/ en Mon, 28 Apr 2025 03:04:30 -0500 Wed, 10 Jul 24 12:29:31 -0500 /node/694278 <p>This is a guide for leaders who would like to hold more productive and inclusive meetings. This one page handout features creating a role for a volunteer to serve as the Designated Inclusion Advocate. Leaders can provide a copy to all participants at the start of a meeting and request that one person volunteer to serve in this role. Ideally, this role rotates among meeting participants so that everyone can eventually have the opportunity to serve as the Designated Inclusion Advocate. This is a powerful step to make inclusive leadership practices come to life in a meaningful way.</p> Wed, 10 Jul 2024 12:29:31 -0500 Equitable and Inclusive Organizational Policies /node/694233 <p>This toolkit presents options for residency program directors to reinforce GME recruitment more consistently with regards to diversity. We direct our focus towards providing options and steps during the GME recruitment process, which can be modified and made available to UME Deans and Student Affairs representatives for transparency. Indeed, the toolkit can benefit from innovations developed during the COVID19 pandemic, such as widely implemented and piloted telecommunication. This toolkit aims to increase diversity in the GME community and addresses 2 phases of the recruitment process.</p> Tue, 09 Jul 2024 10:56:37 -0500 Equitable and Inclusive Organizational Policies /equity-care-awards-case-study-meritus-health-hagerstown-md <div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><h3><span>Overview</span></h3><p>Meritus Health’s commitment to eliminating disparities and inequities within the community it serves has earned the health system national recognition, being awarded with AHA's 2023 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award in the Transforming category. Hospitals and health systems in this category are recognized for implementing strategies to advance equity in their surrounding communities. Maulik Joshi, Dr.Ph., president and CEO, has worked to ensure his leadership teams, governance board and others are aligned on the goals of the organization to improve population health, elevate the patient experience while reducing the cost of care and improving work-force well-being.</p><p>Meritus Health is dedicated to educating its team members on unconscious bias and developing an approach to diversity, health equity and inclusion. The western Maryland health system prioritizes data transparency; socio-demographic data of patients served by the organization are regularly updated to be as accurate as possible to meet patient-centered health needs.</p><h3><span>Impact</span></h3><p>In recent years, Meritus Health has demonstrated its commitment to advancing health equity by implementing various practices in its patient populations such as its Leadership in Equity and Diversity (LEAD) council. Meritus Health’s LEAD council was created to ensure that the diversity of its leadership and staff is representative of its community. The council implements innovative unconscious bias training for all staff members by working with an acting group to provide interactive theater. The training presents scenarios that consider how people interact with diversity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation and ethnicity.</p><p>Meritus Health has also implemented a strategy to diversify its workforce by increasing the number of racially diverse candidates who are interviewed for leadership positions.</p><p>Meritus Health’s Statement on Racism and Values of Diversity and Inclusion sets expectations for all team members and provides a roadmap for the long-term commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion that is fostered within the health system and community. To measure advances, Meritus provides team members with surveys to determine if they feel welcome, heard and valued. From 2021-2022, the survey showed promising improvement, with the satisfaction rate from team members rising from 63% satisfied to 80%.</p><p>In 2021, Meritus Health implemented a data discovery platform, offering transparent information sharing by providing access to data stratified by race, ethnicity and language. The data includes health equity outcomes related to diabetes, sepsis, pre-term births and c-sections. The data is used to set goals for improvement assigned to multidisciplinary action teams to help remediate disparities in care. Each year, an annual Health Equity Report is published publicly, and summarizes the outcomes and progress of the health system’s initiatives. Since the inception of this practice, Meritus teams have worked to eliminate a disparity between white and non-white patients related to sepsis and have significantly reduced the pre-term birth difference between black and white patients.