Originally written for and posted to ACHE’s Early Careerist Newsletter
At TLD Group, we believe that leaders plays an important role in advancing conversations around equity, diversity, and inclusion from awareness to action. Leaders have the platform and influence to ignite the dialogue that leads to meaningful change. In this session of our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion series we interview Dr. Ronald L. Copeland, Senior Vice President of National Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Policy and Chief Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Officer for Kaiser Permanente, who has dedicated his platform to doing just that.
During the conversation, led by and TLD Group Advisory Board Chair, Bob Sachs, PhD, they explore Kaiser Permanente’s views on the impact of racial disparities and social determinants on health, and the organization's long term commitment to access to care for all.
It's no secret that the US health system is in desperate need of repair. Structural inequities such as housing and food insecurity, air and water pollution, and access to educational and economic opportunities — known to the medical community as social determinants have been linked to disparate health outcomes for years. However, never in recent history have we so acutely and rapidly felt their affects as we have during the COVID-19 pandemic. United around the common purpose to improve overall population health, industry leaders must harness their collective power and influence to champion changes that will benefit the health of our nation.
Improving population health hinges on the ability of organizations from diverse sectors to collaborate. In a recent survey conducted by ORC International and Change Healthcare, which included 120 payers across the country who worked with providers to integrate value-based models, nearly a quarter of them reported cost savings as high as 7.5%. Almost 80% of these payer organizations also cited the quality of care improved, while 64% reported better provider relationships, and 73% reported improvements in patient engagement. A Commonwealth Fund analysis demonstrated that value-based models lead to fewer emergency hospital visits and downstream cost efficiencies relative to similar markets.
TLD Group hosts the first session in their Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion series led by Dr. Dale Caldwell, an expert on Influence Leadership and his father, Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell, a “Foot Soldier” in the Civil Rights Movement, who knew and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Their presentation connects the Civil Rights Movement to current realities and provides a framework that will help listeners understand the connection between personal influences and diversity, inclusion and equity.
While physicians in some parts of the country are now facing the pandemic head-on, many have started to process what has probably been the most challenging period of their professional careers. Most are still scared, and some are just starting to grieve and feel the emotions of the past months. These emotions can include the struggle with professional identity. Some of us struggled with feeling incompetence; “What did I do? or “How come I couldn’t help more?”. Some of us couldn’t work due to our age or a medical condition that we were forced to disclose.
During this period of disillusionment, we’re trying to figure out how to right the ship with ongoing worries about many things, including the economy, educational needs, and, what the fall and winter are going to look like1. Understanding typical physician characteristics can help guide your teams through the storm.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed serious deficiencies of our healthcare system that has placed many organizations at risk. We now have an opportunity to reformulate and accelerate our clinical and business strategy to prevent such vulnerabilities in the future. This webinar presented by Dr. Jon Burroughs, MD, MBA, FACHE, FACPE, certified healthcare and physician executive, and a leading voice for the healthcare industry in the areas of physician–hospital alignment, performance/patient safety, and strategic planning, covers the systemic issues that were uncovered during the pandemic and how we as an industry can build a more solid strategic foundation that will help us to weather pandemics going forward without sacrificing our greater mission to support the healthcare of those whom we serve.
During unprecedented and tumultuous times there is no such thing as ‘simple'. Crisis Management is complex and difficult. Now more than ever before strong leadership is an essential factor in mobilizing and motivating teams while working remotely, still aiming to achieve the business objectives front line leaders are still ultimately responsible for delivering.
Whether working within a team or leading employees, employees are experiencing disorganization, difficulty concentrating, feelings of overwhelm, increased requests for sick time, and increased absenteeism—all of which are normal responses in a crisis. The relevant management and leadership skills take on a different look and feel under these circumstances. I’ve captured a few leadership actions that I’ve coached others on and have seen used effectively and are proven best practices by many organizations:
Over the past several months communities around the world have seen their healthcare systems pushed to their limits. As the initial shock to our global physical health begins to wane an important second wave of need is becoming more tangible. As physical distancing continues, many are experiencing isolation, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and other mental health impacts that will result in a potentially overwhelming curve of its own.
