Company: St. Elizabeth Healthcare
Diversity Team Name: Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council
Diversity Team Leader: Alieu Nyassi
Website: www.stelizabeth.com
The creation of the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council (DIAC) at St. Elizabeth Healthcare provides strong, genuine, and caring leadership throughout our organization. In the last two years, a charter was implemented to define the DIAC structure, functions, and goals. An executive sponsor was also secured, demonstrating leadership’s commitment to incorporating the DIAC’s recommendations into daily practice.
The recent creation of both the Office of Diversity and the Diversity and Inclusion Leader role has helped St. Elizabeth recently complete a SWOT analysis of the organization to better understand our associates’ comprehension, connection, and conscientiousness of inclusion at St. Elizabeth. With the establishment of the Office of Diversity, St. Elizabeth has become a significant champion of diversity and inclusion in the Northern Kentucky region and Greater Cincinnati community.
The DIAC comprises senior executives and associates from all levels of the St. Elizabeth Healthcare organization. In turn, these associates are supporting the establishment of associate resource groups (ARG), giving the council members the unique opportunity to become ARG executive sponsors and champions. These groups will form new alliances throughout the organization, focusing on diversity and inclusion education, both internally and externally for the community.
Additional achievements include the following:
- Enhanced communications for limited-English patients: Efforts include providing the Emergency Department with larger-screen TV and resource lists for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients.
- Establishing an EPIC flagging system for special needs patients: This flag is communicated in the header of a patient’s electronic medical record to help meet the unique needs of each patient throughout all areas of our healthcare system.
- Creation of diverse and SOGI educational programs: A multi-year strategic plan was established to provide educational programs for multi-culture patients, workforce education, community involvement, and supplier diversity. Proposed plans are in place for SOGI education and additional resources are available to help care for SOGI patients.
- Highlight contributions of ethnicity diverse associates: Intranet spotlight showcases achievements and contributions of ethnically diverse associates and their impact on both the organization and community.
- Adaptive meetings for team virtual team associates: Implementation of conference-call and Microsoft Teams virtual meetings to aid associates working remotely or at multiple facility locations.
The Council is proud to make recommendations to St. Elizabeth leadership to help influence strategy and address healthcare disparities and inequalities in the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati communities. Together, we are making a difference.
