CHP-Diversity Brochure-2011

Fulfilling Our Mission The Diversity Journey at Catholic Health Partners

At Catholic Health Partners (CHP), we recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion in clinical, operational and administrative settings. We believe that there are three good reasons to embrace diversity – there’s a business case, a Mission purpose, and most importantly, a moral imperative to ensure that our organization reflects and effectively serves all who live in our communities.

In keeping with that moral imperative, we are increasing the diversity of our workforce and improving our cultural competency. As a consequence, we will better understand the varied cultures of our patients, increase our capacity to collaborate with them to achieve positive outcomes and thereby improve the quality and safety of our care.

In addition to serving as an important driver of improved quality and safety, diversity and inclusion can also help drive improvements in other areas such as workforce engagement and customer service. It enriches the quality of our decision making, bringing in a wider range of ideas and perspectives so that we can make better decisions on behalf of our Mission.

However, just as we measure the quality of our care and our financial outcomes, we must also measure our diversity and inclusion to ensure we are making progress. We have incorporated diversity metrics into our strategic plan and are working to hardwire diversity and inclusion into our day-to-day operations, seamlessly integrating the concept into all of our work and care settings. Our progress so far includes increased leadership diversity, supplier diversity and retention of diverse associates. But our work in diversity and inclusion is a continuous and ongoing journey.

Living our Core Values and focusing on diversity and inclusion helps us to step outside of what is standard or traditional and to embrace the changing faces and needs of the diverse populations in our communities. Only by working to build a workforce that reflects such diversity can we succeed in our Mission: to extend the healing ministry of Jesus by improving the health of our communities with emphasis on people who are poor and under-served.

We are always interested in receiving additional input regarding how we may further our journey in diversity and inclusion at CHP. Please send your ideas and suggestions to [email protected].

Sincerely,

Michael D. ConnellyPresident & CEOCatholic Health Partners

Letter from Our CEO

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Excellence We live our Core Value of Excellence when we improve the quality and safety of our care by increasing our cultural competency and by learning about the diverse health needs of all who live in our communities.

Human DignityGuided by Catholic Social Teaching, CHP recognizes the inherent moral value of each individual. We strive to honor the human dignity of all of our associates through our re-cruitment, engagement and retention practices and to honor the human dignity of all who come to us for care.

Compassion Not only do we focus on the quality of care we provide, but our Core Value of Compassion calls us to focus on the quality of caring we provide. We can cure many who come to us for care, but only by honoring the unique needs of the diverse individuals we serve can we succeed in healing all who come through our doors.

ServiceOur community benefit programs not only include traditional charity care, but also include programs built around the needs of our diverse communities. No two regions look alike, and so it follows that our service programs to our regions are as diverse as the populations who live there.

Justice Through our living wage policy, which ensures that our associates can earn enough to make it in today’s world, CHP lives our Core Value of Justice. And through our generous charity care policy, we serve all who come through our doors, regardless of their ability to pay. Sacredness of Life CHP reveres the life of every individual as a gift from God to be honored, respected and treasured in all phases of the life cycle.

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Living the Core Values through Diversity

As a mission-based organization, all of Catholic Health Partners’

strategic initiatives and day-to-day tasks are aligned with our Core Values

of Excellence, Human Dignity, Compassion, Service, Justice and

Sacredness of Life.

Catholic Health Partners is the largest health system in Ohio, the state’s fourth-largest employer and one of the largest non-profit health systems in the United States. We celebrate our Catholic heritage, and our Mission and Core Values guide us in our decision making and our day-to-day work. We are committed to providing safe, high quality care for our patients, residents and clients while maintaining cost effectiveness.

A century and a half ago, our sponsors established their health ministries. Today, their vision and achievements continue…in our facilities…in our communities…through the work of our associates as they extend the healing ministry of Jesus.

