Addressing Workforce Diversity — A Quality-Improvement Framework

Abstract: The Lown Institute’s recent national ranking of hospitals based on civic leadership, value of care, and patient outcomes stirred discussion because of its emphasis on care for the community and its stark contrast with the U.S. News and World Report rankings. No such ranking system exists for issues related to workforce diversity, although there are opportunities to establish stand-alone listings or to integrate this dimension into current ranking methods. Although legal obstacles around reporting of workforce diversity data are unclear — particularly if this reporting attracts attention to institutions with low diversity — similar, if not more detailed, information is already openly available for many public hospital systems whose state laws mandate reporting of all state employee salaries.