In a standing group photo, clockwise from left: Ian Soriano, Christine Tierney, James Morales, Lars Peterson, Annelies Wood, Karen Akire, Theresa Larivee, Christina Horvath. Top right: Carla Vaughan, Bottom right: Craig Hargrove
When it comes to making needed changes in health care or other issues around the world, one common piece of advice is to think globally, act locally. That idea also applies when it comes to the Penn Medicine Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity and its Action for Cultural Transformation (ACT). Through ACT, Penn Medicine seeks to eliminate structural injustice, while promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), across the health system and the communities it serves. To support this mission, ACT launched Strategic Pillar Co-Leaders, consisting of six workgroups focused on the topics of clinical, research, education, community, culture, and people.
On a “local” level, the workgroups collaborate with Pennsylvania Hospital’s DEI Steering Committee to ensure their strategies and tactics for advancing equity in health care are properly considered and executed locally in each entity across the system. “As a minority and as a foreign medical graduate who grew up in the Philippines, I thought that I could be an advocate and a voice for others in this position, as well as listen and understand what can be done to reduce institutional barriers for underrepresented groups,” said Ian Soriano, MD, section chief of GI Surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital and physician lead of the PAH DEI Steering Committee.
At the first PAH DEI Steering Committee meeting, representatives from each workgroup identified three common themes among the attendees, including mentorship to establish allies and connect people of all backgrounds, recognition of voices to ensure all groups are represented, and lastly, data gathering, such as feedback from our staff and results from initiatives. “This allows us to track the change we want to see,” Soriano said.
As part of his role as physician lead, Soriano acts as a bridge between physicians and the ACT workgroups, reaching out to his fellow physicians for their perspectives and sharing the feedback with the representatives of each workgroup. “There’s a lot of work ahead of us,” Soriano said. “But with this committed and enthusiastic team, we’re on the right path for our quest to make Penn a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace.”