</p><p>Finally, Meritus Health strives to create a diverse leadership and governance board. The organization believes that a diverse group of board members will lend their voices and promote advocacy for the marginalized groups within their community. To learn more about Meritus Health’s efforts, visit <a href="https://www.meritushealth.com/" target="_blank" title="MeritusHealth.com">meritushealth.com</a>.</p></div><div class="col-md-4"><p class="text-align-center"><a href="/system/files/media/file/2023/12/ifdhe-cs-boone-eoc-awards-2023-meritus-health.pdf"><img src="/sites/default/files/2023-12/ifdhe-cs-boone-eoc-awards-2023-meritus-health.png" alt="Equity of Care Awards Case Study: Meritus Health" title="Click to download Equity of Care Awards Case Study: Meritus Health"></a></p><h4>Podcast: Meritus Health: Influencing Equity in the Community</h4><p></p><div><a href="https://soundcloud.com/advancinghealth" target="_blank" title="Advancing Health">Advancing Health</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/advancinghealth/equity-of-care-award-winner-meritus-health-influencing-equity-in-the-community" target="_blank" title="Equity of Care Award Winner Meritus Health: Influencing Equity in the Community">Equity of Care Award Winner Meritus Health: Influencing Equity in the Community</a></div></div></div> Thu, 14 Dec 2023 12:43:31 -0600 Equitable and Inclusive Organizational Policies /aha-center-health-innovation-market-scan/2022-07-19-cleveland-clinic-adds-two-centers-excellence <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8"> <p><img alt="Cleveland Clinic Adds Two Centers of Excellence to Its Direct-to-Employer Plans. Two physicians in surgical gowns, masks, and eye protection examine X-rays of a patient's knee." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="da44ed79-3843-4dc6-920a-2fe096db0774" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Cleveland-Clinic-Adds-Two-Centers-of-Excellence-to-Its-Direct-to-Employer-Plans.jpg" width="1320" height="880"></p> <p>Direct-to-employer health care programs continue to develop as a model to streamline care delivery and reduce costs. Twelve years after rolling out its initial direct-to-employer products, <a href="https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2022/07/07/cleveland-clinic-expands-centers-of-excellence-offerings-for-employers/" target="_blank" title="Cleveland Clinic Newsroom: Cleveland Clinic Expands Centers of Excellence Offerings for Employers">Cleveland Clinic</a> recently launched a <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/employer-healthcare-solutions/how-we-can-help/musculoskeletal-center-of-excellence" target="_blank" title="Cleveland Clinic: Musculoskeletal Center of Excellence">Musculoskeletal Center of Excellence</a> and a <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/employer-healthcare-solutions/how-we-can-help/bariatric-center-of-excellence" target="_blank" title="Cleveland Clinic: Bariatric Center of Excellence">Bariatric Center of Excellence</a>.</p> <p>As in previous programs, the new options are designed to help employers manage costs while providing employees and their covered dependents with access to Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. The new offerings also will make equitable health care easy to access, making Cleveland Clinic a preferred destination for these services.</p> <p>Under the center of excellence programs, a Cleveland Clinic surgeon conducts a thorough medical record review. In some cases, the review can avoid surgical procedures — benefiting the patient and lowering costs to the employer. Cleveland Clinic’s group practice physician model ensures that there is no incentive to provide surgical intervention. The organization notes that only one in eight patients at its <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/neurological/outcomes/888-center-for-spine-health" target="_blank" title="Cleveland Clinic: Center for Spine Health">Center for Spine Health</a> pursues a surgical pathway in the first year.</p> <p>In addition, depending on the coverage, Cleveland Clinic assists in orchestrating travel arrangements and provides concierge services for program patients. Other benefits include patient navigators who assist in coordinating with home providers and virtual care options.</p> <p>The Musculoskeletal Center of Excellence also is supported by <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/orthopaedics-rheumatology" target="_blank" title="Cleveland Clinic: Orthopaedic & Rheumatologic Institute">Cleveland Clinic’s Orthopaedic & Rheumatologic Institute</a>, whose specialists in Ohio and Florida perform more than 8,000 hip- and knee-replacement surgeries annually with outcomes consistently better than the national average, the organization reports.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Cleveland Clinic’s bariatric surgeons perform more than 95% of procedures with minimally invasive laparoscopic techniques, improving patients’ healing and recovery times.