By embracing the strength of diversity, the justice of equity and the welcome of inclusion, we become a better workplace and center of healing. That’s why we track our progress toward DEI goals.
Metro Health believes in building DEI strategies into our organization’s structure. Everyone has a role to play in this environment, and everyone is a beneficiary. Although policies play an important role in this work, we believe it’s also important for DEI values to be part of our culture.
In addition to regular training, our monthly “Third Thursday” workshops are popular interactive sessions for our colleagues to learn about how to best serve and interact with diverse patient and employee populations. Topics have included:
- Personal cultures, values and beliefs
- Working effectively in diverse teams
- Preferred gender pronouns
- Racial/ethnic distinctions and disparities
- Religious beliefs and health care
- Cross-cultural communication
Antiracism Pledge
Metro Health – University of Michigan Health is committed to improve the health and well-being of our communities – all members of our communities. Read Metro Health’s pledge to antiracism here.
Rhae-Ann Booker, PhD, our Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, explains how the COVID-19 pandemic revealed why these values are so important.
About Diversity
At Metro Health, we encourage all people to think of themselves as diverse beings. In other words, diversity is not reserved for specific groups.
Our identity is made up of many traits, some visible, many not. For example, beyond age, gender, race and ethnicity, consider other distinguishing factors: marital status, gender identity, income, geographic origin, profession, religious beliefs, and many others. Diversity strengthens our organization by adding multiple perspectives, creativity and innovation to our work.
About Equity
Equity is not the same as equality.
Equal treatment can be well-intentioned but ineffective. Consider a classroom of 30 children, each given an identical pair of scissors. If three children are left-handed, they will experience difficulty – despite being provided the same tools as their peers.
Equity, by contrast, seeks to provide everyone the same opportunity for positive outcomes. That is why it is so important in health care, where it can mean the difference between life and death. Metro Health has always focused on treating each patient as a person – this is an essential component for health equity.
About Inclusion
We believe that all people should feel welcome at Metro Health. This extends to staff, visitors and patients and has always been part of our culture.
However, it’s important to recognize the unconscious biases each of us carries through life. Cultural awareness is important, too. We provide staff with training on these and other strategies to maintain an inclusive center of healing. Inclusion is a vital part of our commitment to serving the health and wellbeing of our community.
Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity (SOGI)
Metro Health is committed to being a safe, inclusive organization to our entire patient population. This includes welcoming individuals of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
We’ve added new questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to our Medical Record forms.
We believe it is important to learn this information from our patients. For more information:
Talking to your healthcare provider about being LGBTQIA+
About Our Policies
Metro Health has policies prohibiting discrimination or exclusion on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.