Diversity Leadership Group Institutional Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2009

1. The following resource was submitted with the purpose of distributing to AONE members as part of the AONE Diversity in Health Care Organizations Toolkit Submitted by: Rush University Medical Center Contact Person:Lisa Prytula, MA, RN Unit Director Chicago, IL

2. Diversity Leadership GroupInstitutional Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2009 Report to Management Committee March 13, 2008

3. Rush Diversity Initiative Overview Goal Provide a commitment to diversity that reflects our Mission, Vision and Values through: • Review of organizational successes and areas for improvement (Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity Leadership) • Utilization of a Diversity Leadership Group model to incorporate strategic leadership oversight at the senior level • Leveraging positive experience from all areas of the organization, including Human Resources, the Office for Equal Opportunity, and other university and corporate services for support and involvement • Linking goals/success to specific measures and outcomes Heading in the right direction… Leaders at Rush are committed to promoting equity and inclusiveness for all individuals in our organization. Successful implementation will largely depend on a similar strategic approach and commitment that was required with the integration of ICARE values throughout the organization.

4. The Diversity Leadership Group • Established in 2007 to build upon the RUMC diversity strategic work initiated by a report produced by the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Diversity Leadership • Charged with providing direction and guidance for diversity commitment as RUMC begins an action-oriented process of diversity transformation • The group has met five times with the following objectives: • Assessing the diversity climate at RUMC • Developing group cohesion to facilitate DLG members emerging role as diversity leaders at RUMC • Engaging in professional development for DLG members in the following areas: diversity management, cultural proficiency in health care, diversity leadership, culture in the workplace – enhancing the effectiveness of health care teams • Initiating strategic work: exploring diversity best practices and identifying RUMC strategic priority areas, identifying specific action projects, developing specific action recommendations “Rush University Medical Center (Rush) is at an important juncture on its way to achieving the organization’s stated mission of providing “the very best care for our patients…and enhancing excellence in patient care for the diverse (emphasis added) communities of the Chicago area now and in the future” Excerpt from the report, Becoming a Better Organization: Promoting Diversity as Part of the Culture at Rush University Medical Center, October 2006

5. The Diversity Leadership Group (cont.) • From the seven recommendations presented in the Ad Hoc Advisory Group’s report, the DLG has chosen an initial focus in three areas: • Leadership & Accountability* • Education, Research and Information • Hiring, Retention & Promotion* • Training & Improved Communication* • Community Relations • Services to Constituent Groups • Clarifying Boundaries

6. DLG Sub Groups DLG sub-groups were formed to better address organizational areas of opportunity recommended by the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Diversity Leadership Leadership and Accountability Group Members Cynthia Boyd (co-chair) Bob Clapp Lois Halstead Carmela Gonzalez Beverly Huckman Mike Mulroe (co-chair) Clayton Thomason Eugene Thonar Original Committee Charge: “For Rush to become a truly diverse and inclusive community, its leaders - - - including senior leadership - - - must set the pace. Senior leaders should establish clear goals and adopt new performance measurement strategies to hold themselves and other managers accountable for advancing Rush’s diversity goals.” Hiring, Retention and Promotion Group Members Leo Correa Sheila Dugan Sharon Gates (co-chair) Jane Grady (co-chair) Brad Hinrichs Norma Melgoza Peter Pwee Original Committee Charge: “Among the most pressing issues is the need to promote the hiring and development of administrators and managers, who are women and who are from underrepresented ethnic groups, in both the academic and non-academic sectors of the institution” Training and Improved Communication Group Members Julie Benesh Paula Brown (co-chair) Denise Gritsch Diane Howard Wrenetha Julion Marilyn O'Rourke Angela Moody-Parker Lisa Prytula (co-chair) Original Committee Charge: “Given that it is difficult to deal with harassment, workplace mistreatment or discrimination, the institution must implement additional strategies to prevent unacceptable or unprofessional behavior; teaching managers to work constructively with employees so as to prevent conflict and educating individuals in how to deal effectively with these matters on their own. Toward such ends, Rush must put more emphasis on diversity related education and training, and in particular, into teaching the institution to translate learned skills into the workplace.” *Original committee charges taken from Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Diversity Leadership recommendations

7. Institutional Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2009

8. Leadership & Accountability Sub Group * represents primary responsibility

9. Hiring, Retention & Promotion Sub Group * represents primary responsibility

10. Training & Improved Communication Sub Group * represents primary responsibility

11. Suggestions for Providing Ongoing Support Management Committee • Regular updates during Management Committee meetings. Update to be presented for one or two goals (business diversity, recruitment, diversity training, etc) by the executive sponsor responsible for that goal. Diversity Leadership Group • Sub-group co-chairs to periodically attend monthly Management Committee to provide DLG update for their area and communicate progress back to their group members. • Larger DLG group to meet quarterly to hear progress reports from executive sponsors and offer feedback based on original recommendations.

12. A Note about Terminology Excerpt from ‘Report of Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Diversity Leadership’: “Diversity refers to the mix of attributes that people use to distinguish each other. Theoretically, diversity is neither good nor bad; it refers simply to whatever particular mix of characteristics exist in a collected group. In specific contexts, however, this mix of characteristics, or absence thereof, may impede the mission or functioning of the group. In the modern university or medical center, diversity usually refers to issues of race and ethnicity, age, color, gender, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status, all being partial markers of social marginalization. Issues typically associated with “diversity” fall in one of three major areas: first, insufficient diversity - - - that is, the group in question does not represent the desired “mix” of characteristics; second, inappropriate treatment by the institution itself, such as unequal pay or opportunities for promotion as a result of the group’s particular mix of characteristics; and third, discriminatory or disrespectful treatment by members of any group who are not accepting of the different characteristics of others. The terms “equity” and “inclusiveness” can both be used in a general sense to refer to these same types of problems. When used more specifically, however, “equity” usually means an institution’s fair and equal treatment of diverse individuals, while “inclusiveness” usually refers to the welcoming of diverse people into the university and medical center