Diversity, equity and inclusion

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Advocate Children’s Hospital-Park Ridge

At ACH-PR, we understand that being an excellent clinician goes beyond a textbook and simple classroom-based learning. Here, we focus on training physicians who are not only able to recognize and treat medical conditions, but who are equally capable of addressing health care disparities and promoting equitable health outcomes for their patients.

Our Diversity, Equity, Identity, and Inclusion Curriculum aims to engage students, faculty and staff in varied perspectives. We strive to foster more meaningful relationships and partnerships within our hospital, and to better understand institutional, systemic, and medical racism in order to better serve our patients and community.

We are motivated to be physicians for ­­­­change, and work towards common goals as a group of residents, faculty, and staff!

Here’s what our residents say about how we celebrate each other and build community at ACH-PR:

• “The support is both implicit and explicit. There are real efforts at telling each other’s stories, and conversations about the barriers patients of different backgrounds experience.”
• “ACH-PR is always asking for my perspective and fosters a safe space to be myself.”
• “Our program facilitates a culture of acceptance and love - everyone is equal and respected.
• “People here are very open minded and curious to get to know more about people’s backgrounds and origin stories.”
• “We have residents from diverse backgrounds and welcoming program leadership.”
• “At ACH-PR we highlight unique perspectives and backgrounds through lectures, representation in each of our resident cohorts, and by continuously striving to learn more about each other.
• “ACH-PR encourages discussion about my heritage and the use of my multiple languages in the clinical setting.”
• “The introduction of the DE&I curriculum has been a huge support and allows for open dialogue about very important topics in a safe environment!”

Our Curriculum

We focus on 4 targets for our DE&I efforts: Education, Support, Outreach and Study. We have a DEI&I Task Force comprised of residents and faculty who meet quarterly to plan activities related to the four targets as detailed below.

Education - Our 6-part longitudinal lecture series is incorporated into our regular noon educational conference schedule. Topics include: Creating a safe space, Immigrant health, Health literacy, a Journal Club, History of Medical Mistrust and Distrust, and end of year reflections. We also have dedicated simulation time to focus on communications with patients of the LGBTQIA+ community, those with specific religious considerations as it relates to medicine, and patients with low-health literacy.

Support - We work to develop a strengthened sense of community in our program by creating small groups in which our residents, faculty and staff may find others with similar backgrounds and work towards common goals. Examples of affinity groups include underrepresented minorities in medicine and LBTQIA+ and allies.

Outreach - Our goal is to find the intersection between advocacy and DE&I by creating and joining projects that will have a direct impact on our community at large. Residents participate in the Advocate Children’s Hospital Ronald McDonald Care Mobile as a longitudinal experience in PGY-1, PGY-2, and PGY-3 years. We hope to engage in community service projects addressing food and housing insecurity, and providing support for immigrant children and families.

We are proud to participate in the Chicago Area Pediatric Resident Coalition and helped to establish a joint statement around anti-racism work and support of marginalized communities. Residents also have opportunities to work with inner-city minorities who are interested in pursing careers in medicine through our outreach pipeline initiatives.

Study - Through research and quality improvement we work to understand and provide creative solutions for inequities in medicine. This year our projects include: Food and Housing Insecurity Inpatient screening program, Sickle Cell Disease and pain management initiative, Social Determinants of Health screening in the outpatient clinic, and a status asthmaticus and social determinants of health initiative.

Leaders in LGBTQ Healthcare Equity designation

Advocate Children’s Hospital has received a Leaders in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality designation. In 2019, Advocate Aurora Health partnered with hospital leaders to fulfill the requirements, policies and best practices outlined by the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) to showcase our organization as a welcoming health care destination for LGBTQ patients and their families.

Scoring was based on several pillars:

• Nondiscrimination protection and policies for patients, visitors and staff
• Patient care services and support
• Cultural training on LGBTQ inclusion
• Employee benefits and policies
• Patient and community engagement
• Responsible citizenship