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Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Award

The Award This award will honour a forward thinking healthcare organization that has demonstrated leadership in creating and promoting diversity and inclusion to improve the environment for its employees, and to better service their customers/patients, and the community. The recipient will receive an etched glass trophy, paid travel and accommodation for one individual to attend the College's Honouring Health Leadership event, and a complimentary registration to the National Health Leadership Conference. Eligibility The award is open to all Canadian healthcare organizations. Those organizations that have demonstrated effective leadership, skill, innovation, and perseverance in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion are eligible to be nominated. While special acts or other one-time achievements will be considered, this award will place special emphasis on effective and sustained efforts worthy of recognition. This justification will serve as the principal basis for selection of the award recipient. Nominations Nominations must be made by a member of the College and be submitted by February 1, 2019. To submit a nomination, please use the attached nomination template. Nominations must be submitted as one PDF file and include the following:

• The completed nomination form. • A letter of nomination from a member of the College. • Using the template, describe the initiatives undertaken • by the nominated organization that demonstrated leadership in creating and promoting

diversity and inclusion across various populations to improve the environment for its employees, and to better service their customers/patients and the community.

• Three letters of support from: (1) a member of the nominated organization's board of directors; (2) a member of the organization's senior leadership team; and (3) from a patient or employee who has been positively impacted by the diversity and inclusion initiatives undertaken by the nominated organization.

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Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Award – Nomination Form

Nominations must be made by a member of the College. Nominee Organization: Alberta Health Services Contact person: Prefix: Name: Marni Panas Title: Program Manager, Diversity and Inclusion Address: 900, 9925 – 109 Street, Edmonton, AB, T5K2J8 Phone: 587.786.6373 Fax: Email: marni.panas@ahs.ca Nominator Prefix: Name: Deb Gordon Title: Vice President and Chief Health Operations Officer (Northern Alberta) Executive Lead – Emergency Medical Services Organization: Alberta Health Services Address: 14th Floor, Seventh Street Plaza, North Tower

10030-107 Street Edmonton Alberta, T5J 3E4

Phone: 780.342.2025 Fax: 780.342.2060 Email: deb.gordon@ahs.ca Nominator: Prefix: Name: Brenda Huband Title: Vice President and Chief Health Operations Officer (Southern Alberta)

Executive Lead, Population, Public & Indigenous Health; Correctional Health Services

Organization: Alberta Health Services Address: 3228, Southport Tower

10301 Southport Lane SW Calgary, AB, T2W 1S7

Phone: 403.943.1481 Fax: 403.943.1163 Email: brenda.huband@ahs.ca

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Please submit nominations to: Christian Coulombe, Director, Marketing & Communications Canadian College of Health Leaders 292 Somerset Street West Ottawa, ON K2P 0J6 Tel: (613) 235-7218 ext. 213 Toll free: 1-800-363-9056 Fax: (613) 235-5451 ccoulombe@cchl-ccls.ca

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Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Award – Nomination Template

The following template has been provided to help nominators with the nomination process. Please be sure to complete all sections within the template to the best of your ability. We request that you use this template to submit your nomination.

Summary for Publication (Limit: 250 words) Please include a synopsis of the nominee’s program and achievements. This information will be published in the College’s Leading Practices booklet. As Canada’s largest health care provider, Alberta Health Services (AHS) recognizes a commitment to diversity and inclusion (D&I) is essential to improving the experience for its workforce and the diverse population of Albertans who depend on them for high quality, patient centred care and services. AHS has implemented a number of initiatives and activities to support D&I such as:

• Embedding D&I in Our People Strategy (OPS) and all of AHS’ four foundational strategies. • Created a D&I Council to prioritize and guide D&I activities. • Developed a framework and governance structure to guide D&I activities. • Launched a new initiative called Change the Conversation (CTC). CTC provides employees with

tools to address disrespectful behaviours. • Implemented initiatives to:

o Create awareness of different cultural celebrations; o Create inclusive environments for its workforce; and o Reduce barriers for marginalized populations to access care and services.

• Dedicated resources and education for staff, volunteers and care providers to provide culturally sensitive care and service. Resources are focused on:

o Talent acquisition activities on underrepresented communities aimed at increasing diversity of its workforce; and

o Activities to support, develop and grow the Indigenous workforce and ensure appropriate and innovative health service delivery for Indigenous peoples.

• In collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, AHS deployed a diversity census and inclusion survey of its workforce in the spring 2018. The findings are being used by AHS D&I Council to identify and prioritize future initiatives aimed at creating safer and more inclusive workplaces.

Contact Information for Publication Please include the nominee’s contact information. This will appear in the College’s Leading Practices booklet. If you do not wish to have contact information published, please indicate “n/a” in the applicable fields.

