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In This Issue:
Louis W. Sullivan, MD, the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, visited BWH last week to discuss continual work to eliminate health care disparities in the U.S. and share his life experiences, from standing just a few feet away from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as he delivered the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in 1963 to witnessing President Barack Obama take office in January.
“There has been a lot of progress in my lifetime, but we still have a lot of work to be done in many areas, including health care,” Sullivan told the physicians, residents, fellows and others gathered at the African-American Health Forum hosted by BWH’s Office for Multicultural Faculty Careers (OMC) at Harvard Medical School. “But the future will depend on many of you. Go out there and make your own history. Make your own future.”
Sullivan, the current chair of the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce, told attendees that mentoring minorities and training them to move up the ladder into leadership roles is a key step in eliminating health care disparities.
“Recent numbers show that minorities make up only 9 percent of our nurses in the U.S. and 6 percent of our physicians,” he said. “That needs to change.”
During his two-day visit to BWH, Sullivan participated in roundtable discussions with residents and leadership.
“It was a pleasure to have Dr. Sullivan share his wisdom and mentorship with many of us,” said Christian Arbelaez, MD, MPH, OMC associate director and assistant residency director of the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency Program. “Making our own history and our own future is the core of what we’re trying to do at BWH.”
BWH President Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA, said, “Through his work around the country, Dr. Sullivan has taught us extensively about the importance of a diverse health care workforce in ending disparities in care and outcomes.”
Gottlieb added, “Through the OMC and the Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, BWH is investing broadly in various efforts to recruit, retain and nurture students, residents, fellows and faculty who reflect the rich diversity of the populations we serve.”