Our commitment to building and sustaining our culture of belonging
At MultiCare, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilling personal and professional life. Such a life demands access to care and work environments free from racism, injustice, discrimination and violence.
Integrating belonging and equity principles into all we do and who we are as an organization is how we help reach that goal for every person in our facilities and communities.
Our health equity journey began in 2015 with the development of the Center for Health Equity and Wellness. Since then, we have implemented a variety of programs, including:
- Culturally informed care series
- Interpreter services
- Sexual orientation, gender identity and pronouns data collection
- Unconscious bias training
- Formation of a Belonging Advisory Council
We believe diversity is a fact. Equity is a choice. Inclusion is an action. Belonging is the outcome and our north star.
Why belonging?
Belonging is a fundamental human need: the feeling of being welcomed, accepted and supported as a member of a group. Belonging is valuing the talents, beliefs, backgrounds and diversity of our employees, patients and communities. It is our North Star; becoming a more equitable, diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone feels a genuine sense of belonging is the destination we strive for.
Belonging may feel mostly automatic to many; interactions in our workplaces and community reinforce that we are welcome and valued. But for many others — for many reasons — belonging is a greater challenge. It is for those individuals and communities that we prioritize this work. We embody principles of belonging when — in our daily interactions — we choose to behave in ways that align with our organization values.
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Our belonging philosophies
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- All people are valuable, without regard to who they are, where they come from, how they show up, what they think and so on.
- Everyone deserves the opportunity to live a healthy life in a safe, supportive community that fully integrates and embodies the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
- All patients are deserving of care that is high-quality, safe, equitable and compassionate.
- MultiCare’s team members should be people of goodwill who resonate with our mission, vision and values, and who offer skills and experience that are relevant to our organization’s success.
- All team members deserve a work environment where belonging is possible.
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Our belonging guiding principles
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- We will always act in a manner in harmony with our mission, vision and values.
- We will approach this work with empathy, curiosity and courage.
- We will be intentional and proactive with our belonging journey initiatives and activities.
- We will recognize that all people are imperfect and make mistakes. As a learning organization, acknowledging and learning from our mistakes is an essential part of our belonging journey.
- We will first assume positive intent in our interactions with everyone.
- We will be humble and vulnerable and create an environment where we can learn, grow and get better together.
- We will always seek to be genuine and trustworthy, as leaders and team members, and will follow through on our commitments.
- We will continually enhance our belonging journey in a manner that is not dismissive of the roles/contributions of any of our team members.
- We will refrain from statements meant to impugn, demean or judge an individual and/or group.
- We will measure the effectiveness of our workforce diversity and belonging strategies and initiatives and continually evaluate improvement opportunities and the efficacy of each effort.
Integrating belonging
MultiCare is working to integrate belonging in all that we do through three areas of focus: equity and operational excellence, workforce and employment, and professional development and training.
- Equity and operational excellence. MultiCare will identify and address barriers by tracking demographic data, monitoring trends, and measuring progress to integrate accountability standards and promote equitable practices and performance.
- Workforce and employment. MultiCare will intentionally increase, recruit, hire, retain, engage and promote a diverse workforce.
- Professional development and training. MultiCare will provide education, core competencies and tangible tools for staff and boards to better integrate the tenets of belonging within themselves, their leadership and their teams.
Find more information about our specific workforce equity and belonging efforts and useful resources below.
Contact us
MultiCare encourages employees, patients and community partners to connect with us to further this conversation.
Compliance or ethics questions
If you have questions or concerns about a MultiCare policy or an interaction you had at MultiCare, please contact us by phone at 866-264-6121 or email at [email protected].
Hiring or personnel questions
If you have questions or concerns related to hiring or our employees, please contact MultiCare Human Potential at 253-403-1260, Monday through Friday from 8am-4pm.