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Please use the contact information provided in the nomination form. Prefix: Name: Title: Organization: Address: Phone: Fax: Email: Project name (if applicable):

Report (Limit: 2,500 words. Please respect the word count limit. The College reserves the right to disqualify nominations that exceed the limit.) Please complete the sections below. You are welcome to insert graphs, etc. into the sections. 1. Introduction – please describe why diversity and inclusion is important to the nominated

organization.

AHS is Canada’s fifth largest employer. As Canada’s largest health care provider with over 130,000 employees, physicians and volunteers, AHS provides care and services to over 4.3 million Albertans. The overall demographic makeup of Alberta is changing. This is seen in both our workforce and in those we serve. Working environments and organizational practices that are inclusive of diverse employees lend to improved overall worker engagement, psychological and physical safety, productivity, innovation and improved patient experience, patient safety and outcomes. In addressing the health needs of a diverse patient population, a diverse, inclusive and culturally competent health care team will contribute to reducing the barriers that many marginalized populations face in accessing healthcare. This holds particularly true in looking at the health needs of our Indigenous population. Through its commitment to diversity and inclusion (“D&I”), AHS strives to model its values of Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Excellence and Safety (CARES). 2. Provide evidence regarding how the organization has demonstrated visionary and insightful

leadership to promote full diversity & inclusion across various populations through strategic decision-making, equitable practices, allocation of resources, and establishment of priorities by the leadership which is evident in its policies and practices. (20 POINTS)

D&I is a priority within Our People Strategy (OPS), one of four foundational strategies that support the AHS Health and Business Plan. OPS explicitly highlights a “renewed commitment to diversity, inclusion, cultural competency and sensitivity”. A safe, healthy and inclusive workplace is one of four priorities outlined in the strategy. To meet this goal, AHS has created a D&I centre of expertise. The team currently has three full time employees (one manager and two advisors), one of which is dedicated to Indigenous inclusion.

The AHS D&I Council was established in November 2016 with executive sponsorship from the Vice President, People, Legal & Privacy. Its purpose is to prioritize and guide activities aimed at creating safer

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and more inclusive environments. Council membership includes representatives from leadership, front-line clinical and operational areas.

With executive support and guidance from the D&I Council, the Centre of Expertise has spearheaded the development of a governance structure and framework to guide D&I within AHS.

The framework reflects AHS’ commitment to create an inclusive environment that is fair, just and respectful; to build a workforce that is reflective of the diverse communities we serve; and to improve our ability to provide culturally safe care and services. The goals of the framework are: • Clients, patients and their families receive safe, quality care and services that are responsive to

individual cultures, beliefs and values. • AHS leaders embody and advocate D&I through their direct actions, their own professional

development and by inspiring others. • Our people value each other and have the knowledge, skills and attitude to create and contribute to

diverse and inclusive environments. • A robust, industry-leading governance infrastructure to support D&I.

3. Provide evidence of the initiatives undertaken that cultivate, promote and foster a more inclusive

and equitable work environment, including approaches to recruitment, retention, and the promotion of individuals of aboriginal and underrepresented populations. Demonstrate how these initiatives have impacted the organization and its employees. Where applicable, include quantitative and qualitative measurements such as engagement scores, or other measurements of success. (20 POINTS)

AHS, in collaboration with members of its workforce, has introduced a number of initiatives aimed at creating a safer and more inclusive environment. Some of these include:

• Updated Intranet webpage dedicated to providing employees with resources for creating safer and more inclusive environments.

• Launch of a multicultural calendar that recognizes important dates for our diverse population. • Launched a new initiative called Change the Conversation (CTC). CTC provides employees with

tools to address offensive, racist, sexist and homophobic language and behaviours. • Held a series of “Listening Days” with senior leaders. These Listening Days provided a forum for

exploring a common understanding of the needs of our Indigenous workforce. This forum has now transitioned into an Indigenous Health Strategy Steering Committee responsible for the development of a comprehensive Indigenous Health Strategy.

• Delivered Video blogs featuring AHS employees and AHS CEO, Dr. Verna Yiu discussing a variety of topics related to D&I.

• Participation of AHS employees in pride events throughout Alberta, June 2018 and AHS held its first ever official pride event in an AHS facility (see celebrations in 2018).

• Developed guides and policies to: o Create safer and more inclusive spaces for sexual and gender minority people; o Support transgender employees in their gender transition in the workplace; o Support employee participation in cultural and community events; o Support implementation of standard inclusive washroom signage for use in AHS

facilities; and

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o Support creation of reflection rooms at various AHS facilities to be used for meditation, reflection and prayer.

• Safe places posters displayed in facilities throughout the organization reinforcing AHS values and commitment to diversity and inspire dialogue with teams about what it means to feel safe, welcome and valued.

• Provide ongoing support and consultation services to portfolios, teams and departments across the organization on issues related to D&I including collective agreement negotiations, communication and policies.

