Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/665044
50 Chief Diversity Officer, Parkland Health & Hospital System (Dallas). Mr. Gonzalez is Parkland's first chief diversity officer. Named to the position in 2014, he works to develop and oversee programs to enhance the diver- sity of the hospital's workforce, vendors and participation in civic and community organi- zations. Prior to Parkland, Mr. Gonzalez was global director of inclusion and philanthropy and senior manager of inclusion and diversity at Newell Rubbermaid, a global marketer of consumer and commercial products. He also previously worked at the American Cancer Society as manager of inclusion and organi- zational development. Mr. Gonzalez earned a master's degree in business administration from Atlanta-based Georgia State University, and he earned both global and senior professional in human resources designations through the Society of Human Resource Management. Joseph Hill, Chief Diversity Officer, Jefferson (Philadelphia). Joseph Hill serves as chief diversity officer of Jefferson, which is made up of omas Jefferson Univer- sity, Jefferson University Hospitals, Jefferson Physicians and the university's innovation and philanthropy arms. Prior to Jefferson, Mr. Hill worked at Milwaukee-based Froedtert Health, where he developed a diversity and inclusion program. Under his leadership, Froedtert's diversity and inclusion team was nationally recognized for supplier diversity and health- care equality. Mr. Hill earned a master's degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and a certificate in diversity management in healthcare from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and the Institute for Diver- sity in Health Management. Leon McDougle, MD, Chief Diversity Officer, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (Columbus, Ohio). As the first chief diversity officer for e Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Dr. McDougle heads up initiatives to improve workforce diversity, inclusion/climate and cultural competency across the organiza- tion. He also is tasked with establishing collab- orations with leaders of diversity programs at other health sciences colleges and the univer- sity. In addition to his chief diversity officer responsibilities, Dr. McDougle practices as a family physician and is a tenured associate professor of family medicine in e Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, where he earned his medical degree. Jennifer Mieres, MD, Chief Diversi- ty and Inclusion Officer, Northwell Health (Great Neck, N.Y.). Dr. Mieres dons many hats at Northwell Health, formerly known as North Shore-LIJ Health System. She not only serves as chief diversity and inclusion officer, but also as senior vice president of the system's office of community and public health. Additionally, she is professor of car- diology and population health at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine in Hemp- stead, N.Y. Board certified in cardiovascular diseases and nuclear cardiology, Dr. Mieres is a Fellow of the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. She is a graduate of Bennington (Vt.) College and Boston University School of Medicine. James E. Page Jr., Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Johns Hop- kins Medicine (Baltimore). Mr. Page was named to his position in 2014. Prior to his current role, he was assistant vice president and chief diversity officer at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, where he was responsible for helping to shape a culture focused on delivering culturally and linguistically competent care to patients from more than 85 countries, according to Johns Hopkins. Previously, Mr. Page was responsi- ble for directing nationwide diversity across DaVita, a healthcare organization special- izing in dialysis treatments. He also worked at Lancaster (Pa.) General Health, where he was vice president of diversity, inclusion and linguistics. Additionally, Mr. James worked for Dell as a leader in its global diversity, global ethics, compliance and privacy organizations for more than a decade. He earned a master's degree in business administration from e University of Texas at Austin. Deborah L. Plummer, PhD, Vice Chancellor of Diversity and Inclusion, UMass Memorial Health Care (Worces- ter, Mass.). Ms. Plummer serves as chief diversity officer for UMass Medical School and for UMass Memorial Medical Center and its medical group. In her role, she works with UMass Memorial Health Care leaders to develop and execute a diversity plan, and she works with system leaders to set the vision and provide leadership, strategic direction and coordination of all aspects of affirmative action/equal opportunity commitment and regulatory compliance obligations. In addition to her role as vice chancellor of diversity and inclusion, Ms. Plummer serves as professor in the departments of psychiatry, quantitative health sciences and the Graduate School of Nursing at UMass Medical School. n 'No Problem' or 'My Pleasure'? Why the Way You Say 'You're Welcome' Matters By Tamara Rosin T he importance of gratitude cannot be overstated in healthcare. Showing thanks is important in all types of interactions in the hospital setting, such as between leadership and staff and between staff and patients. But little attention is paid to the right way of saying "you're welcome." Every language has its own way of responding to "thank you," Paul Levy, former president and CEO of Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center point- ed out on his blog, "Not Running a Hospital." In Spanish, people say "de nada," or, "it's nothing." In English, a common response is "no problem," or "any time." In Australia, it's "no worries." In other environments and situations, there may not be a wrong answer to "thank you," but in the hospital, there is. Showing gratitude is imperative in healthcare, and so is the way you accept it. Hospital patients and their families are often anxious, scared and probably a little uncomfortable. Any time a hospital worker — whether it is the hospital CEO, a phy- sician, nurse or a janitor — does something nice for a patient or family member, that person is truly grateful, according to Mr. Levy. Responding to their gratitude with a casual "no problem" or "it's nothing" belittles and devalues it. Instead, a better response is "it's my pleasure," or "I'm so happy I could help." These forms of "you're welcome" show you truly understand their appreciation. Mr. Levy said after training himself to respond to patients and their visitors in this way, people were eager to keep talking, compared to the conversation-stop- ping effect of the "it's nothing" response. "I was able to learn so much more about people's fears, expectations, expe- riences, and hopes and then help translate those into improvements in the clinical environment," he wrote. n