In 2008, Congress officially named July as National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, in honor of Bebe Moore Campbell, an American author, journalist and mental health advocate whose personal experience with a family member’s mental illness motivated her to shine a light on the unique struggles faced by racial and ethnic minority communities.
In honor of this month’s observance, The Meyers Group is pleased to share our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, in particular for executive recruiters working in the healthcare industry, and the meaningful impact it can have on those often underserved communities. Our specific rationale include:
Health Equity: Healthcare systems have a responsibility to provide equal access to quality care for all individuals, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status. By embracing DEI principles, we can work towards reducing health disparities and ensuring that underserved and marginalized populations receive equitable healthcare services.
Enhancing Patient Outcomes: Cultivating diversity within healthcare systems can help foster a deeper understanding of different patient populations and their unique needs. When healthcare professionals come from diverse backgrounds, they bring varied perspectives, cultural competency, and language skills that enable them to effectively communicate with and provide appropriate care to a wide range of patients. This leads to improved patient satisfaction, better health outcomes, and reduced healthcare disparities.
"The vast majority of our own clients treat under-served, under-resourced populations, so it is important that staff be representative of the same populations that our clients are there to serve,” says Dr. Stuart Meyers, President of The Meyers Group.
“With this in mind, our focus over many years has been to provide our clients with professionals from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds to enhance their ability to be responsive to the needs in the communities served by our clients."
Workforce Recruitment & Representation: A diverse and inclusive healthcare workforce is also essential to address the complex healthcare challenges of diverse patient populations. By promoting DEI, healthcare organizations can attract and retain employees and Board members from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
This diversity in the workforce not only fosters innovation and creativity but also enables the development of culturally sensitive approaches to client and patient care. And when Boards of Directors and organizational leadership represent diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds it sends a critical message to the rest of the system and communities they serve.
“DEI should not represent a token commitment to the latest fashion in hiring professionals. It's a commitment to a certain value system about caring for a wide range of needs by a very diverse population in need of care, especially underserved populations,” Meyers offers.
“Our approach to potential clients is to communicate that we share that value, and recognize it's importance to that organization and the community it serves.”
Embracing DEI practices can also help healthcare systems attract top talent from diverse backgrounds. When employees feel valued, included, and empowered, they are more likely to bring their whole selves to work, contributing their unique skills, experiences, and ideas. This fosters innovation, problem-solving, and creativity, which are crucial for advancing healthcare delivery, research, and development.
Compliance with Regulations and Standards: In many regions, healthcare organizations are required to adhere to diversity and inclusion regulations, guidelines, and standards. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in legal consequences, financial penalties, damage to reputation, and loss of trust from the community.
“Whenever we work with a client, we become familiar with the regulatory requirements that each must adhere to, and in all instances, they must be able to demonstrate some degree of success in attracting staff who can be responsive to their client’s needs,” Meyers explains. “Our track record demonstrates success at providing our clients with those professionals with diverse and inclusive backgrounds.”
By prioritizing DEI, healthcare companies ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations, and build trust with patients, employees, and stakeholders.
Strengthening Community Relationships: Healthcare systems are an integral part of their communities, and their success depends on trust and collaboration with the people they serve, as well as with elected officials, advocacy groups, payers, and community partners. By actively promoting DEI, healthcare organizations demonstrate their commitment to social responsibility and fairness, which can help build strong relationships with diverse communities. This, in turn, can lead to increased community engagement, partnerships, and support.
“As a result of many years of experience in this field with a commitment to DEI we have developed a strong network of contacts already in the field. And so with each new search, The Meyers Group will reach out to our previous and current clients who can assist," Meyers says. "We are continuing to build and strengthen our commitment to the cause with every successful placement.”
Meyers adds, “our entire organization feels extremely gratified about the services our clients are providing to their communities, and how many thousands of individuals are seeing improvements in their lives as a result of the skilled interventions of provider organizations. In addition, we are similarly gratified to be a part of a process that is addressing the needs of professionals whose own lives are being positively affected when organizations themselves are making progress in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion”.
In short, DEI is important for healthcare companies because it promotes health equity, improves patient outcomes, enhances workforce representation, attracts talent and innovation, ensures compliance, and strengthens community relationships.
By embracing DEI, healthcare organizations can work towards providing high-quality, equitable care for all individuals.
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