CHP’s DIVERSITY &INCLUSION JOURNEY

Diversity Action Learning Team Presents Findings

System Adopts Diversity Strategic Objective & Diversity Councils Established

Diversity Assessments Conducted Across CHP

Health Fellowship Program Created

Supplier Diversity Initiative Begins

Cultural Competency Initiatives Under Way

CHP Diversity/Inclusion 2009-2013 Strategic Plan Developed

CHP Serves as Sponsor of 2010 South Central Ohio Healthcare Supplier Diversity Symposium CHP Receives the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati’s Corporate Medallion Award

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About CHP

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OUR DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

STRATEGY

Recent Steps Toward Greater DiversityTwo major opportunities to expand our organization’s diversity and inclusion occurred when Baptist Health System of East Tennessee merged with CHP’s Mercy Health Partners – Tennessee region in January 2008 and when CHP’s Mercy Health Partners – Southwest Ohio region purchased The Jewish Hospital in March 2010. Committed to honoring the heritage and traditions of their new partners, each of these regions embarked on an ongoing journey that has involved embracing our identity as a Catholic health system while simultaneously respecting and honoring other religious traditions.

Throughout the very successful cultural integration of Mercy Health Partners – Tennessee and Baptist, the focus has remained on the similarities between the Baptist and Catholic faith traditions, and associates from the former Baptist organization have expressed appreciation for how Baptist traditions have been honored. Mercy Health Partners – Southwest Ohio and The Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati, Ohio have each been serving the healthcare needs of the community for more than 150 years. Along with building on their shared rich history, Mercy has committed to honoring the Jewish identity and traditions of The Jewish Hospital by gaining increased cultural competence that will enable the region to better serve the Jewish community.

In the pages that follow, we share highlights of our progress in addressing

these key focus areas, but their importance extends beyond our CHP Diversity/Inclusion 2009-2013 Strategic Plan. We have made a long-term commitment to these four tenets

of diversity and inclusion, and they will continue to drive our diversity and inclusion

transformation for many years to come.

CHP’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is woven throughout our 2009-2013 Strategic Direction. However, to ensure that we achieve consistent, measurable progress in our effort to improve diversity, inclusion and culturally competent care, we have also developed a CHP Diversity/Inclusion 2009-2013 Strategic Plan. This plan includes four key focus areas, and we have established specific goal measures and strategies for each:• Provide culturally competent patient care• Strengthen leadership accountability for diversity• Recruit, develop and retain diverse talent• Develop partnerships with diverse vendors.

Provide Culturally Competent

Patient Care

Strengthen Leadership

Accountability For Diversity

Recruit, Develop And Retain

Diverse Talent

Develop Partnerships With Diverse Vendors

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While inclusion helps facilitate a sense of community, ownership, and participation, diversity greatly improves the potential for innovative solutions and ideas. A diversity-conscious workforce is key in providing care that is both culturally competent and patient-centric, and serves to improve access to an otherwise under-served population.

Jaya AgrawalAdministrative FellowCatholic Health Partners

Quality and patient safety are both embedded in the organization’s culture. When we value different opinions, different experiences and different perspectives, including those of our patients, it helps us better address patient concerns and the challenges that we face.

Eunice JonesPatient Safety OfficerCHP’s Southern Division

CHP has received national recognition for the quality of our care, including being named one of the top health systems in the country by Thomson Reuters. Culturally competent care increases patients’ willingness to comply with treatment protocols and prevents miscommunication that can result in errors. Consequently, it is one of the key areas influencing the quality and safety of our care and also helps eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities.

Healthcare providers who are culturally competent demonstrate awareness of and respect for patients’ cultural health beliefs and practices and strive to meet patients’ cultural needs whenever possible. They also make sure that patients with limited English proficiency have access to qualified medical interpreters and receive patient-related materials they can understand.

Provide Culturally Competent Patient Care

Major System Initiatives• Capturing data on patients’ race, ethnicity and language is

crucial to the effort to track and eliminate health disparities. Along with other hospitals in Cincinnati, Mercy Hospital Anderson was part of a Health Improvement Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation citywide pilot project designed to improve the accuracy of this data by training registration staff to respectfully ask patients for this information. Now, the approach is being implemented throughout CHP.

