Every day, diversity, equity, and inclusion are formally addressed by Penn Primary Care and Lancaster General Health Primary Care. And while there are many reasons this work is prioritized by the leadership of both entities, two are often cited for having the broadest impact so far: accurately mirroring the community being cared for can lead to better patient experiences and health outcomes, and a host of benefits emerge when a variety of perspectives contribute to thought processes.
“We now know in managing the health of our patients, it’s incumbent upon us to recruit a diverse workforce that looks like the patient populations we are serving,” says Joseph Teel, MD, Chief of Regional Primary Care for Penn Medicine. “In doing so, we also have the opportunity to create more understanding and cohesiveness among our providers and staff.”
‘I am listening’
Aimee Ando, DO, MHCI, was named Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Penn Primary Care and Penn Specialty Practices in part because of her background in gender-affirming care. She’s practiced at Penn Family Medicine University City since 2012 and describes the culture there as inclusive.
“As a provider, a culturally-responsive and supportive workforce is deeply meaningful for me, knowing that every step of the way, our patients of all different backgrounds are going to be treated with dignity and respect,” she says.
Since 2018, Dr. Ando has helped develop and oversee health system-wide trainings in unconscious bias and ways to identify and speak up against microaggressions without fear of retaliation in service to accountability, repair of relationships and high reliability. She manages a small staff and task force made up of employee volunteers from diverse roles and identities themselves who are committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within Penn Primary Care and Penn Specialty Practices, and she participates in a number of related committees across the organization.
The extent of her involvement, Dr. Ando says, is proof that diversity, equity, and inclusion matter at Penn.
“We don’t have it right just yet,” she says. “But I am listening, and will continue to listen, to our providers when they feel their particular experiences aren’t being heard or when they have novel ideas for enhancing our culture of belonging.”
Part of the solution
Since its inception more than 125 years ago, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health has strived to ensure a racial and ethnic concordance between its providers and their patients, says John C. Wood, MD, MBA, FAAFP, Executive Medical Director of Primary Care and Population Health for Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.
Ada Emuwa, MD, MPH, FAAFP, a physician at Lancaster General Health Family Medicine Quentin, believes recent efforts have gone much deeper than that.
“It was an inspiration when I came into the organization to see it not only sponsoring community events but participating in them,” she says. “Lancaster General Health is also trying to be a part of the solution. For example, when we screened children for lead and saw elevated levels, we explored different interventions that included assistance with housing renovations that could limit their exposure. It wasn’t enough to merely notify them and send them home, especially because many of these children were from disadvantaged neighborhoods.”
Dr. Emuwa is also the co-chair of the Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee. Since its inception, she says support for the committee has been absolute from the top of the health system and throughout. And though it’s still in its relative infancy, Dr. Emuwa believes this widespread endorsement has already helped to cultivate a more open environment, where providers and staff alike feel more comfortable sharing their perspectives.
The diverse representation in procedural discussions, in particular, helps ensure that all patients’ needs, including their access to care, remain a priority, she says.
Further facilitating equitable treatment, time is built into a new employee’s schedule at Lancaster General Health Primary Care to enable them to complete training in bias, microaggression, and structural racism, which includes both prevention and confrontation strategies.
Defying perception
Lancaster defied Dr. Emuwa’s perception of it from day one.
After completing her residency in Philadelphia, she anticipated some culture shock in embarking on her practice in suburban-rural Central Pennsylvania. But Dr. Emuwa says her interactions and personal explorations have shown Lancaster to be surprisingly diverse and rife with culture. And cities such as Philadelphia, New York City and Washington DC are easily accessible within a few hours’ drive or a convenient train ride.