The Third National Conference on
Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations:
Advancing Effective Health Care through Systems Development, Data, and Measurement

October 2 - 4, 2002, Chicago, IL
Westin Chicago River North Hotel

Session E-2: Managing staff diversity in health care settings

Diversity in Organizations: Survey Results

The purpose of the current study was to provide a "snapshot" of where organizations are today in achieving the principles of diversity. We were particularly interested in examining the extent to which the organizational approach to diversity is framed from an equal opportunity perspective or as recognition of the inherent value of diversity.

A random sample of 70 individuals holding Human Resource positions in organizations representing a broad range of industries participated in this study. Participants completed a Diversity Questionnaire consisting of the following scales: Representation, Tolerance, Education and Training, and Diversity Initiatives.

Overall, our results suggest that organizational approach to diversity is particularly focused on equal opportunities rather than on recognition of the value of diversity. Diversity initiatives focused upon legislative compliance rather than on creating an organizational culture that integrates diversity in its philosophy. Organizations in the health industry seem to promote diversity education and training initiatives to a greater extent than organizations in other industries. In addition, educational initiatives promoted by organizations in the health industry seem to focus on the understanding of cultural differences (beliefs and practices) compared to other industries that seem to focus more on diversity initiatives required by law.

The current survey is part of an ongoing project designed to develop adequate instruments to assess organizational approaches to diversity and the impact of various diversity initiatives on organizational outcome. We are also interested in comparing the approaches to diversity in different industries and to evaluate the impact of various diversity initiatives for these industries.

Richard S. Andrulis, PhD
Professor
HRD and Psychology Department
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Phone: 610-519-4619
E-mail: Richard.andrulis@villanova.edu

Dr. Andrulis is the President of Andrulis Associates and Professor at Villanova University teaching graduate courses in the HRD and Psychology Department. His main interests are focused on developing instruments to evaluate diversity initiatives and the impact of various diversity initiatives on organizational outcome.

Dumitrela Negru, MS
Graduate Student
Graduate Program in I/O Psychology
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA
Phone: 757-622-3523
E-mail: dnegru@yahoo.com

Dumitrela Negru received her Master’s in General/Experimental Psychology from Villanova University and is currently enrolled in a PhD program in I/O Psychology at Old Dominion University. Her interests are focused on diversity training and on cross-cultural teams’ processes and outcomes.

Cultural Competence in Employment for Health Care Organizations

This workshop will address five questions: 1) What is culture? 2) Why does culture matter at work? 3) What is cultural competence in employment? 4) How can employers anticipate cross-cultural issues in employment? 5) How to become a culturally competent manager/employer: new skills and best practices.

Why does culture matter at work?
Basically, there are five reasons. First, organizational culture is a critical factor in organizational success. Second, culture affects recruitment, hiring and retention. Third, culture affects communication and teamwork. Fourth, culture affects marketing and sales, patient care and the ability to tap rapidly growing ethnic markets. Fifth, cultural conflicts can create legal liability. (Employment law jury verdicts tripled from 1994 ($240,000/case) to 2000 ($789,000/case). Today, one in every five employment law jury verdicts is $1 million or more.)

What is Cultural Competence in Employment?
Drawing on the work of Robert Like, the Bennett’s and other scholars, we suggest that cultural competence in employment is a function of four key components: cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skills and practice or application.

What are the attributes of the culturally competent manager/employer?
The culturally competent manager will have these skills: the ability to develop relationships with employees based on trust; cross-cultural communication (including the skill of empathic inquiry); the capacity to anticipate and defuse predictable sources of cultural tension (perspective-shifting); team-building; employment law issue-spotting; conflict management and resolution/mediation; complaint handling skills and the desire to be or become a diversity change agent. Culturally competent employers typically go through a predictable process of discovery, assessment, exploration, transformation and revitalization. Best practices of culturally competent employers will also be discussed.

David B. Hunt, JD
President/CEO
Critical Measures, LLC
333 South Seventh Street, Suite 2000
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Phone: 612-335-3990
Fax: 612-340-7900
Web: http://www.criticalmeasures.net

David Hunt is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Critical Measures, LLC. Critical Measures is a management consulting and training firm that specializes in employment law training, diversity training and cultural competence in health care. David Hunt has developed national expertise on diversity-related matters in law, business and medicine. Over the last eight years, David has worked with leading American corporations such as Microsoft, 3M, and American Family Insurance on diversity matters. In 2002, he and Critical Measures were awarded an exclusive national contract to provide diversity training to the NCAA. He has designed, developed and delivered some of the first training programs on cultural competence in health care to the Mayo Clinic, Rockford Health Systems, the Michigan State University Medical School and the family residency program at White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles. Current cultural competence clients include Minneapolis Children’s Hospital, Health Partners, Covenant Health Care and the Bon Secour Hospital System. Finally, David has worked with the Minnesota Supreme Court, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, area law schools and the Minnesota State Bar Association to provide training programs on elimination of bias in the legal system for Continuing Legal Education credit.

