photo by: LMH Health

Erica Hill is the director of both the LMH Health Foundation Finance & Strategic Initiatives and LMH Health Equity, Inclusion and Diversity.

A Black woman in the U.S. is three to four times more likely to die in childbirth than a white woman, according to the American Medical Association. Even when taking into account insurance coverage, family status, zip code of residence and other factors, this statistic doesn’t change.

That’s reason for pause, said Dr. Lynley Holman, a physician with Lawrence OB-GYN Specialists.

“It is eye-opening to me to have Black women of childbearing age tell me they are scared to get pregnant,” Holman said. “This is why it is important to take steps forward in educating ourselves — educating physicians and providers — about our own implicit biases. We must focus on how we can better listen to our patients, and ultimately, how we can care for them in the best ways possible.”

This year, Holman will join all LMH Health providers in the newly required training to improve health equity. Physicians and advanced practice providers will now take part in training in inclusion, diversity and equity (ID&E) as part of their annual education requirements. This change was made to ensure providers are well-equipped to meet the health system’s purpose of providing care to all, regardless of a patient’s race, culture, ability to pay and other social determinants of health.

Holman said she was proud of this commitment by the health system. It was brought to three committees and received no pushback or disagreements.

“When this idea was presented, the doctors on the medical staff were excited,” she said. “This truly was a movement from the medical staff saying they wanted to be held accountable for making sure health equity and inclusion topics remained a priority as a part of their education and training. There will always be new ways to manage bleeding and learn about a new tool, but this was a commitment made by the medical staff for the medical staff to ensure learning about all patient populations and addressing the social determinants of health is a priority.”

The required courses range from in-person classes with guest speakers to online trainings on how providers can improve patient care through an ID&E lens. The educational sessions focus on understanding implicit bias, recognizing health disparities, demonstrating cultural humility, supporting an inclusive workplace and more.

“This is a notable step in the right direction and illustrates the investment LMH Health is making to create awareness, identify inequities and address health disparities at the front lines of patient care,” said Erica Hill, the equity, inclusion and diversity director at LMH Health and the LMH Health Foundation’s director of finance and strategic initiatives.

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Hill said the medical staff’s commitment to ID&E education shows that LMH Health sees the value of health equity and how it is relevant to the health system’s work. She said providing education at every level of the organization helps staff better understand the various elements of health equity and its correlation to patient experiences.

That can mean better outcomes for patients, regardless of race, culture or other factors.

“The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation describes health equity as the underlying principle that motivates action to eliminate health disparities and inequalities,” Hill said. “As a partner for lifelong health, LMH Health understands that health equity is critical, not only from a patient experience perspective, but also from a workplace experience point of view. Everyone should feel like they belong and feel free to be their true, authentic self — whether they work at LMH Health or choose LMH Health for their care.”

TaNiqua Ward, the wellness engagement manager at LMH Health and a part of the impact advisory committee, said LMH Health’s commitment to educate providers on equity showed that the health system was putting patients first.

“Inclusion acknowledges and values a person’s differences and allows them to feel a sense of belonging,” Ward said. “When providers understand the elements of inclusion, we are better positioned to identify and offer services that meet each individual patient’s needs. A provider’s knowledge of a patient’s individual needs — whether it be social or cultural, just to name a couple — allows that patient to receive better-quality care.”

Another part of LMH’s equity work is cultural humility — a lifelong process of self-reflection and self-critique, in which people not only learn about other cultures, but also examine their own beliefs and culture. The goal is that a provider should want to learn as much as possible and dive into the backgrounds and cultures of other people, and that doing so will enable the provider to better care for the patient.

photo by: LMH Health

Verdell Taylor is the Diversity & Inclusion manager at LMH Health.

Health equity, cultural humility and inclusion are just a few things LMH Health is emphasizing in its education efforts. Verdell Taylor, the diversity and inclusion manager at LMH Health, said health equity exists when all members of society enjoy a fair opportunity to be as healthy as possible.

Recent offerings for providers and employees have focused on Black and Hispanic history, cultural humility, inclusion in the workplace, ageism and its impact on health care, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Taylor said that another big factor of education is having the support of leadership.

“Without the support of our senior leadership, we would not be able to hit every area of education that we need,” Taylor said. “The education we provide each month is fully supported and encouraged by our CEO and all members of our senior leadership team. This support is an integral part of having a strong foundation in provider and associate ID&E education.”

Make a donation

Donations to LMH’s Health Equity Advancement Fund help pay for investments in patient care, community education, charitable care, wellness and more. You can make a gift to the LMH Health Foundation at lmh.org/foundation/donate-online.

— Jessica Thomas is the social media and digital communications specialist for LMH Health, which is a major sponsor of the Journal-World’s Health section.