• CHP is beginning to work with physician practices throughout our health system to assist them in transitioning to the Patient-Centered Medical Home model of primary care. The TransforMEDSM Patient Centered Medical Home’s many components include increasing patients’ access to care and information, as well as fostering patient engagement and delivering culturally sensitive care.

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HMHP Pilots Cultural Competency AssessmentsHumility of Mary Health Partners (HMHP) launched a two-year pilot project to assess cultural competence and healthcare disparities within its three hospitals. As part of the pilot, consultants from the Center for Multicultural Competence in Healthcare Organizations (CMCHO) trained an internal team of eight assessors within HMHP.

The HMHP team’s assessments were based on the 14 National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Healthcare developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health. They conducted focus groups; interviewed associates; scored patient charts; reviewed human resources practices; and examined HMHP’s service to the community.

“We really tried to look at things with new eyes,” said Karen Rodgers, a critical care specialty educator at HMHP who served as one of the assessors. At the conclusion of the assessments, assessors and senior leaders put together action plans for improvement, and HMHP’s approach is now being adopted by other CHP regions.

“Now more people participate in diversity activities, and more people are familiar with what cultural competency is,” said Kera Thompson, former CHP fellow and current assessment team member and perioperative business manager at HMHP’s St. Joseph Health Center. “It definitely has become part of our language.”

Additional Highlights

It is important to prepare our caregivers to be culturally competent. Those who are knowledgeable of varying cultures and most understand cultural differences have the greatest success in getting individuals to abide by the physician’s orders or in getting them to take the medication that has been prescribed. When the caregiver is knowledgeable and sensitive to these cultural differences, outcomes improve.

Molly SealsSenior Vice President of Human Resources & LearningCHP’s Eastern Division/ Humility of Mary Health Partners

• Mercy Health Partners – Tennessee’s Culturally Proficient Patient Care Team is developing a strategic action plan to address CLAS standards across CHP’s Southern Division, and the team is also tracking minority patient satisfaction.

• Mercy Health Partners – Lorain Region has a team of five highly qualified medical interpreters who assist Spanish-speaking patients who have limited English proficiency.

• HMHP’s Hospice of the Valley works with African American churches to improve the quality of end-of-life care for African Americans, and Community Health Partners’ New Life Hospice conducts outreach to improve end-of-life care in the Hispanic community.

• Mercy Health Partners – Southwest Ohio provides education in culturally competent care to frontline staff and caregivers, and the training addresses Joint Commission standards, generational differences, and language and cultural differences.

• Within Community Mercy Health Partners’ Springfield Regional Medical Center, patients can request that an approved alternative religious symbol that is Catholic, Jewish, Muslim or Hindu be mounted in their room in place of the Christian cross.

Clinical staff in the Mercy Lorain regionpause briefly from a busy schedule for a photo.

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Strong leadership is essential in order to establish a culture of diversity and inclusion. Consequently, leaders at all levels of our organization are held accountable not only for demonstrating support for diversity through their words and actions but also for meeting specific diversity metrics.

We have also made it a priority to increase the diversity of leadership within our home office and regions. This results in a much broader array of ideas and perspectives. It ultimately strengthens our decision making and also helps us better serve all those who live in our communities.

Major System Initiatives• CHP’s diversity scorecard provides an effective means

of holding leaders accountable for diversity. Score-card metrics include deadlines for developing action plans for achieving cultural competency certification, setting targets for reducing the percentage of diverse associates who leave our organization, and increasing spending with diverse suppliers. A portion of our regional CEOs’ compensation is tied to meeting these metrics.

• We also hold regional CEOs accountable for increasing the diversity of CHP’s Strategic Leadership Team (SLT), which consists of the top three levels of management throughout our health system. We track the number of final candidate slates for open SLT positions that include a qualified, diverse candidate.

