Since ACEP13 in Seattle, medical directors, regional directors, members of boards of directors, vice presidents, chief medical officers, and chief executive officers of numerous national emergency medicine practice groups, hospital systems, academic institutions, and private-equity groups have attended the Diversity Executive Reception.
This annual private reception provides the opportunity for minority physician executives to network and discuss their unique professional accomplishments as well as providing the opportunity for higher-level discussions involving the business of emergency medicine. Annually, more than 50 senior-level executives of all cultural backgrounds meet to discuss how their roles and unique perspectives can promote the mission of their hospitals, physician organizations, and patients. Even Obama administration officials have come to this reception to hear from these diverse health care executives because they manage billions of dollars of health care revenue across the United States.
The reception has purposely remained informal to offer the most amount of time to network for the attendees. Wesley Curry, MD, chief executive officer of CEP America and one of the sponsors of the reception, felt like it was his responsibility to start such a group and maintain a relaxed atmosphere. “I feel that my 30 years of executive experience can be a very valuable resource for the next generation of physician executives,” he said. “It’s wonderful to mentor and converse with such a broad group of talented leaders.”
Reginald Nesbitt, MD, the previous chief integration officer of ApolloMD and now medical director of Alii Healthcare, has also found value in attending and has been coming annually since the group’s inception. “The opportunity to meet with leaders driving new health care solutions in and outside of the emergency departments is something I have to take advantage of every year,” he said.
The Diversity Executive Reception at ACEP has steadily increased its attendance numbers. It was originally designed for leaders at the level of medical director and above, and some executives have now brought select residents or assistant directors who are interested in administration so they can gain access to mentors and further their professional opportunities.
The Diversity Executive Reception at ACEP has steadily increased its attendance numbers. It was originally designed for leaders at the level of medical director and above, and some executives have now brought select residents or assistant directors who are interested in administration so they can gain access to mentors and further their professional opportunities. It has been a rewarding experience for both junior and seasoned emergency medicine executive leaders.
Historically, there has not been a significant institutional drive to promote diverse executive leadership even though ethnic and racial minorities have experienced worse clinical outcomes across a broad spectrum of diseases, even when adjusted for income. We have known for some time that these health care disparities exist and cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars annually. Derek Robinson, MD, FACEP, is vice president of enterprise quality and accreditation for the Health Care Service Corporation and a past attendee of the reception. His role is to “ensure that his members receive the best care and provide optimal outcomes.” He believes that there were few financial incentives for cash-strapped hospital systems and “hesitancy” for physician groups to move toward greater diversity in their executive ranks. The traditional fee-for-service model placed very little value on clinical outcomes or integrated delivery models for populations, and so the status quo persisted.
However, with the advent of population health and value-based reimbursement, hospital systems and physician groups are starting to take clinical outcomes much more seriously because they increasingly affect the hospital’s bottom line. It clearly has been illustrated that provider diversity improves the quality of care and outcomes of both micro and macro populations. In his recently published textbook, Diversity and Inclusion in Quality Patient Care, Marcus Martin, MD, vice president and chief officer of diversity at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, discusses how quality outcomes are affected by diversity of providers and leadership in emergency medicine. Having executive leadership that understands and directs the clinical operations that influence these disparities is a winning value proposition for hospital systems and patients. This reception hopes to address these issues.
Accordingly, the Diversity Executive Reception at ACEP underscores the need to facilitate and promote executive diversity in emergency medicine. It remains open to executive leaders of all backgrounds. If you feel that you or any member of your organization would benefit from attendance, email Savoy Brummer, MD, at savoybrummer@cep.com for more information. See you at ACEP16 in Las Vegas!
Dr. Brummer is vice president and member of the board of directors for CEP America in St. Louis.
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One Response to “Emergency Medicine Leaders at Diversity Executive Reception Unite to Focus on Improving Health Care”
May 1, 2016
Napoleon Knight, MD, MBA, FACEP, FAAPLI have had the opportunity to attend this event several times and found it to be an extremely worthwhile networking opportunity, and a time to celebrate the amazing success of both experienced and evolving young leaders. In these leadership roles it is always good to have mentors and this gathering is a great setting to make connections that can lead to those relationships.
Looking forward to the next gathering.