In this podcast, Susan Harrington, Communities Lifting Communities, speaks with Signe Gilbert and Rachel Villanueva, MLK Community Healthcare, about their groundbreaking initiative on cultural diversity in the workplace.
Through workforce development, the program aims to create a culturally aligned workforce.” This means the medical center is “employing those that live in our community and helping them to develop, to have better skills, to work inside our hospital,” Gilbert says.
The initiative includes a full arc of programs, starting with helping employees earn their high school equivalency and pursue health care careers. Other in-house and external training includes nurse residency; a career fellows program, COPE Scholars; and a medical residency program for physicians of color. MLK Community Healthcare’s full-range approach increases worker loyalty and stability, and reduces the need for temporary labor, cutting costs for the hospital.
Speakers:
Signe Gilbert
Director of Education
MLK Community Healthcare
Rachel Villanueva
Education Specialist,
MLK Community Healthcare
Susan Harrington
President
Communities Lifting Communities
This segment is part of In the Spotlight — a series profiling HASC partners who are pursuing innovative, impactful work in their communities. To learn more or suggest a profile subject, contact Adam Blackstone.