Taylor Leddin McMaster (Host): Hello listeners, and thanks for tuning into Well Within Reach, a podcast brought to you by Riverside Healthcare. I'm your host, Taylor Leddin McMaster, and joining me today is Tierra Dixon Sullivan, Riverside's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator, and today we're going to talk about Black History Month and Riverside's DEI program.

Welcome, Tierra.

Tierra Dixon-Sullivan, MBA, NDCCDP: Hi, thank you for having me.

Host: Thanks for being here. Before we get into today's episode, we're going to take a quick break for a message about MyChart.

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Host: We are back to Well Within Reach, discussing Black History Month and the related DEI initiatives by Riverside Healthcare.

So, Tierra, can you tell us when you joined Riverside and what your day to day life is like in your role as DEI coordinator?

Tierra Dixon-Sullivan, MBA, NDCCDP: Yeah, of course. So I joined Riverside back in 2022. I started off as a talent sourcer to really just widen the net that we were using to get talent into our organization. Then in 2023, I transitioned into the DEI coordinator role, and day to day really does change. Sometimes I'm submitting our surveys for different organizations like the American Hospital Association, Military Friendly, Human Rights Campaign, do a lot of employee engagement.

I'm involved in our annual surveys. I do different events, a lot of trainings as well, and I'm involved in like the orientation. And I also go into the community and do different speaking engagements on behalf of Riverside.  

Host: Why is such a role important to an organization like Riverside?

Tierra Dixon-Sullivan, MBA, NDCCDP: Yeah, so Riverside is a big organization, and just like we wouldn't want someone handling payroll or operations on other duties as assigned basis, that's the same with DEI. Diversity, equity, and inclusion, it's employee engagement, it's employee retention, and in healthcare, it's directly correlated to both patient safety and satisfaction.

Host: So, February is Black History Month, and why do you feel it's important to highlight Black History, not just in the month of February, but throughout the year?

Tierra Dixon-Sullivan, MBA, NDCCDP: Yeah, I think it's important to highlight it throughout the year because representation does matter, and Black history is American history. Historically, Black history wasn't taught as extensive in American history. I remember growing up in school, I learned about MLK, Rosa Parks, and the Civil Rights Movement, but I didn't really learn about Black inventors, Black explorers, Black Wall Street, and a lot of other significant parts of history.

So I think it was very surface level, and it wasn't until I actually took an African American Studies course in college, where I really learned more about Black history. So I'm a strong proponent of awareness and lifelong learning 365 days out of the year, and not really depending on a designated month to expand our knowledge.

Host: Yeah, I love that. Lifelong learning is so important. What does Riverside do to recognize the historic month?

Tierra Dixon-Sullivan, MBA, NDCCDP: Yeah, so at Riverside, we have been very intentional about just recognizing the contributions of Black people, both historically and present day, in both our workforce and our community. We typically try to do an internal learning initiative during the month, just so that our staff, patients, and visitors, they're able to grow their knowledge.

We also have messaging, across our continuum, just celebrating Black History Month, and we try to show up in the community and support the many events, um, that our community has to offer.  

Host: So can you speak a little bit about the other ongoing DEI initiatives that take place at Riverside?

Tierra Dixon-Sullivan, MBA, NDCCDP: We have our DEI Governance Committee and a variety of subcommittees. We also have our annual DEI goals that encompasses the many identities that make up Riverside and the communities that we serve.

So that includes our aging community or elders, our military communities, LGBTQ+ community, Spanish speaking community, and that's just to name a few. So I think it's important to highlight that our DEI efforts are constantly evolving to match the diverse needs of our organization and the communities we serve. 

Host: How can employees get involved with this?  

Tierra Dixon-Sullivan, MBA, NDCCDP: So if you are interested in getting involved with our DEI subcommittees or even joining our Military Friendly and Veteran Affinity Group, then please reach out to me directly and we can discuss how you can get involved. You can email me, you can give me a call. If you're near the Human Resources Office, you can always stop by and see me too. We'd love to have you.

Host: Thank you. That's great.

Before we continue our conversation, we're going to take a moment to talk about the importance of primary care. At Riverside HealthCare, your primary care provider is dedicated to being in your corner, helping you and your family stay healthy and thrive.

Find the right primary care provider for you at riversidehealthcare.org/primarycare. From annual screenings to well checks and everything in between, having a primary care provider that you can trust makes all the difference.

Okay, we're back with Tierra Dixon Sullivan, our DEI coordinator here at Riverside.

We're speaking about Black History Month and the DEI initiatives happening year round at Riverside. But February is also American Heart Month. And according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, heart disease is the number one cause of death of women in the U.S. and African American women have an even higher risk of dying from heart disease.

This is just one example of increased health risks for African Americans and I'm curious what do you think causes these risks to increase?

Tierra Dixon-Sullivan, MBA, NDCCDP: So according to the Mayo Clinic, African Americans have a greater risk of developing certain chronic health conditions compared to the rest of the U.S. population. This includes high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and stroke.

Host: That's really interesting. What do you think can be done to help close the gap in these disparities?

Tierra Dixon-Sullivan, MBA, NDCCDP: In my non clinical opinion, I think awareness and prevention is key. It's so important to find a primary care provider and make your yearly appointments a priority. We really need to stop waiting to see a doctor until a problem arises and start seeing a doctor to prevent problems before they even occur. So I would say just prioritize your health and well being even when you are feeling good.

Host: Well, is there anything else on this subject, either about DEI or Black History Month, that you wanted listeners to know about?

Tierra Dixon-Sullivan, MBA, NDCCDP: Yeah. I just think we all evolve through experiences and learning, and the key is staying open to new information and applying it to how we approach things. Um, when we know better, we can do better.

Host: Yeah. I love that. That's great. Well, thank you so much, Tierra, and thank you listeners for tuning in to the Well Within Reach podcast. To learn more about Riverside HealthCare, visit MyRHC.net.