Lecture Introduction The idea of diversity contains a number of interrelated concepts, including mixture, variety, different classes, range, and assortment. Types of Diversity Although these examples are from Arizona communities, one of the challenges of the nationwide health care industry that administrators will face is that of addressing diversity in any given community. Diversity is not just color or race; it may also include religion, creed, age factors, place of birth, primary language, gender, and sexual orientation. Race In the late 1950s, it was common practice for a Woman's Hospital in Michigan to separate the Black maternity patients from the Caucasian maternity patients. On a regular basis, many women were put into ward rooms with two, four, or even more beds unless they could pay extra for private accommodations. However, Black women often suffered further indignities, being put into segregated maternity wards without screens for patient privacy except perhaps one kept in the hall doorway to enclose and shield Black women from the views of other patients and strangers during the doctor's examination. One of the few Black doctors on staff at the time demanded that a screen, which was usually not in the room, be brought in for personal privacy when he examined his patients. At that hospital and at another large hospital, this doctor was known as an advocate for Black women's rights. Of course, since then, there have been great strides in respecting the ethical and moral rights of minorities and women in health care facilities. (B. Dickens, personal communication, June, 2010) Religion Religious factors can also present interesting challenges. The three main American religions, Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish, all have affiliated hospitals that provide services to everyone. Yet each religious hospital offers special accommodations to match the community it serves. For instance, Jewish hospitals maintain kosher dietary preferences and exclusions. There are religious adjustments as well. For example, Catholic hospitals offer Mass services and Jewish hospitals, Sabbath. Age: Nationwide, children's hospitals commonly admit new patients up to the day they reach their age of eighteen. However, some limit patient population by age groups (e.g., from birth to 18), while others limit patients by diseases (e.g., cancer or orthopedics). In some facilities, a patient who has suffered from a childhood chronic disorder such as cystic fibrosis will be treated throughout adulthood. Some children's hospitals have associations with other facilities. For example, the Phoenix Children's Hospital (PCH) in Arizona has a special relationship with two major hospitals in the Phoenix area. Through this relationship, PCH may transfer their patients, some of whom are adults suffering from certain chronic childhood diseases, to St. Joseph's Hospital in midtown Phoenix. PCH also has a special Adult Congenital Heart Program with the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdal ...

1. Lecture
Introduction
The idea of diversity contains a number of interrelated
concepts, including mixture, variety, different classes, range,
and assortment.
Types of Diversity
Although these examples are from Arizona communities, one of
the challenges of the nationwide health care industry that
administrators will face is that of addressing diversity in any
given community. Diversity is not just color or race; it may also
include religion, creed, age factors, place of birth, primary
language, gender, and sexual orientation.
Race
In the late 1950s, it was common practice for a Woman's
Hospital in Michigan to separate the Black maternity patients
from the Caucasian maternity patients. On a regular basis, many
women were put into ward rooms with two, four, or even more
beds unless they could pay extra for private accommodations.
However, Black women often suffered further indignities, being
put into segregated maternity wards without screens for patient
privacy except perhaps one kept in the hall doorway to enclose
and shield Black women from the views of other patients and
strangers during the doctor's examination.
One of the few Black doctors on staff at the time demanded that
a screen, which was usually not in the room, be brought in for
personal privacy when he examined his patients. At that
hospital and at another large hospital, this doctor was known as
an advocate for Black women's rights. Of course, since then,
there have been great strides in respecting the ethical and moral
rights of minorities and women in health care facilities. (B.
Dickens, personal communication, June, 2010)

2. Religion
Religious factors can also present interesting challenges. The
three main American religions, Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish,
all have affiliated hospitals that provide services to everyone.
Yet each religious hospital offers special accommodations to
match the community it serves. For instance, Jewish hospitals
maintain kosher dietary preferences and exclusions. There are
religious adjustments as well. For example, Catholic hospitals
offer Mass services and Jewish hospitals, Sabbath.
Age: Nationwide, children's hospitals commonly admit new
patients up to the day they reach their age of eighteen.
However, some limit patient population by age groups (e.g.,
from birth to 18), while others limit patients by diseases (e.g.,
cancer or orthopedics). In some facilities, a patient who has
suffered from a childhood chronic disorder such as cystic
fibrosis will be treated throughout adulthood. Some children's
hospitals have associations with other facilities. For example,
the Phoenix Children's Hospital (PCH) in Arizona has a special
relationship with two major hospitals in the Phoenix area.
Through this relationship, PCH may transfer their patients,
some of whom are adults suffering from certain chronic
childhood diseases, to St. Joseph's Hospital in midtown
Phoenix. PCH also has a special Adult Congenital Heart
Program with the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona for its
congenital heart disease patients. The actual heart surgery will
take place at Mayo, but be performed by a PCH surgeon. In
some cases, the congenital heart problem was not discovered in
childhood, but will still be treated by PCH.
Addressing the increased number of citizens over the age of 65
has become a current factor in providing health care. In this
venue, the health care must be geared toward services and
compatible with the community it serves. For example, Boswell
Hospital in Sun City, Arizona requires and provides more

