Quality care is providing the right care at the right time in the right place. In order to provide quality care, one needs to understand that quality care comes when each person is treated the same, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability. Far too often, patient care fails to meet the standard of diverse care. Poor quality generally takes the form of underuse and misuse of patient information because of their race or ethnicity. As a concept, diversity should inclusively consider everyone.
Health care providers must realize that addressing cultural diversity goes beyond knowing the values, beliefs, practices and customs of African Americans, Asians, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans/Alaskan Natives, and Pacific Islanders. In addition to racial classification and national origin, there are many other faces of cultural diversity. Religious affiliation, language, physical size, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability (both physical and mental), political orientation, socio-economic status, occupational status and geographical location are but a few of the faces of diversity. Diversity should be about learning from others who are not the same, about dignity and respect for all, and about creating free and fair healthcare environments and practices that encourage learning from others and capture the advantage of diverse perspectives.
If we encourage and maintain effective diverse employees and management, we are at the best position to providing quality and efficient care for our patients. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities that encourage diversity in the workplace, inspire all of their employees to perform to their highest ability. Company-wide approaches can then be implemented; resulting in excellent services, and returns on investment.
