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Basom honored with Excellence in Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion award

A team of faculty and staff members from the Department of Family and Community Medicine named Jennifer Basom in the Department of Clinical Information Systems the winner of the Excellence in Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion award.

The recognition, awarded every two months, highlights a Penn State Health employee’s contribution to enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in their work environments. Created through a Kienle Center for Humanistic Medicine’s “Ripple Effect” grant, the award highlights employee efforts to improve the experience of racially and ethnically diverse coworkers, patients and learners.

Below is the support letter for Jennifer Basom:

Maya Angelou once said, “Just do right. Right may not be expedient, it may not be profitable, but it will satisfy your soul. It brings you the kind of protection that bodyguards can’t give you. So, try to live your life in a way that you will not regret years of useless virtue and inertia and timidity.”

This quote is the basis for how Jen Basom, program manager, Information Services, lives her professional and personal life. Jen is the leader for diversity and inclusion initiatives within Information Services, ensuring we deliver on our employee value proposition to be a highly collaborative work environment that encourages a supportive culture for a diverse workforce.

In fiscal year 2022, the Information Services department assigned a department-wide goal of participating in three Penn State Health sponsored diversity and inclusion events scheduled throughout the year. Jen was the primary point of contact for all staff, linking them to appropriate events based on their varied interests.

In June 2021, Jen led the establishment of the monthly IS Diversity Book Club and continues to be the primary facilitator today. The club studied “How to Be an Antiracist” and “Caste,” and is now studying a variety of diversity and inclusion podcasts to broaden the discussions, interests and views of the members.

Jen also curates diversity and inclusion videos for the IS town hall, attended by approximately 300 employees monthly. These videos promote a common understanding of global problems and possible solutions, including topics such as women’s rights, LGBTQIA+, disabilities, allyship, racism, unconscious bias and more.

On a personal level, Jen challenges the norms by raising concerns even when those concerns involve the leadership team. This past year, Jen courageously called out leadership behaviors that were not inclusive and respectful of women’s voices within the department, and was recognized for not only standing up for herself but for all women in our department.

While the conversations and situations are not always comfortable, facing our own discomfort, leading by example and listening to learn and understand is how we make sustainable change. These characteristics are deeply engrained in Jen and are evident in how she shows up to work and participates in various daily initiatives and projects – diversity and inclusion related or not. This is not something Jen does, this is who she is.

Each awardee selects a “Hidden Hero” ― someone who is instrumental in their accomplishments. Jennifer Basom’s Hidden Hero is Pam Reifinger, Systems Analyst- Lead, EMR Clinical Information Systems. “Pam is a tireless advocate for diversity and inclusion in Information Services, Penn State Health and beyond. She has personally helped me in several situations, including organizing the IS book club, and has raised many situations that she has observed to leadership for resolution. She is the driving force behind changes in CareConnect (Cerner-based electronic health record) that included the inclusion of preferred name, gender identity and an upcoming change to include pronouns. For all her efforts across Penn State Health and beyond, Pam is a Hidden Hero for both inclusion and diversity.”

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