• Provide ongoing support to AHS communications by sharing stories and celebrating the diversity of our workforce.

The Talent Acquisition team has a number of strategies focused on AHS commitment to increasing the diversity of its workforce. These include

• Partnership with community organizations to help attract, coach, recruit and train a diverse workforce that includes Newcomers, Indigenous, persons with disabilities and many more. You Belong at AHS highlights our diverse population.

• Building our workforces knowledge and skills by: o Developing the talent acquisitions team’s skills so they can support hiring a diverse

population. o Inclusive hiring training to help managers to reduce/address hiring bias and offering

supports such as the cultural competence interview question bank. o Training for leaders to gain awareness of how to create a more supportive work

environment for those with disabilities. • Dedicated team - Indigenous Talent Acquisition - to increasing of the number of Indigenous

healthcare workers. We are doing this by exposing indigenous youth to health camps, creating coaching opportunities and developed retention strategies to help this population feel safe and included after hire.

Measurement

• In 2018, over 20,000 employees completed in-person and online D&I training. This training has created greater awareness of diversity, cultural differences, bias, Indigenous health and how to create and maintain a respectful workplace.

• In the spring 2018, AHS deploy a diversity census and inclusion census of its workforce. We are currently analyzing the results which will be used to set future D&I priorities and actions.

• Other organizations regularly approach AHS and ask for support on how to roll out best practice around D&I work.

4. Outline the initiatives undertaken that cultivate, promote and foster an inclusive patient experience for disadvantaged and vulnerable patient populations. Demonstrate how these initiatives have impacted the patient populations. Where applicable, include quantitative and qualitative measurements such as engagement scores, or other measurements of success. (25 POINTS)

AHS introduced a number of initiatives aimed at creating safer and more inclusive environments for vulnerable and marginalized patient populations. Some of these include:

• Provided comprehensive, wrap-around health care services to Syrian refugees. • Comprehensive review of the new AHS clinical information system to ensure that sensitive

patient demographic data is collected, used, stored and displayed in a way that is respectful of

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patient identity, race, ethnicity, faith, gender and sex at birth while ensuring patient safety and accuracy of information.

• Launched a new external webpage to provide information for sexual and gender minority patients, their families and health care providers. This new website includes information specific to support transgender people in their medical transition.

• AHS has collaborated with the University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry to incorporate a diversity lens throughout the four year curriculum for medical students.

• AHS Continuing Care recently launched an LGBTQ2S+ toolkit aimed at creating safer and more inclusive environments for patients and their families in both AHS and contracted continuing care facilities.

• Interpretation and language access to support limited or non-English speaking patients and families.

5. Provide examples of community engagement by the organization and/or its employees that helps to foster understanding between populations, and assists in building bridges within the community. (10 POINTS)

AHS vision is Health Albertans. Healthy Communities. Together. Community and employee engagement is at the core of providing patient focused, high quality health care to Alberta’s diverse population. AHS engages with the community and employees in a variety of ways:

• Obtaining feedback and input from Albertans throughout the province via a network of Health Advisory Councils to better address the health needs of communities.

• AHS has Provincial Advisory Councils (PAC) that advise on province wide health programs including Cancer, Addiction and Mental Health, Seniors & Continuing Care.

• In 2018, AHS launched its fourth Provincial Advisory Council, SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity & Expression) PAC that is focussed on improving care and services for the LGBTQ2S+ community.

• The Indigenous Wisdom Council provides guidance and recommendations on service delivery, program design and evaluation to ensure appropriate and innovative health service delivery for Indigenous peoples in Alberta.

• Employees are engaged on matters of D&I through a variety of means: o The AHS D&I Council & Network gives members, representing all key areas in AHS, the

opportunity to provide input into D&I strategic planning and initiative and provide act as ambassadors in their areas to build and promote culturally safe environments;

o The D&I Community of Practice (COP) is a network of professionals at AHS who provide education and resources to improve our capabilities to provide culturally safe and sensitive care and services to a variety of diverse populations. This group shares resources and provides input on D&I activities;

o The LGBTQ2S+ COP is a network of professionals within AHS and stakeholders across healthcare who share resources, develop tools and provide support in creating more inclusive environments for LGBTQ2S+ patients, families and staff;

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o Feedback from employees is received through tools such as our Engagement Surveys, Wellness Surveys and an online employee engagement, feedback tool called Your Voice Matters and our various comments boards; and

o Newsletters for employees and leaders keep them informed of AHS D&I activities and solicits feedback and participation.

Engagement with Indigenous People

Our Indigenous workforce has unique needs which are being addressed separately and in conjunction with other D&I work. AHS Human Resources is working closely with AHS Indigenous Health, with a focus on learning, understanding and building relationships so we can work together to support, develop and grow our Indigenous workforce. Over the past two years, AHS has held a series of “Listening Days” with senior leaders from our Operational, Human Resources and Indigenous Health program areas. These “Listening Days” provided a forum for exploring a common understanding of the needs of our Indigenous workforce. This forum has now transitioned into a full Indigenous Health Strategy Steering Committee who are responsible for the development of a comprehensive Indigenous Health Strategy.