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Strengthen Leadership Accountabilityfor Diversity

Diversity brings multiple people together with different backgrounds, different thought processes and different mind-sets. It makes us a richer organization so long as we create the environment for a rich dialogue. That creative tension produces better care.

Dr. Imran AndrabiPresident & CEO, Mercy St. Vincent Medical CenterMercy – Northern Region

Leaders’ actions and words are more visible than they probably realize, so when it comes to diversity and inclusion, they are setting examples every day. Others notice who they hire, who they go to lunch with and whether they raise the issue of diversity when important decisions are being made.

Jane Durney CrowleyExecutive Vice President & Chief Administrative OfficerCatholic Health Partners

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Health Fellowship Program Prepares Diverse LeadersCHP’s two-year Health Fellowship Program prepares diverse healthcare professionals to serve as healthcare executives. Fellows gain in-depth exposure to a broad range of management issues and are involved in highly collaborative, strategic teamwork with regional and home office leaders. The program also aids CHP in recruiting diverse talent for leadership positions.

“I worked on projects and operational needs and got to know various leaders and build relationships, and that’s something I wouldn’t have had without the fellowship,” said Michael Robinson, interim regional director of HM Home Health Services, who came to Humility of Mary Health Partners (HMHP) in 2002 as a CHP Fellow. Since then he has taken on progressively more responsible roles with HMHP and was named the 2009 Young Healthcare Executive of the Year by the National Association of Health Services Executives.

Since its inception, CHP’s Health Fellowship Program has brought 18 diverse fellows into our health system, thus increasing the diversity of our leadership team. Of those, 14 have continued their CHP careers and have advanced to serve in key leadership roles across our system. The program allows CHP to fulfill our important responsibilities: to mentor talented, young, diverse people, to model our organization’s values for them, and to help them perpetuate and embrace the values of our ministry.

Additional Highlights• Several associates from Mercy

Health Partners – Southwest Ohio have completed the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati’s 10-month African American Leadership Development Program.

• A mentoring program piloted by Humility of Mary Health Partners pairs qualified mentors with associates who want to be mentored, and the program is helping to prepare diverse associates for leadership positions.

CHP Fellows Briana Maclin (left) and Ronni Sholes take part in a fund-raising event within CHP’s Northern Region.

Michael Robinson

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Diversity is about more than numbers or quotas. It really is about appreciation and gratitude. Human Dignity is the underpinning of all of our other Core Values, and our Mission is premised on the fact that everyone is created in God’s image.

Sister Doris Gottemoeller, RSM, Ph.D. Senior Vice President, Mission & Values IntegrationCatholic Health Partners

Diversity has moved from being something that was done because it was a legal mandate to being something that is done because it benefits the organization. I have seen CEOs, directors, managers and others really come to understand the value of diversity for their organizations.

Martha Mariby ArgotteHR GeneralistLourdes

Diversity Training Fosters Inclusion and EngagementCHP’s Community Mercy Health Partners (CMHP) region has implemented a comprehensive diversity training initiative that has had a positive impact on associate engagement. “I’m very excited and proud of what we’ve accomplished,” said Julia Truman, CMHP’s director of employment and associate relations.

Drawing on training programs initially developed by Mercy Health Partners – Southwest Ohio, CMHP has conducted sessions for leaders that focus on racial and ethnic diversity and on class differences. Human resources representatives also go to all departments within CMHP and conduct diversity and sensitivity training. Moreover, focus groups are offered for diverse associates, and their feedback will help to shape future training.

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By building a diverse workforce, CHP will be betterprepared to meet the needs and understand the perspectives of the diverse communities that we serve. Our diversity will also generate greater creativity and more effective ways of fulfilling our Mission.

However, simply hiring diverse associates isn’t sufficient. CHP also must provide a welcoming, inclusive environ-ment, opportunities for career growth and development, and the chance to tackle new challenges. All of these factors lead to strong associate engagement and lower separation rates.

