From investing in minority owned businesses to asking for staff feedback, Worcester based-UMass Memorial Health's first health equity report details how it has improved health equity.
Over the last 18 months, the system has implemented a variety of initiatives to improve health equity at the system. Here are some of its programs outlined in the March 31 report:
- The system created a Health Equity Steering Committee that advised and assessed its internal health equity work and made suggestions as to how it can be a more equitable workplace.
- It solicited advice from its employees about improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace and received more than 100 pieces of feedback.
- Alongside the city of Worcester, the system created a COVID-19 health equity task force that looked to address health equities in the COVID-19 outbreak and shift resources and priorities to the hardest hit communities.
- It developed a $1 million program to help fund health equity initiatives and allow them to come to fruition.
- It launched an Office of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging to steer the systems overarching diversity mission.
- The system also pledged to triple purchases from minority- and women-owned businesses over the next five years.