Cheryl Martin (Host): This is Healthy with VCU Health. Up next, the third episode in a series of conversations with Dr. Marcelle Davis, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at VCU Health and team members throughout our healthcare system on their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and its impact on health.

Today, along with Dr. Davis, we're sitting down with Dr. Karen Hendricks- Muñoz. Professor and Chief Inaugural William Tate Graham Professor of Neonatal Medicine. They will discuss how Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU's commitment to this work has a positive influence on our patients, workforce, and community.

This is Healthy with VCU Health. I'm Cheryl Martin. Dr. Davis, welcome back. Tell us a bit about your background and why you chose Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz as your third guest.

Dr. Marcelle Davis: Cheryl, thank you so much for having me back. So, in my role as the Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer here at VCU Health, my goal is to ensure that team members across the organization have access to the tools and resources that they need to advance a culture that is fair, inclusive, and equitable, which is one of VCU Health's strategic goals. And we selected Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz as our third guest for several reasons. First, she has an extensive background, dating back approximately 40 years, in areas like pediatrics, neonatology, and women's health, and Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz has participated in Physician Leadership Development Program Design.

She sat on the Steering Committee for the Institute for Urban and Global Health at NYU Medical Center. And she served as faculty advisor to medical school students. And this really just speaks to some of her work. And Dr. Hendricks- Muñoz truly is a transformational leader. In addition to all of her incredible work, she is now in the inaugural role of Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Children's Hospital of Richmond, which means that I have the opportunity to partner with her more.

Cheryl Martin (Host): Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz, welcome to this episode of the DEI series. So, tell us a little bit about your background. We've heard some of it. Anything else you'd like to share?

Dr. Karen Hendricks-Muñoz: Well, thank you so much for inviting me to this session. As Dr. Davis said, I am the Chair and Division Chief of Neonatal Medicine. I have been doing this work for over 20 years, and I absolutely love being in this opportunity to be at the Children's Hospital of Richmond for the past 11 years. I came to Virginia Commonwealth University from New York University, where I had been the Division Chief of Neonatology and also the Co-Chair for Diversity and Inclusion at the NYU Langone Medical Center.

Here at VCU, I have the privilege to also be the Training Program Director for the next generation of neonatologists, as well as the founder of the CHoR Neonatal Follow Up Program that supports the growth and development of babies neurodevelopment, but I also am the Deputy Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Center on health disparities, where we focus on decreasing health disparities through equitable workforce and inclusion of individuals of all backgrounds in health research. I have been the Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Children's Hospital of Richmond for the past two years, in this inaugural position as well.

Cheryl Martin (Host): Let's talk about that position. Why was there a need for this role, Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion? And why did you accept the position?

Dr. Karen Hendricks-Muñoz: Well, I'd love to answer that question, but I have to say that the position has been a newly established position at the School of Medicine, and it was spearheaded by the Dean of the school of Medicine as well as an inaugural associate Dean, Dr. Kevin Harris, with the expectation that every department was charged with establishment of a DEI leader and perhaps other individuals to assist us in this DEI, framework.

The why was there a need? That's a great question. Every medical school and health system has a moral obligation to value equity, inclusion and diversity as an extension of the mission of patient care, development of cutting-edge research to advance care and education of the next generation of doctors. Our community, our nation is diverse.

Our doctors who provide that care to patients are diverse as well. And so, as a public health institution and the largest training program in Virginia for the next generation of doctors, this public institution and this large training program really must intentionally advance diversity of patient care, as well as the diversity of our future physicians and researchers to advance the best care for all patients, as well as embrace inclusiveness in expanding our workforce.

Why did I accept the role? I accepted the role because honestly, at my core, I am a physician who has spent a great deal of my life intentionally advancing access, equity, and inclusiveness for health care of all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or religious beliefs.

And as the DEI leadership, I intentionally have been focused on assuring equity and inclusiveness for the health of our patients directly here at VCU, as well as for growing the diverse medical physicians and workforce.

