Novant Health has been named one of the 2014 Top 10 Hospitals and Health Systems in the nation by DiversityInc, the country’s leading source for advancing and recognizing excellence in diversity management. Novant Health debuts on this year’s list at No. 3, joining some of the country’s most prestigious healthcare systems including Cleveland Clinic (5th) and Mayo Clinic (8th).
A total of 1,215 companies participated in the 2014 survey in 12 categories. Each organization completed the 300-question survey, divided into four equally weighted areas:
- Talent pipeline: workforce breakdown, recruitment, diameter of existing talent, structures
- Equitable talent development: employee resource groups, mentoring, philanthropy, movement, fairness
- CEO/leadership commitment: accountability for results, personal communications, visibility
- Supplier diversity: amount spent with companies owned by people from underrepresented groups, accountability, support
The survey, now in its 15th year, leads to a detailed, empirically driven ranking.
Diversity initiatives at Novant Health are driven through the Executive Diversity Council chaired by Carl S. Armato, president and CEO, and a System Diversity Council chaired by Deborah P. Ashton, PhD, vice president and chief diversity officer. Armato meets regularly with seven business resource groups, which focus on community involvement, human resources and marketing. The groups address health disparities and support the health system’s concentration on community wellness to promote better patient outcomes.
The seven business resource groups, each comprised of employees and an executive sponsor, are African American, Hispanic, Women, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender, Asian, Generational and Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. Each group focuses on addressing the unique needs of their population segment in regard to patient care, attracting and retaining employees from that segment, community health and outreach, identification and use of businesses from that segment, and creating a welcoming environment that supports diversity and inclusion of people from various backgrounds.
The rankings are determined by an objective methodology as listed above. The empirical data for the rankings is provided by a 300-question survey filled out by personnel at the participating companies. Survey participation is free to any company with at least 1,000 U.S. workers.
To learn more about Novant’s diversity programs, visit http://www.novanthealth.org/home/about-us/diversity.aspx