Major System Initiatives• By means of focused coaching and development

opportunities, we are assembling a diverse talent pool so there will be qualified and ready diverse candidates in the pipeline for critical positions throughout CHP.

• We are working to increase diverse associate engagement as measured in an annual employee engagement survey from The Gallup Organization, and we are working to further decrease the rate at which diverse associates leave our organization.

Recruit, Develop and Retain Diverse Talent

Mercy Health Partners – Lorain Region’s Rising Stars summer youth internship program was the first such program within CHP to introduce minority high school students to career opportunities in healthcare. The region partners with the Lorain County Urban League to find highly qualified and motivated candidates for the program.

During the four-week program, students have daily work and shadowing assignments, tour facilities, interview executives and see surgeries and deliveries. They also build relationships with people throughout the organization and write four thank you notes per week.

“My challenge is to stay connected with them after the program so they don’t lose sight of their dreams,” said Catherine Woskobnick, the region’s training manager, who developed and operates the program.

“They now understand how committed they must be to become a healthcare worker, a doctor or an executive,” said Sascha Chatman, the region’s diversity officer.

Now, many CHP regions offer programs similar to Rising Stars, including St. Rita’s Health Partners in Lima, Ohio, which conducts a Multicultural Summer Youth Program. Participating students embark on an eight-week, paid summer internship during which they are immersed in all aspects of healthcare and spend time in numerous hospital departments such as Biomedical Engineering, Oncology, Nutrition Services and Home Care.

“The students do a little of everything in the departments to get insight into what happens there,” said David Turner, diversity and inclusion coordinator for St. Rita’s Medical Center. They also learn about the business side of healthcare, interview hospital executives and complete research projects.

Northern Region Establishes Best Practice for Retaining Diverse AssociatesMercy – Northern Region has achieved the lowest diverse associate separation rate throughout our health system, and this best practice is now being adopted by other CHP regions. The approach includes a monthly review of minority turnover and the development of action plans at facilities where minority turnover is highest.

“Mercy also listens closely to feedback from diverse associates,” said Jeanne Heintschel, the region’s retention and diversity officer. She conducts focus groups and exit interviews with diverse associates. The feedback she gains helps shape diversity council activities and calls attention to successes, as well as opportunities for improvement.

“We have a regional diversity council, and we have diversity councils on each campus as well, and they look at what programs are needed,” she said. In addition, diversity training is provided to all newly-hired associates, and Mercy offers educational programs on diversity topics.

• Community Mercy Health Partners has added a diversity presentation to its New Associate Orientation to confirm its commitment to fostering a work environment that recognizes and celebrates diversity.

• Several graduates of Mercy – Northern Region’s summer youth internship program have become nursing and pre-med majors, with one student receiving a full scholarship to a top nursing program.

Internships Build Pipeline of Diverse Talent Additional Highlights

Sr. Doris Gottemoeller and Sr. Carole Anne Griswold met with participants of the Mercy

Lorain Rising Star program during a Cultural Assessment.

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CHP is strongly committed to doing business with vendors who reflect the diversity of our patients and communities. By choosing to work with minority- and women-owned businesses, many of whom are located in our communities, we demonstrate our willingness to help those communities prosper.

Our extensive focus on supplier diversity has significantly increased the range and quantity of supplies that we purchase from minority- and women-owned businesses. Initially, we set a three-year target to achieve $25 million in spending with diverse suppliers, and we have significantly surpassed that goal.

Major System Initiatives• CHP is striving to reach the goal of spending 10 percent of our purchasing

dollars with diverse suppliers by 2012. • We have developed a supplier diversity infrastructure that includes detailed

information posted on our Web site, www.health-partners.org, that helps certified minority- and women-owned suppliers apply to do business with CHP.

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CHP has an opportunity to have a significant impact on the socioeconomic status of the communities that we serve by encouraging the use of minority- and women-owned businesses.

