Diversity at UH
Northeast Ohio is home to one of the country’s most ethnically diverse communities. Since our first medical facility began caring for the community more than 140 years ago, shifting demographics have transformed the community into a destination of choice for many ethnicities, particularly people of color.
We are respectful of the evolving landscape and believe we have a responsibility to cultivate and nurture diversity within our walls and externally so we may better serve the population. While excellent medical care has been at the forefront of everything we do, our list of core values also includes diversity, integrity, compassion and teamwork. In this publication, we will focus on diversity.
At the direction of the board, our leadership was charged with incorporating diversity into the culture of the organization. In order to make sure the initiative was successful, the board insisted we change, starting at the top.
Diversity Overview
This led to creation of the Diversity Council to champion the effort, and
Dr. Edgar B. Jackson Jr., a retired African-American physician, returned to become our special advisor. The board composition quickly began changing in 2006 as Latinos, African-Americans and women made up two-thirds of the new appointees.
Our administrative and medical leadership focused on diversity. They are committed to finding the best and brightest people with diverse backgrounds to come to this organization and fill leadership roles.
Finding more people of color to enter the clinical care arena as physicians and nurses and to address the issue of disparities in health care are priorities at UH. Studies consistently show that people of color will seek health care when people who look like them are providing their care.
We are serious about diversity at University Hospitals and demand the same level of commitment from our employees and the suppliers who do business with us.
Timothy Stephens, MD, Orthopaedic Clerkship & Fellowship
University Hospitals, one of the leading orthopaedic teaching hospitals in the country, is committed to improving the number of underrepresented minority medical students pursuing careers in orthopaedic medicine.
The Stephens Orthopaedic Fellowship prepares highly qualified candidates for competitive orthopaedic residency programs and musculoskeletal scientist faculty appointments and encourages an increase in the number of African-American, Latino and Native American medical students pursuing a career in specialized medicine.
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