Cleveland, OH,
17
February
2023
|
10:00 AM
America/New_York

MetroHealth Partners with Rali to Share Proven Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Best Practices

Rali Logo

CLEVELAND – Diversity, equity and inclusion have been ingrained in the culture of The MetroHealth System since its founding almost two centuries ago. These values inform the way MetroHealth serves its community and operates as an employer. Now, through a partnership with Rali, an innovative learning and behavior change platform, the hospital system will share its DEI expertise throughout the health care industry.

Beginning in August, the unique content that MetroHealth has developed around creating a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion will be available on Rali’s Change Experience Platform (CxP).

“The folks at Rali realized that the educational assets that MetroHealth has in this space are better than anyone in the country,” said Alan Nevel, MetroHealth’s Chief Equity & Community Impact Officer. “We’re way ahead of everybody else because the demographic of our patients is such that we’ve been doing what we now call ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work’ for 186 years.”

Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the boards of trustees of MetroHealth and The MetroHealth Foundation redoubled their commitment to fighting systemic racism, social injustice and health care inequity. The health system’s DEI team partnered with industry-leading consultants Janet B. Reid, Ph.D., President and CEO of BRBS World, and Vincent Brown, President and CEO of VRBC, to develop ways to explore unconscious bias and generate conversation about the subject among employees. The resulting program includes original videos, including the highly acclaimed series “Healing Begins With Listening,” as well as interactive components and other curated material all delivered through Rali’s unique “Learn | Do | Inspire” change framework.

Through a licensing agreement, Rali will market MetroHealth’s award-winning content to help other health care organizations to:

  • Deliver compassionate and culturally competent care.
  • Demonstrate respectful empathy with all constituencies.
  • Build shared trust across the organization and communities served.
  • Create connected understanding between diverse individuals and populations.
  • Provide equitable service and support.

The Rali platform differs from other approaches because it delivers a unified environment designed to empower scalable, measurable and lasting changes in mindsets and behaviors. The experience can be customized and adapted to serve every type of health care organization, from individual users in a small, rural hospital to a global health care system’s cohort of thousands.

“We see an enormous demand from health care organizations for experiences that represent DEI best practices such as those from MetroHealth,” said Larry Mohl, Rali’s Founder. “We are incredibly excited to help MetroHealth bring their hard-earned DEI expertise to life in a highly engaging and outcome-driven manner.”

MetroHealth President & CEO Airica Steed, Ed.D., MBA, RN, FACHE, said the partnership with Rali represents MetroHealth’s commitment to DEI and its pursuit of innovation.

“It is an honor to work with Rali to share what we have learned and developed around diversity, equity and inclusion with our peers in the health care industry,” Dr. Steed said. “As caregivers, we have to understand how unconscious bias, systemic racism and the ‘othering’ of those who do not share the same backgrounds and experiences impacts the way we treat one another and the way we interact with patients. Then we must work to end those things. We are proud to partner with Rali to contribute to that goal.”

About The MetroHealth System

Founded in 1837, MetroHealth is leading the way to a healthier you and a healthier community through service, teaching, discovery, and teamwork. Cuyahoga County’s public, safety-net hospital system, MetroHealth meets people where they are, providing care through five hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers. Each day, our nearly 9,000 employees focus on providing our community with equitable healthcare — through patient-focused research, access to care, and support services — that seeks to eradicate health disparities rooted in systematic barriers. For more information, visit metrohealth.org.