DiversityInc, the nation’s leading publication in advancing excellence in diversity management, has ranked the Mount Sinai Health System No . 6 in its 2014 “Top 10 Hospitals and Health Systems” list. The recognition reflects both the longstanding work of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s diversity program through its Center for Multicultural and Community Affairs and the hospital-based diversity initiatives at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Brooklyn, Mount Sinai Roosevelt, and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s.
The Mount Sinai Health System’s programs for professional development and its mentoring opportunities for minority faculty and hospital managerial staff were highlighted as particularly outstanding by DiversityInc.
The magazine requires a rigorous application process that examines dozens of areas of diversity in health care management and the impact on patient care delivery. The review and scoring of empirical data includes questions about organizational policies and procedures; CEO commitment; recruitment; a workforce focus on ethnicity, gender, and the disabled; supplier diversity; and the existence and robustness of employee diversity councils and resource groups.
“We are pleased to have received this recognition, which reflects our commitment to embracing diversity and working with differences in support of excellence in health care and medical education,” says Pamela Abner, Chief Administrative Officer of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) at the Mount Sinai Health System.
Over the past several months, ODI has supported hospital-based and school-based diversity councils and employee resource groups (ERGs), which make recommendations to enhance the patient experience and engage staff as part of an inclusive and respectful workplace. Signage that appears in multiple languages, advancement of women faculty, and unisex bathrooms for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population are among the recent ideas that have been discussed at council and ERG meetings.
As part of the strategic framework for ODI, leadership is developing metrics to track results by measuring quality indicators, readmission rates, and other variables.
“We will continue to focus on diversity as part of relationship-building to achieve patient-centered care and to improve outcomes. And, for 2015, our goal is to move up on DiversityInc’s Top 10 list,” Ms. Abner says.
To learn more, visit www.mountsinaihealth.org/diversity.