Twenty-eight Massachusetts hospitals have signed the American Hospital Association’s #123forEquity Pledge to Eliminate Health Care Disparities. By doing so, the hospitals pledge to choose a quality measure to stratify by race, ethnicity or language preference or other sociodemographic variables, and then determine if a healthcare disparity exists in this quality measure. If there is a disparity, the hospitals design a plan to address the gap. Hospitals also design plans to provide cultural competency training for all staff and ensure that the hospital Board and leadership address the diversity issue.
On Monday May 16, MHA is bringing together a dynamic group of people from across the U.S. to address equity of care. DPH Commissioner Monica Bharel, M.D., MPH will be joined by Peggy Harris, MHA, FACHE, assistant VP of diversity & inclusion at Carolinas HealthCare System, which developed an action plan for addressing racial and ethnic disparities. Tomas Leon, MBA President & CEO of AHA’s Institute for Diversity in Health Management will directly address the #123for Equity Pledge and Toni Flowers‐Jefferson and Kinneil Coltman, diversity officers from health systems across the nation will discuss the varied benefits of a diverse healthcare workforce.
This MHA forum is funded with the support of the HRET and the MA Hospital Engagement Network. Massachusetts is the first state to hold such a conference under the banner of the #123forEquity pledge.