An interview with Dr LaTonya Washington, the Chairperson at the marcus evans National Healthcare CMO Summit 2023, on how healthcare organizations can improve patient care by achieving health equity and having a truly diverse workforce.

1. Interview with: Dr LaTonya
Washington, Chief Medical Officer,
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare -
North Hospital
“Achieving health equity and workforce
diversity is key for addressing the
workforce challenges that healthcare
organizations are faced with today,”
says Dr LaTonya Washington, Chief
Medical Officer, Methodist Le Bonheur
Healthcare - North Hospital. “With
staffing issues on top of reimbursement
cuts while the cost of providing care has
increased, many healthcare leaders are
concerned how they will continue to
provide quality patient care,” she adds.
Dr Washington is the Chairperson at the
marcus evans National Healthcare
CMO Summit 2023.
What steps has your hospital taken
to achieve health equity? What
advice do you have for others?
You need to start with an assessment
that will identify where inequities may
exist within your system. It must be
done with an open mind, talking to
individuals who don’t necessarily look
like those in the C-suite, from hourly
workers and hospital security to the
nurses, physicians, as well as the C-
suite leaders. It is important to contact
community leaders, the individuals who
seek care in your organization, to
determine if there are any gaps within
your facility.
Once you identify the gaps, you have to
do root analysis and come up with an
action plan. You may not be able to
address all the issues at once, but even
one item at a time can improve health
equity. Publish those results, so
employees and community members
can see you are moving the needle
forward towards a more equitable
healthcare system.
Will workforce diversity close some
of those gaps?
Absolutely, healthcare diversity in the
medical workforce will do that. When
caring for a patient from a different
ethnic group, there have been times
when I went to talk to a colleague from
a similar background, or did my own
research, to identify what culturally-
sensitive topics I needed to be aware.
That can tell you a lot about how
patients access or perceive healthcare.
Having a diverse workforce is key for
that. That information must then be
relayed in a culturally-sensitive way and
through a lens of equity to enhance how
care is delivered. We may not be able to
achieve a fully-diverse workforce, which
is always our goal, but the more diverse
we are, the better we can meet patient
needs in the community.
What are some of the obstacles to
achieving workforce diversity?
Many of the obstacles to achieving
workforce diversity spill over into the
communities. Number one, it is very
important for the community, especially
young people, to have exposure to
medical careers. They cannot be what
they have not seen. They need access
and knowledge on what healthcare
careers are available to them through
school career fairs or job fairs with
interviews for entry-level positions.
Once they are working within the
system, we must help train-up those
individuals, provide opportunities for
them to gain new skills. It takes a
number of people with specialized
training (who are not doctors or nurses)
for our healthcare systems to work
efficiently.
Mentorship is very important. If there is
someone with the potential to move up,
mentor them, put them in a position
where they can take on additional
projects and untap their skills.
Staff shortage is a major issue for
some healthcare organizations. Is
workforce diversity part of the
solution?
Healthcare organizations across the
country have been experiencing
workforce shortages and challenges,
and as healthcare leaders we are
concerned about the impact that may
have on patient care.
Post-pandemic, the US workforce has
changed and we must do more to
understand how the healthcare
workforce has changed, and change
how we train people for those positions,
how they work, and be more flexible.
We have seen a transition to virtual
work and flexible work schedules. The
healthcare industry is very innovative,
but sometimes we lag behind other
industries. We have to do a better job of
utilizing technology and AI, to transition
to this new normal and think differently
about how we deliver care.
The new normal is a healthcare system
that is constantly evolving. Things that
were true to healthcare prior to the
pandemic are no longer true.
Achieving Health Equity and Workforce Diversity
The more
diverse we are,
the better we
can meet
patient needs
in the
community

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