The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus has initiated a plan to eliminate racial inequities in healthcare.
"We denounce racism of all forms," the plan reads. "It is a social determinant of health that is damaging to our community, patients, faculty, staff and trainees. Acknowledging this is a foundation for structural and systemic change toward equity in health and well-being. Yet this is only the first step. The next step is action — improving our education, engagement, funding, policies and practices to accelerate this journey.
The action plan is guided by several principles, including making anti-racism efforts the foundation of the organization and equipping staff with tools, resources and channels to report issues and suggest ideas.
The organization has put forward several initiatives, both at the individual and institutional level, to aid in its anti-racism efforts.
At the institutional level, the medical center plans to organize roundtables to discuss actions against racism with institutional and community leaders, create and fund an Institute for Health Equity to advise senior leaders as well as conduct a review of all anti-discrimination policies, protocols and reporting.
At the individual level, the medical center said it plans on creating an anti-racism section with resources and tools on its external website and develop a formal mechanism for medical students, residents and other trainees to provide direct feedback on learning climate and curriculum.
Read more about the action plan here.