Cultural Competency - Fellowship
HRET Announces Participants in 2006–2007 Cultural Competence Leadership Program
CHICAGO — June 20, 2006 — Twenty-one health care leaders representing U.S. hospitals, health systems, academic centers and health care associations have been selected to participate in the second Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET) Cultural Competence Leadership Fellowship class. This one-year program is designed to help health care organizations better address the needs of multicultural patient populations, develop leadership that reflects a diverse community and ensure effective communication between clinicians and patients.
The Cultural Competence Leadership Fellowship was developed by HRET, in partnership with the Institute for Diversity in Health Management (IFD), the American Hospital Association (AHA), the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) and Health Forum. Fellowship participants will focus on the increase of multicultural patient populations and their linguistic and literacy needs, diversity in the health care workforce and the growing national demand for more patient-centered approaches to health care delivery.
“Through participation in the Fellowship, organizations are actualizing their commitment to diversity and cultural competence,” said Mary Pittman, HRET president. “This year's Fellows are taking bold steps to engage their communities, educate and diversify their workforces and inspire institutional change.” During the program, Fellows will participate in face-to-face leadership retreats, self-study educational curricula, online conferencing and site visits. Fellows meet twice a year and also interact with faculty and program participants through a series of conference calls and virtual electronic communications tools.
At the heart of the Fellowship program are individualized projects—Action Learning Projects—which are designed to advance cultural competence and contribute new models of health delivery in the organization and community where each Fellow or team of Fellows is based.
Among the Action Learning Projects planned this year are:
- Broadening existing efforts in diversity recruitment, language services and cultural competence of individual patient care units in Minneapolis, Minn.
- Reducing chronic disease through educational and outreach programs on fitness and nutrition, to promote behavior change among minority populations in Oklahoma City.
- Establishing and maintaining a Clinical Diversity Council to foster employee engagement and creating initiatives to promote high standards of culturally competent care in Galveston, Texas.
- Developing and applying metrics of workforce cultural competence and implementing a prioritized plan to address health disparities in Grand Rapids, Mich.
- Promoting collaboration and expanding sustainable models for training and treatment to reduce disparities in mental health care among the African-American community in Cambridge, Mass.
- Assessing, improving and documenting compliance with the 14 national standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS), to advance cultural competence and improve health outcomes in Ann Arbor, Mich.
“After seeing the Fellows’ progress in the first year of the program, it’s clear that the Fellowship stimulates lively dialogue with wide-ranging perspectives while unifying common efforts to deliver equitable care,” said Fred Hobby, president of the Institute for Diversity in Health Management. The Cultural Competence Leadership Fellowship is a tuition-based program. Additional scholarship funding for emerging leaders has been provided by the Sabra M. Hamilton Foundation, United Health Foundation and Hospira. For additional information on participating in the Cultural Competence Leadership Fellowship, visit www.hretfellowships.org, or contact the HRET Fellowship office at fellowships@aha.org, or 312-422-2625. Follow this link for a listing of class roster.
About Sponsoring and Partnership Organizations
Health Research and Educational Trust
Founded in 1944, the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET) is a private, not-for-profit
organization involved in research, education and demonstration programs addressing health management and policy issues. HRET, an American Hospital Association affiliate, collaborates with health care, government, academic, business and community organizations across the United States to conduct
research and disseminate findings that shape the future of health care. For more information, visit
www.hret.org.
Institute for Diversity in Health Management
The Institute for Diversity in Health Management, a not-for-profit organization, collaborates with
educators and health services organizations to expand leadership opportunities to ethnic minorities in
health services management. The mission of the Institute is to increase the number of ethnic minorities in
health services administration and to improve opportunities for professionals already in the health care
field. To accomplish its mission, the Institute has designed several initiatives to generate significant longterm results through educational programs, a summer enrichment internship, professional development, and leadership conferences. For more information about the Institute, visit www.diversityconnection.org.
American Hospital Association
The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are
committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its
members, 4,800 hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, and 33,000 individuals.
Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on
health care issues and trends. For more information, visit www.aha.org.
National Center for Healthcare Leadership
The National Center for Healthcare Leadership is a Chicago-based not-for-profit organization that works
to be an industrywide catalyst to assure that high-quality, relevant and accountable health management
leadership is available to meet the needs of health care today. For more information about the National
Center for Healthcare Leadership, visit www.nchl.org.
