FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON — To advance equitable care, hospitals can turn inward and build a more diverse workforce that better understands and responds to historically marginalized patients through practices rooted in equity, such as mutual respect and open communication, new research from America’s Essential Hospitals concludes.
The research, Building Workforce Equity at Essential Hospitals: A Toolkit for Creating and Maintaining a Resilient, Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Workforce, also found that the benefits of a diversified workforce go beyond the realm of patient care, to positively contribute to the communities essential hospitals serve.
The association’s research, education, and dissemination arm, Essential Hospitals Institute, developed the toolkit with support from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a goal to help hospitals build workforces dedicated to system-level change and health justice. It shares concepts for mitigating the critical hospital labor workforce shortage while building workforce equity and resilience and includes tools, tips, and resources for hospitals at all stages of their equity journey.
Ten association members contributed insights to the toolkit:
- Baystate Health, in Springfield, Mass.
- Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, in Paramus, N.J.
- Eskenazi Health, in Indianapolis.
- ECMC, in Buffalo, N.Y.
- NYC Health + Hospitals, in New York.
- Parkland Health, in Dallas.
- The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, in Columbus, Ohio.
- UChicago Medicine, in Chicago.
- University Health, in Kansas City, Mo.
- Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, in San Francisco.
“This toolkit is the next step in our commitment to combating structural and systemic barriers in health care,” says Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, president and CEO of America’s Essential Hospitals. “As hospital leaders seek to strengthen their workforces, they can draw from tested tools and lessons learned from their peers.”
The Institute produced the toolkit with support from a technical expert panel, thought partners, and interviews with essential hospital leaders. It spotlights essential hospitals’ efforts to plan for and build workforce equity through organizational change, align workforce equity with patient care, and measure progress toward equity goals.
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About America’s Essential Hospitals
America’s Essential Hospitals is the leading association and champion for hospitals dedicated to equitable, high-quality care for all, including those who face social and financial barriers to care. Since 1981, America’s Essential Hospitals has advanced policies and programs that promote health, health care access, and equity. We support our more than 300 members with advocacy, policy development, research, education, and leadership development. Communities depend on essential hospitals for care across the continuum, health care workforce training, research, public health and health equity, and other services. Essential hospitals innovate and adapt to lead all of health care toward better outcomes and value.
About Essential Hospitals Institute
Essential Hospitals Institute leads research, education, dissemination, and leadership development for America’s Essential Hospitals. To advance the quality, equity, safety, and affordability of care at essential hospitals, the Institute identifies promising practices in the field, provides professional development training, promotes practice improvements, and disseminates innovative approaches to care. It does this with an eye toward improving individual and population health, especially for underrepresented and marginalized people and communities.
Contact:
Carl Graziano
cgraziano@essentialhospitals.org
202.585.0102
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