Founded nearly 100 years ago, as a refuge
for Jewish doctors facing discrimination, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
has cultural diversity in its very foundations. Today, serving the increasingly
diverse patient population in the Boston area is a business imperative.
We spend a good deal of time on cultural competence and enhancing the diversity
of our workforce because our patient population is very diverse," says Bill Behrendt,
senior vice president of human resources Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
in Boston. "Our care givers have to be culturally aware to deal effectively with
our increasingly diverse customers, our patients. In a real sense, we need to
understand cultural difference to serve our patients more effectively."
With five adult academic medical centers, Boston is an extremely competitive
health care market, which is currently in hiring mode. While everyone else is
laying off, we're hiring," says Behrendt. "So it makes good
recruiting sense to create and support an environment that is welcoming to a diverse employee base."
One way to do that is by sponsoring its most motivated employees to join The
Partnership, a networking and professional development foundation in Boston designed
to help minorities advance in their careers. Pat Henderson, Beth Israel Deaconess's
outreach coordinator for pathology, has been at the hospital for five years, and
one reason she stays committed to her job is the hospital's commitment to diversity.
"They are going out of their way to make sure that everyone knows this is
a good place to work, and a welcoming place for minorities," says Henderson.
"The Partnership has made a big difference to me in planning my career,
and my future in general. It opened my eyes to the real possibility of my moving
further. I realize now I don't have to stop here."
ALSO:
Creating a culture of inclusion
Survey: Diversity initiatives critical to job seekers
CORPORATE PROFILES
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Citizens Bank
New York Times Co.
Raytheon
TJX Companies, Inc.
This special advertising feature is sponsored by participating
advertisers and ran in edited form on September 14, 2003 in The Boston Globe Magazine
and The New York Times Magazine. It was written and reported by Jason Forsythe
and did not involve the reporting or editing staff of The Boston Globe or The
New York Times. © 2003 The Boston Globe.