Calvin T. WrightVice President, Supply Chain ManagementCatholic Health Partners

By taking a leading role in encouraging supplier diversity, both within our own organization and within healthcare in general, we can assist diverse entrepre-neurs in increasing the size and strength of their businesses.

Michael D. ConnellyPresident & CEOCatholic Health Partners

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Diverse Suppliers Will Help Build New HospitalMercy Health Partners – Southwest Ohio will build a state-of-the-art hospital on the west side of Cincinnati, Ohio to replace two aging facilities, and a portion of the construction spending will go to diverse suppliers. Regional and CHP staff are identifying minority- and women-owned businesses who will take part in constructing the 250-bed hospital.

“We’re finding that there are many diverse suppliers who will be an excellent fit for this project, and we’re looking forward to building long-term relationships with them,” said Ken Macon, CHP’s corporate director of capital and purchased services. Most of these firms are located in south central Ohio, so construction of the new hospital will benefit the local diverse business community as well as the wider economy in the surrounding area.

In addition, diverse construction workers will help to build the new facility. Turner Construction Company, which is managing the project, is including workforce inclusion language in its contracts to ensure that a percentage of the workers will be minorities.

• Other regional accomplishments include the fact that Mercy Health Partners – Lorain Region purchases dialysis services from a diverse firm, Humility of Mary Health Partners has established a partnership with a diverse office supply company and Mercy – Northern Region has achieved an impressive overall level of spending with diverse suppliers.

• CHP was the major sponsor of the 2010 South Central Ohio Healthcare Supplier Diversity Symposium, and our CEO, Michael D. Connelly, served as symposium co-chairperson. In addition, Mr. Connelly is leading a citywide effort to increase the supplier diversity spending of hospitals that are members of the Health Improvement Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati.

Additional Highlights

CHP’s president and CEO, Michael D. Connelly, addresses the audience during a panel discussion

at the 2010 South Central Ohio Healthcare Supplier Diversity Symposium.

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Additional Highlights• Within Mercy Health Partners – Kentucky, an

average of 400 associates attend the annual Diversity Fair organized by Lourdes Hospital’s diversity council. The event features food, music, artifacts and educational materials from different cultures.

• The diversity council for Mercy Health Partners Northern Region sponsors students in a Summer Learning Program. The purpose is to encourage young people of diverse racial backgrounds to consider a future career in healthcare. These students meet with leaders throughout the region and they participate in a hands-on clinical and non-clinical experience.

To bring our strategic vision for diversity and inclusion to life, the CHP regions and home office each have their own diversity councils that plan and implement diversity- and inclusion-related activities and programs. In addition, CHP has a systemwide diversity council, chaired by CHP’s CEO, that establishes systemwide diversity initiatives and tracks systemwide and regional progress in achieving diversity objectives.

Unity Council Puts Diversity into ActionWithin CHP’s home office, the Unity Council hosts “lunch and learn” sessions on diversity-related topics so that associates can increase their multicultural knowledge. Sessions have focused on Caribbean, Nigerian, Appalachian and Native American cultures, as well as Judaism and Islam.

“We also put our commitment to diversity into action by going out into our local community and volunteering with a variety of organizations,” said Cheryl Floyd, council chair and administrative coordinator for CHP’s advocacy and government relations department. Associates have been able to assist a diverse cross section of people by taking part in volunteer opportunities organized by the Unity Council, including wrapping gifts for underprivileged children, sorting and boxing donated scarves and serving at Parent Information Night Dinners for at-risk teens and their parents.

Council Generates Enthusiasm for DiversityMercy Health Partners – Tennessee’s very active diversity council has organized numerous diversity-related activities, including ethnic food-tastings, educational programs and webinars. One notable program, “The Big Read” book group, offers associates the opportunity to read novels that address diversity and share their thoughts with each other. The council also held a Diversity Celebration and conducted a diversity and inclusion survey so associates could provide feedback and suggestions.

