Welcome

UW Medicine Office of Healthcare Equity Mission

• To reduce disparities in healthcare delivery by educating health professionals informed by principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice;
• To make UW Medicine an equitable place to learn, work, provide and receive care;
• To be a national model for healthcare equity; and
• To provide local and national leadership in healthcare equity and healthcare justice research.

Values

• Treat everyone with respect and compassion.
• Embrace and model diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.
• Practice and promote honest and transparent communication.
• Facilitate collaboration and teamwork across disciplines, specialties and communities.
• Engage in, promote and disseminate data-driven healthcare and justice innovation.

Guiding Principles

• Approach this work through a UW Medicine system lens.
• Develop structures and processes to support healthcare equity and justice across the system.
• Engage, partner and collaborate with all UW Medicine entities, health sciences, and UW schools as appropriate.
• Operate with explicit definitions of equity, racism, bias, diversity, and cultural humility.
• Acknowledge that patient safety, staff satisfaction, and health outcomes are crucially linked with diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice practices.
• Ensure equity, diversity, and inclusion principles inform all system-wide quality improvement processes and practices.
• Identify where we’ve fallen short and commit with accountability to improving healthcare equity at all levels of the organization.
• Develop and sustain a foundation of trust across our communities by being present to listen to and learn about those we serve, solicit ongoing feedback from them, and consistently report back.
• Advocate for and facilitate initiatives to build and support a workforce reflective of communities we serve.