Ascension Healthcare COO Encourages Increased Diversity in Healthcare

Pat Maryland, Dr.PH, President, Healthcare Operations and Chief Operating Officer, Ascension Healthcare, discusses the importance of diversity in her newly published article, "This is Why Increasing Diversity in Healthcare is Essential for the Black Community."

"There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to keeping people healthy," she writes. "That's why it is critical for healthcare organizations to have leaders who reflect the diverse populations they treat, and who understand that different communities can have different health needs – leaders who know, for example, that breast cancer tends to appear in black women at a younger age, and in more advanced forms, that in other racial and ethnic groups; and who are committed to eliminating disparities when it comes to prevention, detection and treatment of this disease."

In the article, Pat discusses the discrepancies between the number of healthcare workers who are women compared with the number of women healthcare executives. And healthcare executives who are members of minority groups represent just 11 percent of executive leadership positions at U.S. hospitals.

Pat urges a greater representation of women and minorities because almost a third of hospital patients in the U.S. belong to racial or ethnic minorities.

Read the full article here.​​