Social
Building Equity for All People
Every day, in all our hospitals and communities, Atlantic Health System team members are actively striving to ensure equitable treatment for everyone. In the past year, we repeated and expanded successful programs that put our social values into action. And we introduced new initiatives to address social priorities in our system and our communities.
For patients, our efforts meant enhanced physical access to care; being treated with cultural sensitivity and competence; and receiving consistently high-quality care. For our team members, our efforts promoted an increased sense of belonging and opportunities to be a force for good in our workplace and the communities we serve.
There is no downside to approaching everyone — no exceptions — with dignity, respect, and a welcoming spirit. We are in the business of healing people, and that is not restricted to the office, exam room, or surgical suite.
Our every word and action can be positive forces in the lives of others, whether colleague or patient, if we make it so.
Achieving Health Equity for Every Patient
Equal care for all people is more than a goal — it’s an objective we’ve set and are actively working toward. We’re addressing three primary areas to help us achieve that objective: physical access, cultural competency, and quality of care. Obviously, we can’t care for patients if they can’t get to us. We’re working with local agencies to make sure all of our care facilities are accessible via public transportation.
We are also focused on making sure our care delivery is equitable — being mindful of and addressing the stark disparity in maternal health outcomes for minority populations, for example. And through our AHS YOUniversity team member training and education program, we’re making sure our team is trained on diversity, inclusion, cultural sensitivity, disabilities, and other considerations that directly impact both patient care and our workplace.
Supporting the Health of Our Community
The Atlantic Health Community Health Team reaches out to
members of our communities, focusing on priority populations and
geographies identified in the Community Health Needs Assessment,
with education programming covering a range of topics from nutrition
and exercise to various health issues to caring for aging loved ones.
Volunteering Makes a Difference
Our team members are an inspiring force for good. They’ve packed thousands of meals for the food insecure on the Martin Luther King Day of Service. They’ve mentored differently abled youth, some of whom have joined us as team members. They’ve worked in soup kitchens, helped with Habitat for Humanity — the list goes on. Atlantic Health enthusiastically supports our volunteers and applauds their efforts.
We’re not just in it together for Atlantic Health. We’re in it together for the human race.
Corporate Social Responsibility
We're working to improve the health and well-being of individuals, the community and the environment with which we work and live. Through programs and trusted partnerships, we strive to extend our service to the community beyond our walls, with particular attention to vulnerable communities.
Diverse and Inclusive
We strive for an inclusive health care environment where patients, visitors and employees are welcomed and afforded the same treatment regardless of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, immigration status, socioeconomic background, disability and age.
Engaging All Our Communities
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Diversifying our Workforce
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This past year, the talent acquisition team sharpened its recruiting focus to attract a more diverse candidate pool. We’re not waiting for prospects to come to us; we’re going where they are. We’re partnering with HBCUs and their medical schools and targeting professional associations such as the National Black Nurses Association, the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, the National Association of Health Services Executives, and the National Medical Association, the oldest African-American physician’s organization in the country. Across our hiring spectrum, we continue to welcome candidates of all identities and dispositions.
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Diversifying our Supply Chain
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Atlantic Health relies on an extensive web of suppliers to support all our operations. Our ESG values extend to the companies we do business with. In 2023, we spent $55 million with minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, and small businesses, supporting the creation of over 400 jobs and helping these small and diverse businesses to thrive.
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Overcoming Language Barriers
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The second full year of our qualified interpreter program saw solid growth in the number of team members trained. Three cohorts — 97 team members in all — went through the program this past year, and we now have team members qualified as interpreters in Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin, with more programs expected to be added in the coming year. Being physically present with a patient to interpret for them is a vastly superior experience compared to telephone interpretation with an external vendor. The ultimate result is better quality of care, better patient satisfaction, and reduced external costs.
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Driving Change through Business Resource Groups
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678 team members were forces for change this past year as members of our Business Resource Groups, including 252 who belong to more than one group.