Building a Diverse Workforce Using the Tufts Medicine Dashboard
Rosa Colon-Kolacko, Vice President & Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer for Tufts Medical Center, explains the creation of Tufts’ DE&I dashboard and how it is used in their roadmap for developing and supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Providing a Pathway for Future, Diverse Leaders at Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center’s Pathways Program was created to help its Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) personnel move into leadership positions as part of the health system’s larger economic mobility work.
“This came about as a means of accelerating and advancing the careers of BIPOC employees, part of our overall approach to DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] initiative,” says Breannah Conward-Lewis, BMC’s program manager in the Human Resources Department. “Pathways is a way of recognizing the fact that folks from underrepresented backgrounds – specifically BIPOC employees – are often overlooked when it comes to promotion opportunities or of just getting into leadership roles.”
Holyoke Medical Center’s Upfront Investment in its Nursing Staff
Holyoke Medical Center has a clear-cut, attractive offer for graduate nurses: commit to work with them for four years and they'll cut you a $50,000 check immediately upon signing if you're coming from a baccalaureate program, or $25,000 for new nurses with an associate's degree.
"It's not paid incrementally, paycheck by paycheck," says Margaret-Ann Azzaro, Holyoke's Vice President, Patient Care Services & Chief Nursing Officer. "It's 'Here's your check. We're helping you relieve some of the stress of having to re-pay your student loans."
Berkshire Health Systems' “Talent Pipeline” Allows Staff Growth Opportunities
In a decisive move to address staffing challenges and continue to build a skilled healthcare workforce in the Berkshires, that county’s largest employer, Berkshire Health Systems (BHS), has launched a series of workforce development pipeline programs that are opening new career paths for hundreds of nursing assistants, medical assistants, licensed practical nurses, and registered nurses.
BHS is experiencing the same staff vacancy and high-turnover-rate challengers being felt across Massachusetts and the U.S., but is taking action to turn the tide, investing significant resources – about $7 million – in developing career pipeline programs in high-need clinical areas.
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