Accelerating existing plans and introducing new opportunities for HCA Healthcare colleagues to share their voice, strengthens organization’s commitment to drive meaningful change across the enterprise.
Our nation has been challenged in many ways since the death of George Floyd in May. Many of our colleagues—especially our Black colleagues—are feeling fear, sadness, frustration and disappointment, but they are also strengthened in their resolve to stand against systemic racism and create healthier tomorrows.
Now more than ever, HCA Healthcare is dedicated to ensuring equitable access to high quality care for our patients, fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace for our colleagues, and cultivating and sustaining relationships with suppliers and community partners that broaden our reach and deepen our understanding in the communities we serve.
Chief diversity officer Sherri Neal recently shared our renewed and expanded focus on diversity and inclusion, which includes a comprehensive, strategic approach centered on patients, colleagues, suppliers, boards, community partnerships and sustainability.
“We value each of your voices and it is imperative we find ways to ensure that all who expressed the desire for a more inclusive culture at HCA Healthcare are engaged in helping us make progress,” says Sherri. “Our colleagues serve as important champions in this work.”
Advancing our D&I commitment
HCA Healthcare has strengthened our commitment to diversity and inclusion by accelerating existing program plans and launching new initiatives in order to best support our colleagues, including the following:
- Hosting special listening sessions and enterprise-wide town halls to provide further opportunities for colleagues to share their voice.
- Preparing plans to establish local diversity councils in our facilities.
- Launching a Colleague Networks program to provide opportunities for HCA Healthcare colleagues to convene around shared commonalities or experiences. These networks will create space to discuss issues of importance and how the organization can better advocate for those issues.
- Implementing a Conscious Inclusion training experience to equip leaders to recognize and mitigate different types of unconscious biases and prepare them with practical day-to-day skills and resources to engage and support our colleagues. A virtual conscious toolkit is now available as a companion resource to this training. Additionally, all colleagues across the enterprise will receive conscious inclusion training as part of the required annual code of conduct training beginning in 2021.
- Increasing visibility of the BRAVE (Bold, Relevant, Authentic, Valuable and Educational) Conversations program, which provides colleagues an opportunity to discuss complex topics and share fears, hopes and challenges, through a safe, immersive and transforming dialogue experience.
- Established a match program to enhance donations made by HCA Healthcare colleagues to organizations supporting racial justice and addressing health equity for communities of color. The HCA Healthcare Foundation matched 100% of colleagues’ gifts through July 31, for a total impact of nearly $200,000.
In addition to the above expanded colleague offerings, we are committed to strengthening our relationships with Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and industry- and school-based associations. Other activities include:
- Emphasizing diversity in identifying and considering candidates for all Leadership Development Programs and Key Talent programs
- Launching a senior leader mentorship program
- Setting quantifiable goals related to diverse talent acquisition and representation
“We have a responsibility to ensure equity from the inside out,” Sherri says, “While I am confident our robust diversity and inclusion strategy addresses our most critical opportunity areas, it is clear to me that we have much work to do.”
“We have a responsibility to ensure equity from the inside out.”— Sherri Neal, Chief Diversity Officer
Colleagues express gratitude
Kim Adams, a human resources business partner at Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, Fla., is thankful that HCA Healthcare is taking proactive steps in response to recent events.
“I am a white mother to a biracial daughter, and I am proud to work for an organization that values diversity and inclusion through action, not just words,” she says.
Colleagues across HCA Healthcare have expressed their gratitude. Some, like S. Ellen Bomhoff, want to do more.
“Nothing is stopping each of us to influence our own little corner of the world when the opportunity arises each day, and that is what I intend to do more of,” says Ellen, LSSGB, MSN, a quality improvement advisor with Mission Health in our North Carolina division.
COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted communities of color, a fact that has raised more awareness of existing health disparities. HCA Healthcare is advancing its commitment to eliminating such disparities, Sherri says.
“The Diversity and Inclusion team is paving the way for a more inclusive culture, but all colleagues have the ability to impact and influence change within the organization,” says Sherri.
For more information on Diversity and Inclusion at HCA Healthcare, visit our website to learn more.
