Diversity best practices are far more common now than in the 1990's when the concept of strategic diversity management first captured the attention of American business leadership. The business case for diversity and inclusion is supported by over two decades of research and experience. And, cultural competence and diversity management in health care are mainstream practices, supported by the Affordable Care Act and prominent national organizations including the AHA, ACHE, ACGME, NCQA, NQF, and others. But far too many health care organizations still don't treat diversity management as a business imperative and a driver of strategy, and we have yet to achieve full inclusion in the workplace and amelioration of disparities in health and health care. Recently published results from the Institute for Diversity in Health Management's Benchmark Study of US Hospitals (AHA 2012), found that while 77% of responding hospitals collected the recommended patient demographic data, only 18% used these data to benchmark gaps in care. Fewer than half provided comprehensive cultural competency training; only 54% had strategic planning goals for improving care for culturally and linguistically diverse patient populations, and fewer than 40% for recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce. Why have health care organizations been slow to adopt a strategic approach to diversity management? Results from the recently completed National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) Diversity Demonstration Project are used to address this question. Two health systems participated in the demonstration project, each providing an intervention hospital and a control hospital. The pre-post intervention assessment battery evaluated the impact of systematic interventions on organizational practices, individual diversity leadership competencies, and organizational outcomes. Results point to greater pre-post improvement at the intervention as compared to the control hospitals. Findings support adoption of a systems approach to strategic diversity management in tandem with training and executive coaching to develop diversity leadership skills, knowledge, and abilities, focusing first on senior hospital leadership.
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