Diversity FY24 priorities support health system’s mission and goals
Penn State Health’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has set seven priorities for fiscal year 2024 to align with the health system’s goals:
- Advancing accountability for diversity, workplace and health equity, and inclusion
- Increasing the diversity of our health system’s leadership, physicians and overall workforce to reflect our community
- Increasing the competencies of our workforce to provide quality, safe health care and an excellent patient experience
- Establishing a “best in class” work environment through retention and engagement
- Expanding communication about our progress, increasing accountability for diversity, equity and inclusion and advancing our action plans
- Engaging our workforce in authentic discussions as a tool for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion
- Advancing health equity to eliminate health disparities faced by different populations
Details on these priorities are provided below. Each month the health system Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team will provide updates on our progress with advancing our action plans.
Advancing accountability
For the past three years, the health system has focused on awareness of three key areas of diversity, equity and inclusion: the impact of unconscious bias in the workplace and on patient care, how to provide culturally responsive care for our increasingly diverse patient population, and how best to care for patients with disabilities. Beginning in this current fiscal year, our focus has shifted from awareness to action-oriented initiatives that will be achieved through the accountability of each Penn State Health employee.
Increasing workplace diversity
Increasing the diversity of our health system’s leadership, physicians and overall workforce to reflect the communities Penn State Health serves is critical to building trust. Our recruitment efforts have been based on the areas that we have the most diversity-related information, that includes an individual’s race and ethnicity, gender, and disability and veteran status. Although our diversity recruitment will continue to focus on these areas, through our business employee resource groups, we will identify strategies to support recruitment of other aspects of diversity.
Quality, safe health care and an excellent patient experience
Our commitment to enhancing the ability of our workforce to provide quality, safe health care and an excellent patient experience involves increasing the number of bilingual employees and supporting those who wish to complete the education and testing required to become qualified medical interpreters.
This initiative includes the ability to learn and measure the application of knowledge to the care of patients, which is the goal of the health system’s Inclusion Academy. To explore and register for upcoming Inclusion Academy sessions, visit our online calendar.
This priority also includes increasing employees’ abilities to work with others from diverse backgrounds in alignment with our RITE values. This commitment to respectful interactions between employees is reinforced by the revised Human Resources Policy 86, which states that an employee will be terminated from their employment if they explicitly knew or should reasonably have known that their behavior was discriminatory in nature. Our first step is to use interactions that do not demonstrate respect as a learning moment. However, termination of employment is warranted if the behavior is repeated or is egregious the first time it occurs.
Retention and engagement
Another priority for this fiscal year centers on establishing a “best in class” work environment by focusing on employee retention and engagement. Penn State Health regularly surveys the workforce to identify opportunities to improve the work experience, including how we are addressing our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We will utilize the information we learn from these strategies to build or modify existing action plans.
Expanded communication
Employees tend to feel more engaged when an organization talks about its commitment to diversity and inclusion. So, the health system diversity office will work to expand and enhance communication about the progress on our priorities, increasing accountability for diversity, equity and inclusion and advancing our action plans.
We will share information on how the health system is addressing diversity, equity and inclusion in The RITE Stuff and on the Infonet, as well as in through departmental and entity communications. We will also conduct periodic surveys to assess the impact of our communication efforts and make adjustments as needed to ensure we are communicating effectively and efficiently.
Authentic discussions
Another of our key priorities involves engaging our workforce in authentic discussions to advance diversity, equity and inclusion. Although this action may require some uncomfortable conversations, these discussions will help us learn more about each other and develop closer networks. Human Resources offers a program called “Crucial Conversations” to help navigate difficult conversations.
Eliminating health disparities
Our final priority centers on advancing health equity to eliminate the health disparities faced by different populations Penn State Health serves. This priority aligns with our organization’s mission of creating trust while recognizing new obligations from The Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to reduce health disparities reflected in differences in length of life, quality of life, rates and severity of disease, disability and access to medical treatment. As part of this priority, we have created monthly public sessions to provide guidance on how diverse populations in our community can improve their health experience.
Upcoming events
Upstander Café: Social Justice Hybrid Session | Violence, Mental Health and Our Children
Friday, Oct. 6
Noon–1 p.m.
Cultivating Health Empowerment: Transforming Diverse Lives for Optimal Health
Wednesday, Oct. 11
7–8:15 p.m.
Cultivating Health Empowerment: Overcoming Food Deserts/Insecurities and Health Options
Thursday, Oct. 19
7–8:15 p.m.
Inclusion Academy, Culturally Responsive Care: How to Ask Demographic and Social Determinants of Health Information from Patients in a Culturally Appropriate Manner
Thursday, Oct. 26
Noon–1 p.m.
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