New Cultural Competence Leadership Fellows Selected

Expanding an increasingly multicultural patient population's access to care, promoting diversity in the health care workforce, the need for more community outreach programs ... these are but a few of the cultural issues facing hospitals today.

It's why the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), in partnership with the AHA, the Institute for Diversity in Health Management, the National Center for Healthcare Leadership, and Health Forum, has launched a new professional development program, the "Cultural Competence Leadership Fellowship." The inaugural class of Cultural Competence Leadership Fellows was introduced at the recent 2005 Leadership Summit in San Diego.

The fellowships are designed to break down cultural and ethnic barriers that contribute to disparities in health care treatment and outcomes. Fellows participate in projects intended to help caregivers tap into the best tactics and strategies for success in addressing multicultural issues.

Feb. 1, 2006 is the deadline to apply to HRET for next year's Cultural Competence Fellowships.

To apply or get more information, visit www.hret.org and click on "HRET Leadership Fellowships," or e-mail fellowships@aha.org.

Rita K. Adeniran, Global Nurse Ambassador, The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.	Project: Cultural Competence: Making the Difference for Patients, Staff, the Organization and the Community Identify and disseminate a best practice model for educating and training an interdisciplinary care team on cultural competence in an academic medical center.
Detria Austin, Assistant Vice President, MCG Health, Inc. Augusta, GA	Project: Improved Cultural Competency at MCG Health, Inc. Develop multicultural advisory groups to help identify and implement short and long-term goals for the organization's "culturally and linguistically appropriate services" department.
Gloria D. Boone, Scientist, Medicine and Public Health, American Medical Association, Chicago, IL	Project: Racial and Ethnic Population Cultural Guide Develop an educational guide that outlines the health values, cultural beliefs, and potential cultural challenges of different populations.
Lanetta Bronte, MD, Director, Sickle Cell Services, Memorial Regional Hospital, Hollywood, FL	Project: Memorial Partnership for Access to Sickle Cell Services (PASS) Provide a model education and treatment program to address the clinical and psychosocial needs of adolescent and adult sickle cell patients and their families.
Adelita Gonzales Cantu, Clinical Instructor and Associate Professor, University of Texas Health, Science School of Nursing, San Antonio, TX Norma Martinez Rogers, Associate Professor, Clinical University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX	Project: Cultural Competence: An Essential Component for Nurses Develop, implement, and evaluate a cultural competence curriculum for nursing students.
Karethy A. Edwards, Professor, University of Oklahoma, College of Nursing, Oklahoma City Beverly Sourjohn Patchell Project Director, University of Oklahoma, College of Nursing, Oklahoma City	Project: The ET Project: Elegant Transformation through Quantum Cultural Integration of Music, Motion, and Mastery Partnering with diverse community organizations to examine cultural issues in providing health care at the university's college of nursing.
Juana Spears Slade, Director of Diversity, AnMed Health, Anderson, SC	Project: Cultural & Language Impact Study, Office of Diversity, AnMed Health, Anderson, SC Study the impact of culture and language on clinical outcomes among patients in 10 of AnMed's high-volume Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs).
Mary W. Elsner, Consumer Marketing Manager, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN Kathy Hallinin, Consumer Marketing Associate, Eli Lilly & Company, Indianapolis, IN	Project: Developing Culturally Competent Patient Education Materials for the Hispanic Diabetes Population Develop education materials aimed at increasing Hispanic patients' understanding of diabetes.
Gabriela Flores, Director, Language Interpreter Services, Truman Medical Services, Kansas City, MO	Project: Diversity Initiative at Truman Medical Center Develop a corporate-wide Diversity Council. Project will create subcommittees on clinical outcomes, health disparities, recruitment and retention of minority staff, outreach and communications, and cultural competency training.
Ron D. Graybill, Community Outreach Director, Norton Neighborhoods Director, Loma Linda (CA) University Medical Center	Project: Cultural Competence Mini-Dramas in the Norton Neighborhoods of Southeastern San Bernardino, California Work with neighborhoods and healthcare institutions to create a series of publishable scripts and digital videos to increase cultural competence of both consumers and health care providers.
Kent Guion, MD, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA	Project: The Cultural Competency Web-Based Toolbox Promote cultural competency for the college's academic health center by creating web-based resources and a community-based health-screening project.
Jorge M. Juarez, Diversity Manager, Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Heights, IL	Project: Minority Recruitment and Retention Plan Collect and analyze the changing demographics of the hospital's service area to help establish initiatives that reflect the diverse needs of the community.
Deidra B. Turner, Manager, Corporate Diversity and Inclusion, Memorial Hospital of South Bend, South Bend, IN	Project: Growing Our Own: Creating and Promoting a Culturally Competent Organization Partnering with community groups in South Bend to develop a minority-recruitment and retention initiative.
Deborah Washington, Director, Diversity Patient Care Services, Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA	Project: Assessing the Impact of a Curriculum on Cultural Competence at Massachusetts General Hospital Evaluate how the hospital's diversity curriculum influences clinical practices and working environment.
Simone-Marie L. Meeks, Communications/Policy Advisor for Community Health Nassau County Department of Health Mineola, NY Renée Allen Mitchell, President & CEO, The Center for Rapid Recovery, Inc., Hempstead, NY	Project: Nassau/Suffolk Counties, New York Create a set of cultural competence guidelines for Long Island community-based organizations, and provide training curricula to allow these local organizations to meet Nassau County's cultural and linguistic competency standards.
Brian R.Williams-Norgaard, (Team Leader), Director of Diversity & Inclusion, Texas Health Resources, Arlington, TX Beverley Colleen Anderson, Director, Fitness Center,Cardiac Rehabilitation and Community, Health and Education, Harris Methodist HEB Hospital Texas Health Resources, Bedford, TX Mrunalini Kini, Human Resources Consultant, Texas Health Resources, Arlington, TX	Project: Step by Step: Viewing the Patient/Family Journey through the Lens of Racial-Ethnic Disparities Help Texas Health Resources to better understand how to identify and eliminate disparities in health care treatment and outcomes that may in part be related to racial or ethnic factors. To gauge how access to care and satisfaction with care varies by racial and ethnic group.