Metro Detroit hospitals strive to increase equity
Beaumont Health is committed to making its hospitals more equitable and equal.
TROY, Mich. (FOX 2) – April is National Minority Health Month.
The month is dedicated towards raising awareness about medical care disparities. Some Black people are reluctant to seek treatment due to mistrust that dates back to the 1930s’ unethical Tuskegee Siphilis Study.
“When I went to the doctor I was trying to tell the doctor that my back hurt and everything, and instantly he was like, ‘Sounds like you got Covid,’” Bryane Childs said.
Childs said, like many others that he didn’t feel heard by his doctor.
Beaumont Health employs a focused approach to creating a more equitable and equal environment for staff and patients.
“We work in hospitals to try and create awareness, educate, and advocate our patients,” said Chantia Boo Harden, a Beaumont Troy physician assistant and chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
One way Beaumont is achieving that success is through its Diversity Day program where staff learn about other cultures by seeing situations through someone else’s eyes.
“Simulate walking in someone else’s shoes, and so when you can put yourself in someone else’s shoes you have a little bit more empathy,” Harden said. Beaumont can provide the best possible care to its patients if we can educate our doctors about the backgrounds of our patients.
Beaumont officials are also trying to find a person who is completely dedicated to this mission.
Harden said, “We are actually actively looking to hire a Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, and that person would be over Beaumont and Spectrum Health. That’s going to give us the opportunity to exactly what we need to do for patients and communities.”