</p> </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <p><a href="/center" title="Visit the AHA Center for Health Innovation landing page."><img alt="AHA Center for Health Innovation logo" data-entity- data-entity-uuid="7ade6b12-de98-4d0b-965f-a7c99d9463c5" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/logo-aha-innovation-center-color-sm.jpg" type="file" class="align-center"></a></p> <a href="/center/form/innovation-subscription"><img alt data-entity-type data-entity-uuid src="/sites/default/files/2019-04/Market_Scan_Call_Out_360x300.png"></a></div> </div> </div> .field_featured_image { position: absolute; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0 0 0 0); height: 1px; width: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0; border: 0; } .featured-image{ position: absolute; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0 0 0 0); height: 1px; width: 1px; margin: -1px; padding: 0; border: 0; } Tue, 19 Jul 2022 06:00:00 -0500 Equitable and Inclusive Organizational Policies /news/blog/2022-06-16-fostering-equitable-inclusive-environment-lgbtq-health <p>June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. This tradition started back in 1969 with the Stonewall Riots – a series of demonstrations that were brought on by the continued mistreatment of LGBTQ+ individuals in New York City. Today, while there has been significant progress made in this space, the LGBTQ+ community still deals with worse health outcomes than their heterosexual counterparts: LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely to have higher rates of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use (Health People, 2020) and they also experience greater difficulty accessing health care (National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, 2016).</p> <p>Hospitals and health systems can address their LGBTQ+ patients’ health needs by building trust with them through:</p> <ul> <li>Education <ul> <li>Culturally appropriate curriculums in medical schools as well as educational content offered by hospitals/health systems for their providers creates more welcoming providers who know how to engage members of the LGBTQ+ community around their health care needs. As a result, a hospital/health system with providers who are culturally aware will hopefully gain a reputation as a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. Interactive lunch-and-learns are a few ways to educate on topics such as how to be more inclusive or LGBTQ+ terminology.</li> <li>Additionally, <a href="https://www.lgbtqiahealtheducation.org/" target="_blank">The National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center</a> has ample free resources which provide insight into many different LGBTQ+ health related topics.</li> </ul> </li> <li>Partnerships with local community organizations <ul> <li>LGBTQ+ Community centers are trusted spaces that queer folks utilize for support. Working in tandem with these centers is one way for hospitals and health systems to connect with their local LGBTQ+ community. This gives health care organizations an opportunity to hear the voices and needs of their local communities to further build trust with LGBTQ+ patients, and in turn, ensure individuals are welcomed and feel safe at their facilities. In addition, it creates the possibility of creating partnerships to build programs like free sexually transmitted infection clinics and monthly, free cancer screenings – services important to the community, who suffer disproportionately from higher rates of sexually transmitted infections and various forms of cancer.</li> </ul> </li> <li>Establishing inclusive spaces <ul> <li>Rather than using gendered language such as “husband”, “wife”, “mother”, “father”, etc., use gender neutral language like “partner,” “parent,” “child,” etc. While this may seem like a small step, it shows that the provider isn’t making assumptions about that individual’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and overall creates a more <a href="https://ifdhe.aha.org/health-equity-resources" target="_blank">welcoming environment</a>.</li> <li>Additionally, depending on hospital policy, having separate “sex” and “gender” fields on intake forms will make it possible for LGBTQ+ patients to delineate their sex assigned at birth while also giving them the opportunity to select what gender they identify as (which may not always match up with their sex assigned at birth).</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p>Any action, both large and small, can have a significant impact when it comes to advancing health outcomes for LGBTQ+ individuals. Improving the quality of care for LGBTQ+ individuals should remain a priority for hospitals and health systems so all populations can achieve their highest potential of health.</p> Thu, 16 Jun 2022 14:59:04 -0500 Equitable and Inclusive Organizational Policies