level management
positions. Even when
it isn't possible or
appropriate to select a
provider that reflects
the patient's racial
identity, fostering an
inclusive environment
staffed with culturally
responsive providers
ensures that racially
discordant patient-
provider interactions
can also be healthy
and valuable.
A third reason is that accepting and embracing people who are differ-
ent expands the talent pool from which you draw, an important consid-
eration in a "full employment" economy. If you are not hiring from
minority populations, you're paring your potential pool by two-fifths.
Many people of color are under-recruited and represent gold mines of
talent.
A fourth reason is that diversity allows for innovative solutions that
help to narrow our communities' most pressing health disparities.
Diverse groups can frequently come up with more successful solu-
tions to the problems facilities are facing.
At HealthPartners, our commitment to ensuring that all patients,
regardless of identity, have access to quality health and experience led
us to find innovative solutions for narrowing the colorectal cancer
screening gap between white patients and people of color. In 2009,
only 43% of patients of color were screened for colon cancer com-
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 5
REAL-LIFE ROLE MODELS A diverse team of providers is more appealing to diverse
patient groups.
