“Every patient and staff member benefits from equitable care,” says Kyle Bonner, LCSW, LCADC, who was recently appointed Coordinator of Diversity and Inclusion at Princeton Health. “Raising awareness about inclusion and promoting a workplace where differences can be leveraged is empowering for everyone. It not only enhances staff competencies, but it also improves our relationships with the community, our patients, and each other.”
To guide this work, Princeton Health has formed a Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee with representation from across the health system. The system also participates on the Penn Medicine Health Equity Task Force. In addition, in collaboration with the Penn Medicine Center for Health Equity Advancement, Princeton Health celebrated Health Equity Week in April with a week-long series of free lunch-and-learn presentations designed to help clinicians, staff, and referral sources examine their own thoughts about diversity and inclusion.
How Privilege Impacts Perceptions
One of the Health Equity Week sessions was particularly enlightening for many participants. Natalie Moore-Bembry, MSW, LSW, EdD, Assistant Director of Student Affairs at Rutgers University Camden, led a presentation called Roaming Privilege Walk—Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Dr. Moore-Bembry helped participants explore their unconscious privileges and the social determinants that impact their daily experiences and interactions with others.
With everyone starting in the same row in the room, participants were asked to take a step forward or back, or remain in place, based on their responses to questions such as:
- Did you grow up in a home with more than 50 books?
- Are you able to go to a store and buy bandages that match your skin tone?
- Do you feel safe when walking through a parking lot by yourself?
- Have you ever had to skip a meal?
At the conclusion of the exercise, every participant was standing in a different place throughout the room.
“It was a grounding experience that demonstrated how we all have privileges we may not even be aware of that play into our perspectives and approach to others,” says Bonner. “These are also the things that affect the patients we treat. As caregivers, it’s so important to recognize that the road is unique for everyone in these very specific ways. In doing so, we can connect on a more personal level with family, colleagues, the community, and our patients.”
Equitable Care for All
At Penn Medicine Princeton Health, all patients, without exception, have the right to high-quality, unbiased, patient-centered health care, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
For information about Princeton House programs, visit princetonhouse.org or call 888.437.1610.
Click here to learn more about LGBT care at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, or link to the recorded webinar “Coming out LGBTQ: A sexual identity discussion for families.”
Article as seen in the Summer 2019 issue of Princeton House Behavioral Health Today.