“We realize that diversity is a journey, not a point in time that you reach,” said Mary Rimer, council chair and Regional Resource Development consultant.

Council subcommittees pursue objectives related to diversity in the community, culturally proficient patient care, workforce diversity and leadership diversity. The council also promotes diversity and inclusion via an associate newsletter called “Unity Matters” and by posting diversity information on the Mercy Health Partners Web site.

Associates celebrate diversity at Lourdes Hospital’s Diversity Fair.

Diversity Councils

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Additional Highlights• For several years, Mercy Health

Partners - Tennessee has had the largest corporate team at the Knoxville YWCA’s Race Against Racism and is a proud and consistent participant in Knoxville’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade.

• Community Mercy Health Partners collaborates with a coalition of Champaign and Clark County, Ohio organizations to provide annual, free health screenings and social services to area migrant workers and their families.

• CHP received the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati’s Corporate Medallion Award for exceptional leadership in service to the Urban League and the community at large.

Building lasting relationships with diverse organizations in our communities is another major focus of our diversity and inclusion effort. We are eager to partner with other organizations to improve the health and quality of life of all those who live in our communities.

Hospital Helps Community Embrace DiversityMercy Health Partners – Kentucky’s Lourdes Hospital is well-known throughout the Paducah community for its commitment to diversity and inclusion. “Universities, agencies and other organizations come to us for diversity information, and that is a great source of pride for us,” said Martha Mariby Argotte, HR generalist at Lourdes and leader of the hospital’s diversity council.

Lourdes partners with Western Kentucky Community & Technical College, Four Rivers Society for Human Resource Management and the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation to sponsor and host an annual diversity conference for human resource professionals and business owners. In addition, Lourdes participates in the Paducah Human Rights Commission, hosts a celebration to kick off Paducah’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day festivities and serves as a sponsor of the Interracial Women’s Group’s Calling All Colors diversity education event for area school children.

Lourdes Hospital is a major sponsor of an annual diversity conference for human resource

professionals and business owners from the Paducah, Kentucky area.

Associates from Mercy Health Partners – Tennessee take part in

Knoxville’s Race Against Racism.

Regions Celebrate Black History Month A cornerstone of Mercy Health Partners – Southwest Ohio’s diversity and inclusion work is the region’s annual Black History Month Celebration, which is attended by an average of 450 to 500 people each year, including key civic leaders from the Greater Cincinnati area. “The program is both educational and motivational for our associates, their families, our community partners and board members,” said Renee Springer, former regional vice president, OE and The Learning Center.

The Black History Month Celebration features a keynote speaker who is well-known, either locally or nationally, and also includes local entertainment groups. Organizations that partner with Mercy Health Partners, such as the African American Chamber, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, are invited to attend, and the celebration increases awareness of the region’s strong commitment to diversity and inclusion.

HMHP Partners with Others to Develop Diversity InitiativesHumility of Mary Health Partners (HMHP) is one of the original founders and members of “Partners for Workplace Diversity,” which consists of area organizations dedicated to developing successful diversity initiatives that meet their needs and increase the diversity of the community at large. Other alliance members include General Motors Lordstown, Youngstown State University, Regional Chamber, The Youngstown Jewish Federation, and a host of banks, businesses and agencies.

Porfirio Esparra, an HMHP representative on Partners’ board, stated, “Recognizing the diversity of its members and its customers is central to an organization reaching its maximum potential and enjoying the full range of market opportunities, regionally, nationally and globally. Collaborating with other local organizations and sharing best practices has been a rewarding experience that has yielded positive outcomes when it comes to developing fundamentally sound diversity initiatives.”

Community Outreach

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Our Diversity and Inclusion VisionCHP is poised to move to a whole new level with regard to diversity and inclusion. We envision that, with committed and consistent effort, we will come to be viewed by our associates and the communities we serve as a diversity best practice organization on a journey toward achieving and continually improving an inclusive culture.

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©2011 Catholic Health Partners