3. wheelchairs, walkers, and volunteer staff to assist the
handicapped than what is required in conventional hospitals.
There are also social organizations that provide all sorts of
wheelchairs, walkers, machinery, and other apparatus for free to
the elderly with very few questions asked.
Obesity
Often left unaddressed is the issue of obesity, a serious health
problem and a very high risk in certain service areas. A hospital
should accommodate treatment for it to improve the health
status of the community it serves. Insufficient amount of
attention is given to obesity, which leads to a shortened life
span due to diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke,
heart attacks, and cancer.
American government researchers said that obesity is quickly
overtaking smoking as the country's number one killer. In fact,
obesity is becoming such a problem that many experts now say
it is compromising all the benefits of recent improvements in
health care and medical breakthroughs. (Medical News Today,
2004)
This population group tends to be excluded from efforts to
cultivate staff diversity. Leaders can influence the organization
culture by recruiting people who have particular values, skills,
traits, and orientation.
Organizational Diversity
Matching the diverse needs of a community is a critical
component in rendering health care. Foreign-born people may
present language barriers, significant because hospitals need
interpreters or staff to speak a variety of languages. In
California and perhaps other states, not providing a staff person
to adequately communicate with patients in their own language
may result in misdiagnosis or mistreatment, causing injury or
death. In such a case, the health care provider, individuals and
institutions, may be subject to medical malpractice liability.

4. Why is this relatively modern concept of organizational
diversity of significance to the health care industry? Among
many reasons, diversity in the workplace is being recognized as
a benefit that will contribute to an organization's bottom line.
Increased employee and customer satisfaction end up as
increased productivity, all of which are measurable outcomes
(Goff, 1998). One should consider the bottom-line effects of a
health care facility in treating obesity in a community where
obesity is a significant problem.
At University of California-Davis (UCD), the newly appointed
Senior Manager of the Orthopedic Department entered the
department and discovered a diverse team of employees,
including physicians, nurses, technicians, admissions clerks,
clinic receptionists, and billing clerks. Of the approximately 50-
person staff, the Senior Manager was the only minority person
in a leadership position. However, 25% of the entire staff were
Hispanic, East Indian, Asian, Black, or Pilipino, with most
Hispanic. 75% were White, including foreign White. 65% to
70% of the staff were female. The physicians' ratio was 80:20
White to non-White. There was one Black resident physician in
training and one Black nurse.
During his tenure, the Senior Manager was committed to more
diversity among the Orthopedic Department management staff.
He appointed a Japanese woman as his Assistant Manager and a
Black male as the Supervisor of the Orthopedic Clinical
Laboratory.
Increasingly, leadership literature is focused on the critical
requirement that organizational leaders bring people of diverse
backgrounds and interests together in ways that provide fair and
equitable opportunities to contribute their best, achieve personal
goals, and realize their full potential. (Gandz, 2001)
This requires sensitivity to ethnic, cultural, gender, sexual

5. orientation, religious, and other differences within the
workforce and a commitment to developing organizational
cultures, systems, processes, practices, procedures, and policies
that reflect this sensitivity and remove the obstacles to
achieving and leveraging diversity. The motivation to do this
stems from a commitment of the leader to forge links between
the organization and the community within which it operates,
either because it is good business or because the leader has
values which drive these behaviors. Ideally, it will be a
combination of both.
The "leader of the future" is described as an inclusive leader,
one who believes in people even when they don't fit into neat,
conventional categories. Such leaders will not just be tolerant of
others but will actively seek out leaders from non-traditional
groups and challenge the stereotypes that tend to restrict
leadership candidates to members of traditionally privileged
groups (Gandz, 2001).
References
Medical News Today. (2004). Obesity overtaking smoking as
America's number one killer. Retrieved August 26, 2010, from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/6438.php
Gandz, J. (2001). A business case for diversity. Retrieved
August 26, 2010,
from http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=A+Business+Case+for+
Diversity+by+Dr.+Jeffrey+Gandz-
&d=4536911517319389&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-
US&w=4365a3ff,83089ed
Goff, L. (1998). Making the case for diversity training:
Confronted by growing criticism, consultants focus on bottom
line.New York: Crains New York Business.