From left: panelists David Muller, MD, FACP; Erica Rubinstein, LCSW; and Chaplain Rocky Walker, MDiv; keynote speaker Mary-Frances Winters; Pamela Y. Abner, MPA; panel moderator Maxine Legall, MBA, MSW; and Gary C. Butts, MD, Dean for Diversity Programs, Policy and Community Affairs, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Participants received information on diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts throughout the Mount Sinai Health System.
At a networking and informational session, Nolan Kagetsu, MD, FACR, left, Vice Chair Quality, Associate Professor of Clinical Radiology, Department of Radiology, Mount Sinai West, talks with Mari Umpierre, PhD, LCSW, Director, Mount Sinai Calm, right, and Shehan Chin, LMSW.
From left: Edgar Vargas, MPH, LMSW, LGBT Program Manager; Leona Hess, PhD, Director of Strategy and Equity Education Programs; and Bee Jaworski, Education Program Assistant in Medical Education
At the start of a meeting, give participants a few moments to reflect quietly on the subject at hand, then call on each person for their thoughts. When people do speak, “listen to understand, and not to reply.”
These were some of the specific and achievable strategies discussed in the inaugural Health Care Inclusion Summit, which was in June at the Corporate Services Center and sponsored by Mount Sinai’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) and leadership in Service Excellence and Patient Experience.
The keynote speaker of the event was Mary-Frances Winters, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Winters Group, a diversity and inclusion consulting firm that has been working with top leaders of the Mount Sinai Health System on inclusion strategies for more than a year. “It is important to recognize that inclusion is a developmental process,” Ms. Winters said. “We must address changes in attitudes one stage at a time.”
Leona Hess, PhD, left, and Ann-Gel Palermo, DrPH, MPH, led a discussion on the mindsets of inclusive change makers.
Ms. Winters used an interactive tool to ask the 150 attendees how they defined themselves. The anonymous answers appeared on a screen at the front of the room: A daughter, a Buddhist, an African American mom, a gay man, a husband, a millennial, a person with ADHD. These “identity markers”—some visible and some not visible—influence how each person sees and reacts to the world, Ms. Winters said, and understanding this is the beginning of understanding and accepting others.
Panelists during the half-day summit were David Muller, MD, FACP, Dean for Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Chaplain Rocky Walker, MDiv, Center for Spirituality and Health, Mount Sinai Health System; and Erica Rubinstein, LCSW, CPXP, Vice President, Service Excellence and Patient Experience, Mount Sinai Health System. Maxine Legall, MBA, MSW, Assistant Director, Patient Experience, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, served as the moderator.
The panelists said that both staff and patients were benefiting from inclusion efforts—which have the overarching goal of making every person feel heard, understood, and respected. Among other measures, the Health System has revamped a panel that addresses patient complaints and created the Strategic Leadership Collaborative to improve equity in medical education. In addition, ODI has expanded its portfolio of education and training on unconscious bias, LGBTQ health care and workplace equity, and cultural and disability awareness.
Leona Hess, PhD, Director of Strategy and Equity Education Programs for Medical Education led a discussion on the mindsets of the inclusive change-maker with Ann-Gel Palermo, DrPH, MPH, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in Biomedical Education, and Chief Program Officer, Office for Diversity and Inclusion. Attendees were advised to focus on how their mindset as a leader was created and how it informs their interactions with staff and patients. “Understanding your own personal and social identity is critical for the development of the skills and behaviors needed to understand, work with, and integrate the perspectives of staff and patients with a diversity of identities.” Dr. Hess said.
Planning is already underway for a summit next year, said Pamela Y. Abner, MPA, CPXP, Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Office for Diversity and Inclusion. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” she said after the event. “We see an opportunity to make inclusion and equity even more integral to patient care, medical education, and every other facet of the Health System.”
Takeaway thoughts
“I have grown into the understanding that others face challenges that I’m not aware of. When I went to seminary for four years, one of my biggest takeaway lessons was what women go through in this world.”
Chaplain Rocky Walker, MDiv
“You have to stay open to different perspectives and different mindsets. Be open to other voices that might challenge you.”
Erica Rubinstein, LCSW, CPXP
“Inclusion begins with I and happens with us.”
Mary-Frances Winters, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Winters Group
“I have learned that you have to have humility—professionally and personally. Just take a step back and listen to people.”
David Muller, MD, FACP