Structural Racism in Healthcare: US Hospitals Must Do Better

I have recently been privileged to experience the incredible DEIB Certification program through Cornell University. Every time I participate in a DEIB program, I learn so many new things.

Some of the new information gives me hope. And some of it continues to break my heart, make me angry and want to do more to fix it.

During the Cornell DEIB Symposium this week, I had the chance to hear from other leaders across different industries about their experiences in their workplaces. Surprisingly, like me, many of them have left their professional careers to start their own businesses…you know why?

Because they didn’t feel welcome in their own workplace.

In fact, we all shared stories of our previous organizations’ attempts at diversity committees where the most they could accomplish was a cultural calendar of events. The day to day environment of interactions between leaders and employees remained unchanged.

These symposium participants worked in education, healthcare, government and private sectors. Yet our stories shared one common thread: our companies claimed the DEIB messaging yet their actions demonstrated the opposite.

And that’s when the lightbulb went on for me…

NO ONE IS DOING THIS WELL!

How can this be? Haven’t we been fighting for equity, inclusion, radical increase in diversity for decades?

So many companies fail at this. And there are important lessons learned that we can all use today.

First: if you truly believe you and your organization have mastered inclusive spaces, you most likely haven’t. That’s because DEIB is a continuous journey. There is no ultimate arrival in which we stop evolving. Even if you hit a clearly defined DEIB metric, it’s a snapshot in time. Remember that your employee and co-worker demographics, experiences, expectations are constantly changing. So your company’s approach should change with it, in real time.

Second: if you’re not receiving any criticism or improvement suggestions from your team, it does not mean everything is great. In this case, no news is bad news. It means you haven’t built a psychologically safe space for people to feel comfortable giving difficult feedback. And without debate, ideas or healthy tension, your company will fail. Period.

So what’s a DEIB focused leader to do?

1.      Pause and make intentional time to do a thorough assessment of where you are. Make sure it is from your employees’ perspective, and not your own. Use your own internal tool or reach out to a qualified consultant to provide a tool for you. Then take the results and accept them. Don't argue with them. Accept them.

2.      No change is possible without the senior leadership team’s own motivation to do better. If you are having a difficult time convincing your executive team that this should be a priority, there are several statistics and business cases available to use as evidence. Here is one article to get you started: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2023/05/11/the-business-case-for-diversity-equity-and-inclusion/?sh=bae427028381 

3.      Start simple. Have your leadership team and your direct reports get to know each other as a whole person, not just their job title or role at work. For example, you can create a list of questions that employees can choose from to answer and share at meetings. Questions like “what was the first car you owned”, “where did you grow up”, and “what has been your favorite vacation and why” can help people find what they have in common. You can create your own or find one online (there are millions of free question banks out there). Making this a part of your monthly meetings will help your team recognize their common humanity, which is the foundation for more open/honest conversations about inclusion.

At the end of the day, it’s important to recognize that systemic racism is killing (literally) millions of marginalized Americans. The CDC has made health equity and inclusive clinical work environments a top priority for this reason.

Where would your healthcare organization rank today if this magazine cover story were published?

I am here to help you in your journey. Contact MC Health Care Consulting LLC for an experienced nurse executive partner to help you in your journey to a more inclusive workplace. Your team and your patients deserve it.