Cheryl Martin (Host): Now it's my understanding that as Vice Chair of diversity, equity and inclusion at Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU, you wanted to develop a DEI council. So, what are the responsibilities of the DEI council?

Dr. Karen Hendricks-Muñoz: The council was an important, piece of inclusiveness, to assure that we are providing an opportunity for all of our colleagues in the various areas of the hospital, both in the clinical area, the research and the training area, to have that access to DEI education, DEI support, and even growing research to assist a nation in this framework as well.

So, the clinical care environment, allows us to have individuals who have this varied background to oversee some of the faculty development, their faculty wellness, our trainee’s wellness and our success in providing the best patient care for our children and their families.

Cheryl Martin (Host): Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz share, if you would, at least one significant impact the DEI efforts have had on the workforce at Children's Hospital of Richmond and its patients.

Dr. Karen Hendricks-Muñoz: Well, when I think of significant impacts, I would say that there are two areas that we have been extremely impactful in. One is in our support of training the next generation of young trainees who come to us from microcosms of very diverse backgrounds. And how we can support them to be the best physicians, as well as other medical, allied professionals as possible.

When they face, many areas of unconscious bias or even overt bias, uh, within, not only the health system, but in their day-to-day activities. So, supporting them was a really important aspect of our work. The second area is really related to patients and supporting our patients who also, come from diverse backgrounds, lived experiences to be comfortable in communicating what their healthcare needs are in order to receive the best care possible. So those are really the two big efforts that we have addressed in the very first years of the council.

Cheryl Martin (Host): That's great. Now, Dr. Davis, with your role and that of Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz's, one can imagine that there's an opportunity here for collaboration. So, talk about any collaborative efforts related to VCU Health's workforce and the Richmond community.

Dr. Marcelle Davis: Cheryl, thank you. I'm happy to. We're actually currently collaborating on an effort to increase awareness and educate on the topic of religious diversity across Children's Hospital of Richmond, and eventually, we plan to expand and scale those efforts across the entire health system. And our goal, really, as we continue this critical partnership is to first ensure that we have the right resources to meet the needs of our diverse patient population.

And then, we can find ways to integrate those resources into our processes and practices, and this really puts us in a better position to continuously improve what we have instead of always reinventing the wheel.

Cheryl Martin (Host): Well, both of you have covered a lot, Dr. Hendricks- Muñoz and Dr. Davis. Is there anything else either of you would like to add?

Dr. Marcelle Davis: A huge thank you to Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz for taking time out of your incredibly busy day to be here with us today. Sharing the space with you, Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz, is a constant reminder that there are always opportunities to transform the current spaces that we find ourselves in, so that we can grow and learn from one another. And it's one of the ways that together, we create a culture where we all feel like we belong. So, thank you.

Dr. Karen Hendricks-Muñoz: Well, I thank you, Dr. Davis, and I want to thank you for having me, to discuss what we do every day here at the Children's Hospital of Richmond. I want to emphasize that our mission is very focused on advancing the health of our children and community from pregnancy, childbirth, and through early adulthood.

Not only directly through the patients and families that reach us, but also by advancing research important to keep us healthy or advance our treatment of diseases, as well as training the next generation of Physicians and Physician Scientists. So, thank you so much for allowing me to talk about this area that is so important.

Cheryl Martin (Host): As we close our podcast, I want to reiterate VCU Health's mission. It is to preserve and restore health for all people of Virginia and beyond, through innovation in service, research, and Education.

Thank you to our guests. This episode, Dr. Marcelle Davis and Dr. Karen Hendricks-Muñoz for putting that mission at the center of what you do. Great conversation.

To learn more about VCU Health and its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, go to VCUhealth.org/dei. That's VCUhealth.org/dei.

To listen to other podcasts from VCU Health, visit vcuhealth.org/podcast. This is Healthy with VCU Health.