6. Discuss how the organization educates its workforce on equitable and social engagement with and

between people of varying ethnic or religious backgrounds, including indigenous populations, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender, and/or physical and mental capabilities. (10 POINTS)

One of AHS’ D & I three key priorities is to increase the organization’s capabilities to provide culturally safe care and services. Education and resources on a variety of D&I topics are provided to AHS physicians, midwives, employees, students and volunteers as follows:

• Introduction to D&I during new AHS employee orientation. • In the last year, 148 facilitators were trained and over 650 people participate in KAIROS Blanket

Exercises throughout the province. • Education sessions were provided to over 20,000 AHS employees in the last year on topics such

as: o Bias; o Intergenerational relationships; o Respectful workplace; and o Improving the experience for LGBTQ2S+ people.

• The AHS leadership development program includes an introduction to D&I, business case for D&I and unconscious bias as part of its core courses for certification.

• All members of the Executive Leadership Team have received education on unconscious bias, power and privilege and cultural competency, safety, humility and sensitivity.

• AHS has a dedicated team to support cultural competence and safety for our Indigenous workforce and patient population and provides education to all employees such as: Indigenous Awareness and Sensitivity: Our People, Our Culture and Our Wellness. This training is now

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mandatory for all AHS employees and leaders. To date more than 10,000 employees have completed the on-line Indigenous Awareness training.

• The CTC initiative is working to create greater awareness and encourage discussions about D&I, respectful workplace and psychological safety.

7. Discuss the sustainability of the initiatives outlined in sections 3; 4; 5 and 6. (15 POINTS)

The AHS D & I Framework identifies a number of ways that support the sustainability of current and future D&I initiatives which include:

• Commit resources, infrastructure and an ongoing communication and engagement plan dedicated to supporting and furthering D&I activities. For example, the dedication of resources including the developing of a D & I Centre of Expertise and support for the Change the Conversation initiative.

• Prioritize measurement activities to monitor trends, measure efficacy of initiatives and respond to emerging issues.

• Continue to monitor percentage of leaders and workforce as a reflection of the communities AHS serves.

• Ensure D&I accountability is included in performance conversations and operational planning. • Develop and ongoing implementation of a robust D&I education, communications and

engagement plans. • Report progress to OPS on a quarterly basis.

8. Conclusion AHS is committed to creating a safer and more inclusive environment for everyone who is part of or who interacts with our organization. This commitment is embedded in OPS and all of AHS four foundational strategies. AHS engages with its diverse workforce and the public to develop initiatives aimed at creating safer environments where people can bring their whole selves to their work while reducing the barriers for marginalized populations to access care and services. Education and other resources are continually being developed to increase our workforce’s capability to provide culturally sensitive care and services. AHS is positioned to measure the efficacy of its initiatives and identify areas where special attention is required. AHS recognizes that embedding a culture of D&I throughout the organization requires efforts in many areas at many levels. Including D&I in strategic planning, establishing a framework and governance structure and supporting resources dedicated to D&I helps ensure these efforts are sustainable and continue to have positive impact well into the future. A final word goes to an AHS employee who helped plan and host AHS’ first ever official pride event in one of its facilities. The event was attended by AHS staff, community members and Government of Alberta representatives to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQ2S+ members of the AHS workforce and the greater community. Such events highlight, the importance of this work, and the impact AHS D&I is striving to achieve.

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“Today we celebrate the many steps that have been taken forward to creating safer and more inclusive environments for the sexual and gender minority community. Today we celebrate the thousands of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Non-Binary and Two Spirit people who are part of the diversity of the AHS workforce. Today the Royal Alexandra Hospital hosts AHS first ever official event celebrating pride in any of our facilities. Today, AHS comes out as an organization.”

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Sponsored by:

How to submit your nomination: The nomination should include all of the items listed below. The nomination is to be submitted to ccoulombe@cchl-ccls.ca as one PDF file. The letters of nomination and support should be included in the PDF file as well. Electronic signatures are acceptable. Please include the following in your nomination package:

the completed nomination form; nomination letter from a member of the College; the completed nomination template; and three letters of support, as outlined on page 1 of this document .

Should you have any questions, please contact: Christian Coulombe, Director, Marketing & Communications Canadian College of Health Leaders 292 Somerset Street West Ottawa, ON K2P 0J6 Tel: (613) 235-7218 ext. 213 Toll free: 1-800-363-9056 Fax: (613) 235-5451 ccoulombe@cchl-ccls.ca Nomination deadline: February 1, 2019.