Reigniting the Human Connection

JENNIFER H. MIERES, MD, is a professor of cardiology and a leading expert in patient-centered healthcare advocacy. As senior vice president of Northwell Health's Center for Equity of Care, Dr. Mieres provides strategic guidance for Northwell's diversity and health equity initiatives and serves as the health system's first chief diversity and inclusion officer. ELIZABETH C. McCULLOCH, PhD, is the assistant vice president for diversity and health equity at Northwell Health. Dr. McCulloch established and oversees systemwide language access services and health literacy strategies. She has extensive experience in community and health equity research, particularly in applications of quantitative analysis.MICHAEL P. WRIGHT, EdD, served as vice president of diversity and health equity at Northwell Health. Dr. Wright has over twenty years of experience in leadership development and implementation of talent strategies across various industries globally. He is also an assistant professor at Hofstra University's Zarb School of Business.

"When Amanda Gorman, a twenty-two-year-old poet, shared the words of her poem ‘The Hill We Climb' at the inauguration of President Biden, she spoke that America is a ‘nation that isn't broken but simply unfinished.' This book attempts to tackle one of the major unfinished challenges that America's healthcare system must confront in the years ahead: achieving health equity for all of its citizens. The authors of this book recognize that a foundational element of achieving health equity is to develop and support a culture that embraces humanism in healthcare. They identify a framework on how to think about this challenge and provide a number of concrete steps that leaders and organizations can take that ultimately will move our nation closer to the promise of providing equitable care for all. This is an invaluable resource for all health providers trying to address America's unfinished business."—Jeffrey Kraut Executive Vice President, Strategy, Northwell HealthChair, NYS Public Health and Health Planning Council

• FOREWORDBY MICHAEL J. DOWLINGACKNOWLEDGMENTSINTRODUCTIONA JOURNEY TOWARD HEALTH EQUITYPART IA MAP FOR ACCOMPLISHING NEEDED CHANGECHAPTER ONEWHY A FORMALIZED APPROACH TO DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, AND HEALTH EQUITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER BEFORECHAPTER TWOTHE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE HUMAN CONNECTION, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSIONCHAPTER THREEA FRAMEWORK FOR DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, AND HEALTH EQUITYCHAPTER FOURCREATING A FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE CHANGEPART IIBUILDING A FRAMEWORK FOR DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, AND HEALTH EQUITYCHAPTER FIVELEADERSHIP COMMITMENTCHAPTER SIXEDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER SEVENLANGUAGE ACCESSCHAPTER EIGHTCOMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPCHAPTER NINESUPPLIER DIVERSITYCHAPTER TENWORKFORCEPART IIIINCLUSION AND ALLYSHIPCHAPTER ELEVENCREATING AND SUSTAINING A CULTURE OF INCLUSIONCHAPTER TWELVETHE IMPORTANCE OF ALLYSHIP IN THE EVOLVING HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPECHAPTER THIRTEENA PATH FORWARDABOUT THE AUTHORSAPPENDIXNEXT STEPS ON YOUR JOURNEY TOWARD HEALTH EQUITYENDNOTES