Racial and ethnic disparities in health care affect a growing percentage of the increasingly diverse U.S. population. Valerie Ward, HMS assistant professor of radiology at Boston Children’s Hospital, was recognized this spring for her efforts to address health care disparities locally by promoting diversity among the ranks of health care providers and by designing outreach and education programs to meet the needs of patients of diverse backgrounds. She was honored with a Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award at the HMS Diversity Awards Ceremony in April.
As faculty director of the Boston Children’s Diversity and Cultural Competency Council, Ward has helped to develop and implement a multifaceted set of initiatives, including diversity training for health care providers and programs devoted to improving the recruitment and retention of under-represented minority physicians and nurses at the hospital.
Ward’s interest in promoting diversity was fostered through her involvement in the Partnership’s leadership development program.
“I was fortunate to be selected for the program in 2004, which led to serving as an alumni resource, advising multicultural college students on career options and networking at the Partnership’s 2006 Career Connections event in Boston. Shortly thereafter, I was asked to take on the role of faculty director of the revitalized Diversity and Cultural Competency Council at Boston Children’s Hospital,” Ward said.
A common thread among the council’s efforts is an innovative approach to addressing health care disparities. For example, in order to improve patient-centered care for patients of diverse backgrounds, the council developed a patient passport, a continually-updated notebook filled with information about a patient’s medications and treatments, along with the names and photos of their health care providers.
Based upon its initial success in helping patients and their families to more easily navigate through their hospital visits, the passport has recently been transformed into an electronic version that is being piloted on inpatient units at Boston Children’s.
