Main Line Health Hosts 10th Annual Healthcare Disparities Colloquium
On Friday June 11, Main Line Health hosted its 10th annual (second virtual) Healthcare Disparities Colloquium. Each year, employees from across Main Line Health join community leaders and our health care partners to discuss research, initiatives, and ideas that will allow us to address disparities in care and better serve our patients and community members.
“Every day we make it our mission to eliminate disparities in care and provide a safe and respectful environment for our patients, visitors and employees regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion or sexual orientation,” says Jack Lynch, FACHE, President and CEO, Main Line Health. “Hosting the 10th Colloquium is a true demonstration of Main Line Health’s collective dedication to identifying and addressing disparities in care and our commitment to advancing an environment of cultural competence and universal respect.”
This year’s event focused on the problem of systemic racism with a panel discussion of five prominent regional healthcare CEOs, moderated by Jack Lynch. The key topic was “What have we learned about systemic racism through the pandemic, and what will we do about it?”
Dr. Barbara Wadsworth, DNP, RN, Chief Operating Officer/ Chief Nursing Officer, Dr. Rosangely Cruz-Rojas, Director Performance Measurement, Improvement and Analytics and Dr. Gregory Churchill, Senior Resident in Internal Medicine started the presentation by exploring the data, breaking down the various demographics Main Line Health has recorded while also discussing the vaccine distribution challenges Main Line Health overcame and continues to face.
Additionally, leaders from hospitals in our region participated in the discussion about the healthcare disparities faced at each of their organizations, including Dixie P. James, President and COO of Einstein Medical Center; Stephen Klasko, President and CEO of Jefferson Health; Kevin Mahoney, MD, MBA, CEO of Penn Medicine; Dennis Pullin, FACHE President and CEO of Virtua Health; Michael Young, CEO of Temple University Health. This was followed by a session focused on disparities in health across the nation, with perspective from speaker Dwight Evans, Representative (D-PA 3rd District).
Representative Dwight Evans demonstrated his continued support of Main Line Health and Together for West Philadelphia through his closing remarks of this year’s Colloquium.
“Jack questioned the CEOs on how their health systems will work towards equity measures internally in their systems and what they feel needs to be accomplished in the Philadelphia region to rid healthcare institutions of policies that set up roadblocks to access for people of color,” Barry Mann, MD, Chief Academic Officer, Main Line Health said. “The CEO panel assembled was a highly influential group and Jack challenged them as to whether their heightened collaboration during the pandemic will continue. All the CEOs responded affirmatively, which could potentially usher in a new era of cooperation with a significant positive impact on the regional community.”
About Main Line Health
Main Line Health® is a not-for-profit health system serving the greater Philadelphia region. The System comprises five hospitals, seven health centers, more than 160 outpatient and physician practice locations, over 14,500 employees and more than 2,200 employed and independent physicians and advanced practice providers.
Founded in 1985, Main Line Health includes four of the region’s most respected acute care hospitals — Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital — as well as Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, one of the nation’s premier facilities for rehabilitative medicine. The System also includes Mirmont Treatment Center, which provides treatment and support for substance use disorders; Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice; Main Line HealthCare, its employed multispecialty physician network; Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, a leading biomedical research organization; and Main Line Health Centers offering primary and specialty care, lab, radiology and other outpatient services in Broomall, Collegeville, Concordville, Devon, Exton, King of Prussia and Newtown Square.
Main Line Health brings together physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, researchers and other healthcare professionals across a broad network of inpatient, outpatient, home-based and community-based services. Through this integrated approach, the System delivers high-quality, comprehensive care across the continuum — from primary care and preventive services to complex specialty, surgical, trauma, emergency, rehabilitative, behavioral health, home care and hospice services — with a focus on making care accessible in the communities where people live and work.
Main Line Health also collaborates with leading clinical partners to expand access to specialized care. Through its affiliation with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, pediatric care is provided at select Main Line Health locations, including neonatal intensive care units at its acute care hospitals and Bryn Mawr Hospital’s Inpatient Pediatric Unit and Emergency Department. Jefferson Health neurosurgeons and neurointerventionalists also provide 24/7 specialized care, including neurointervention and lifesaving stroke care.
Contact
Phil Ellingsworth, Jr.Director, Communications
Office: 484.580.1182
EllingsworthPh@mlhs.org