Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1383677
40 POPULATION HEALTH 40 CEO / STRATEGY 10 most, least racially inclusive hospitals: Lown Institute By Kelly Gooch A May ranking from the Lown Institute, a nonpartisan healthcare think tank, examines racial inclusiv- ity of more than 3,200 U.S. hospitals to assess which are best at serving the people of color in their communities. For the May 25 ranking, Lown looked at how well the demographics of a hospital's Medi- care patients matched the demographics of that facility's surrounding communities. Data in the ranking is based on Medicare claims from 2018 as well as the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey five-year data from 2018. Lown said hospitals received a higher ranking if they had higher patient counts from ZIP codes with greater proportions of nonwhite patients compared to their "community area" radius, defined by "the distance from which about 90 percent of the hospital's Medicare patients travel." Overall, Lown found that racial segregation is common in urban hospital markets. It also found that among the 50 most inclusive hos- pitals, people of color represented 61 percent of patients on average, compared to 17 per- cent at the 50 least inclusive hospitals. Addi- tionally, Lown found that only three hospitals from the U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll made the top 200: Barnes-Jewish Hospi- tal in St. Louis (144), Cleveland Clinic (159), and Rush University Medical Center in Chi- cago (178). "e difference between the most and least inclusive hospitals is stark, especially when they are blocks away from each other," Lown President Vikas Saini, MD, said in a news release. "As the nation reckons with racial injustice, we cannot overlook our health sys- tem. Hospital leaders have a responsibility to better serve people of color and create a more equitable future." Top 10 hospitals for racial inclusivity: 1. Metropolitan Hospital Center (New York City) 2. Boston Medical Center 3. St. Charles Madras (Ore.) 4. Newark (N.J.) Beth Israel Medical Center 5. Little Colorado Medical Center (Winslow, Ariz.) 6. Presbyterian Española (N.M.) Hospital 7. John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital (Chicago) 8. Harlem Hospital Center (New York City) 9. Sanford Chamberlain (S.D.) Medical Center 10. Lincoln Medical & Mental Health Center (New York City) Bottom 10 hospitals for racial inclusivity: 1. Englewood (N.J.) Hospital and Medical Center 2. Gateway Regional Medical Center (Granite City, Ill.) 3. Mariners Hospital (Tavernier, Fla.) 4. Porter Regional Hospital (Valparaiso, Ind.) 5. St. Francis Hospital and Heart Center (Ro- slyn, N.Y.) 6. Franciscan Health Crown Point (Ind.) 7. MarinHealth Medical Center (Greenbrae, Calif.) 8. Alton (Ill.) Memorial Hospital 9. OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony's Health Center (Alton, Ill.) 10. Bryn Mawr (Pa.) Hospital n Board chair quits struggling New York public hospital, claims insufficient reforms By Morgan Haefner T he board chair of Nassau University Medical Cen- ter resigned May 28, accusing the East Meadow, N.Y.-based hospital's governance of not making necessary changes at the financially struggling hospital, according to Newsday. Robert Detor has chaired the Nassau Health Care Corp., the entity that oversees the public hospital, since January 2020. In a May 25 letter sent to Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and obtained by Newsday, Mr. Detor said he "hoped to change NHCC's course, but it has become clear to me I can no longer align my service on the board with my professional, moral and ethical standards." Mr. Detor said "issues of serious concern were identified and presented to the board" based on an independent re- view, and he couldn't accept the outcome of the board's deliberation. He called on the New York State Department of Health to review "not only the current circumstances, but the overall condition of the corporation's governance," ac- cording to Newsday. Other leaders at the healthcare corporation and medical center disagreed with Mr. Detor's characterization of gov- ernance at the hospital. Megan Ryan, the general counsel for the board, told News- day that "there are no pending issues that require any in- vestigation" Anthony Boutin, MD, CEO and president of the medical center, told Newsday: "I am proud to say that NHCC is in the best financial situation it has ever been in. I am offend- ed by these baseless allegations and inferences. I am work- ing with my team to create a strategic plan over the next year to fortify NHCC's position in our community." A March report from consultants Alvarez & Marsal found the medical center couldn't survive without closing its emergency room, issuing sweeping layoffs and selling its extended care facility, according to Newsday. n