Check out the video above featuring Harvard-affiliated trainees and program leadership speaking about experiences with diversity. Features many of our MGHfC Family!
Introduction to diversity and inclusion at MGHfC. Come meet our residents and alumni as they share their experiences, as well as the incredible advocacy work they do in the community.
1. MGH fosters a supportive work environment. Since 1995, MGH has ranked in the top 5 hospitals in the nation in U.S. News & World Report. Organizations such as Modern Healthcare, DiversityInc, The Scientist, The Boston Globe, Forbes Magazine, American Nursing Credentialing Center and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation have named us a top workplace. Attendings are committed to education, are very approachable, and serve as mentors for trainees. Similarly, the MGH nursing and ancillary staff are dedicated to our patients and love to work with trainees.
2. MGH supports varied career paths. Whatever your career interests, there is a place for you at MGH! Vast opportunities exist in clinical practice and basic science, clinical, health services, disparities and health policy research. MGH is the home of the 2009 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Jack W. Szostak, PhD. In 2000, MGH established the Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation dedicated to revitalizing and redesigning care delivery. MGH operates community health centers (CHC) in Chelsea, Charlestown, Revere and the North End. MGH also focuses on many global health initiatives in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. The Centers of Expertise provide trainees with important cross-specialty resources for professional development and strategies for innovative health care delivery.
3. MGH is committed to the community. At the core of MGH’s mission is improving the health and wellbeing of the diverse communities it serves. MGH has been awarded esteemed community service honors in health care, including the 2015 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service, and the 2011 Association of American Medical Colleges Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service. In 2017, Chelsea CHC received the RWJF Culture of Health Prize honoring communities for efforts to ensure all residents live healthier lives. Residents have many opportunities to work closely with the Center for Community Health Improvement and serve as mentors for underserved youth interested in science and health careers. Our Disparities Solution Center is an international leader in promoting equitable care; the MGH Annual Report on Equity in Healthcare Quality monitors several key components of quality by race, ethnicity and language, and was developed in response to the IOM’s “Crossing the Quality Chasm.”
4. MGH cares for a diverse patient population. 13% of MGH’s inpatients and 28% of our outpatients are Latino or African American. In 2017, MGH cared for patients from over 140 countries and out Medical Interpreter Services provided a total of 166,892 interpretations in 128 different languages, including American Sign Language (ASL.) Our Chelsea CHC patient population is very diverse: 50% of patients are Latino, 9% are Black, and 30% indicate Spanish as their preferred language. Our Chelsea, Charlestown and Revere CHCs support communities where 20% of the residents have incomes below the poverty level, 30% are foreign born and 40% speak languages other than English at home.
5. Diversity, inclusion, and equity are priorities for MGH. We believe because of diversity we will excel; through inclusion we will respect; focused on equity we will serve, heal, educate and innovate. These core values are reflected in MGH’s diversity statement and our credo and boundaries. In addition to the CDI, MGH has a hospital-wide Diversity Committee focusing on the hospital’s role as an employer, provider of care and member of the community. MGH participates in the annual YW Stand Against Racism and was awarded the American Hospital Association’s inaugural Equity of Care Award in recognition of our work to reduce health care disparities and increase workforce diversity. Gender equity is important at MGH: trainees and faculty have access to resources through the Office for Women’s Careers, onsite child care and lactation rooms. MGH has a diverse workforce with a strong LGBTQIA community and our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Employee Resource Group helps support trainees as they progress in their careers. Other employee resource and networking groups (the Association of Multicultural Members of Partners; the Committee for Latino Initiatives; the Chinese Staff and Scientists Association; and the Employees Disabilities Resource Group) are available to trainees. Hospital-sponsored celebrations of Black History Month, Latino Heritage Month, Iftar, Diwali and Chanukah are held annually.