Newsworthy

Dear Community Partners,

Here are today’s updates:

• Focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Providing High-Quality Heart Care
• “To Your Health” on WIBW-TV Tonight: “Pink Monday”

Focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The world is now getting a glimpse into what drives David Villanueva.

As Director of Employee Relations, Employee Health and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at Stormont Vail Health, David oversees all those areas that are a part of his long title. However, it is the DEI piece that really underscores his passion for people.

David and his focus on DEI is featured in a recent article in American Healthcare Leader.

“DEI is about having systems and processes in place to ensure we are creating the most inclusive, belonging, and equitable environment possible with team members and our community. With that, we also strive to understand and accept diversity of opinion and thought,” David notes in the article.

While he says the organization hasn’t been flashy or created a DEI hashtag, the Stormont Vail team has been steadily working on behind-the-scenes initiatives to enhance its DEI efforts. That has included:

• Development of the IDEA Committee, which stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access. The group advises the system on initiatives that can help achieve progress toward DEI for both team members and patients. A recent example is the development of an interpreter program that will provide translation services for patients instead of calling a third-party language line. The organization is paying for team members in the program to attend interpreter school.
• Expansion of the DEI investment through the hiring of a DEI manager, Saida Bonifield.
• Creation of a system-wide SharePoint resource about DEI, including a monthly newsletter.

In true David fashion, the article shines more of a bright light on the initiatives and programs underway to make Stormont Vail a better place to work, than on David himself. These include:

• An emerging leaders program led by the Organizational Development team and how that is empowering employees from all backgrounds to refine skills and develop as leaders.
• The re-evaluation of current benefit design and explorations of affordable child care models.
• Development of a Wellpower Wage, at $15 an hour, which is twice the Kansas minimum wage to provide a living wage for team members.

David has found that the Stormont Vail team is very open to DEI concepts. “We have received so many requests from leaders throughout our organization, who were just thirsting for more information about DEI,” David notes in the article.

Providing High-Quality Heart Care
We are honored to announce that Stormont Vail Health is a recipient of the 2022 Chest Pain – MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology! We are proud to be one of only 406 hospitals nationwide to receive this distinguished honor, which recognizes hospitals who demonstrate top-level performance in quality of heart care.

This award is evidence of our heart care team’s hard work and their commitment to delivering high-quality cardiovascular care.

Thank you to those who continually go above and beyond to transform heart health, and congratulations on this prestigious award! To learn more about the Chest Pain – MI Registry or the performance achievement awards, click here.

 “To Your Health” on WIBW-TV Tonight: “Pink Monday”
The Stormont Vail Mobile Clinic is partnering with the Silverbacks and CRC-Lundgren to host “Pink Monday” on June 13. Learn more about this awesome event on tonight’s “To Your Health” segment at 10 p.m. on WIBW-TV, Channel 13. The segment will typically repeat at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Fridays on 13 News This Morning and be posted on wibw.com.

Nohemi Alvarez-Landa with our mobile clinic and Jackie Brown from Silverbacks will share details about the “Pink Monday” event. The Silverbacks will provide bras at no cost to women, Stormont Vail will provide breast exams, and educational information will be available.

We together,
Dr. Kenagy