Prior to working in the diversity field, David worked as an attorney, health care consultant, and public policy analyst. A former adjunct professor at the William Mitchell College of law, David is listed on the Minnesota Supreme Court Neutrals roster as a qualified mediator and arbitrator. He mediates employment law matters for the EEOC and the Minnesota Office of Dispute Resolution as part of the Minnesota Human Rights Mediation Program. Many of these employment law disputes have cross-cultural elements to them.

A writer, speaker, and current events commentator, David has appeared on the McNeill-Lehrer News Hour and published numerous articles. David received his BA from Carleton College and his J.D. from the William Mitchell College of Law.

The Washington Business Group on Health’s Health Disparities Initiative: Promoting Health for a Culturally Diverse Workforce

Background
Within the next decade, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that 41.5% of the US workforce will be members of racial and ethnic minority groups. At the same time, myriad studies have emerged around health disparities and show that racial and ethnic minorities do not consistently receive the same standard or quality of health care as whites, even when the insurance levels are exactly the same. The Washington Business Group on Health, cognizant of these facts, launched the Health Disparities Initiative to engage large employers in the national effort to eliminate disparities in health.

The Health Disparities Initiative
The Washington Business Group’s Health Disparities Initiative is a multi-pronged initiative that includes the following components:

• Technical Advisory Board and Employer Council
• Cardiovascular Pilot Project
• Framing the Business Case: A White Paper
• National Employer Survey
• Employer Toolkit
• Health Disparities Solutions Series
• Online Resource Center
• Communications Component

The main objectives of the Business Group’s Health Disparities Initiative is to promote awareness among large employers about the impact of disparities on their workforce, provide practical, forward-thinking tools and solutions, and serve as the link between the business and public health communities.

Experiences, Successes and Lessons Learned
To date, the Business Group has launched two of the components: the Cardiovascular Pilot Project and the Health Disparities Solutions Series. The Cardiovascular Pilot Project — a collaborative effort between the Business Group, Pfizer and Pfizer Health Solutions — involves conducting an employee survey with three member companies to assess the level of disparity within a particular workforce. This company-specific information is vital to creating the "business case" for employer involvement in ensuring quality health care for all employees. The Health Disparities Solutions Series is a series of monthly conference calls, each which creates a venue for Business Group members to engage in dialogue about and share solutions to a variety of pertinent issues related to health disparities. The inaugural Solutions Series call focused on cultural competency in healthcare.

The Washington Business Group on Health
The Washington Business Group on Health is a non-profit membership organization representing the nation ‘s largest companies and health care purchasers. The Business Group’s overall mission is to provide large employers with clear and accurate information about and innovative solutions to address contemporary issues in today’s health care system.

Britt Weinstock, MA
Manager, Center for Prevention and Health Services
Washington Business Group on Health
50 F Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-585-1800
Fax: 202-628-9244
Web: http://www.wbgh.org

Britt Weinstock serves as Manager in the Center for Prevention and Health Services at the Washington Business Group on Health (WBGH). Her key responsibility is leading the organization's Health Disparities Initiative, which provides information and tools to employers on how to plan and purchase health care for a racially and culturally diverse workforce. Ms. Weinstock also is involved with projects relating to women's health and maternal and child health.

Prior to joining WBGH, Ms. Weinstock served as Senior Program Associate at DDB Bass and Howes - a public policy, communications and public relations consulting firm. There she developed minority outreach and legislative strategies for clients around issues such as HIV prevention, rural child poverty and welfare reform, as well as co-authored and lobbied the Microbicide Development Act of 2001. Before her work at DDB Bass and Howes, Ms. Weinstock was a Program Associate/Analyst at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. During her tenure at the Foundation, she helped organize a national conference around racial disparities in health, worked on projects addressing minority health and HIV/AIDS policies, and helped spearhead the Foundation's leadership development initiatives. Ms. Weinstock holds a Master of Arts degree in social and public policy from Georgetown University and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in women's health from Bucknell University.

Duane Putnam

Michael Reardon, MD

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