “We all have them. We create a safe space, to be able to openly talk about those. … Real talk has been great—we get a cross-section of people from throughout the healthcare system.”
Ed Finkel is a freelance writer based in the Chicago area.
Strategies for Developing Stronger, Healthier Teams
The issues many are facing in healthcare have been well-documented, but how leadership counters them will be crucial to ultimately transcending these challenges. A strategy that relies on open lines of communication, integrity, compassion, accountability, synergy and diversity will be a key to boosting the strength and health of teams.