Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) enables Memorial Hermann to better serve our community by prioritizing equity-minded strategic endeavors across four pillars – People, Community, Health and Research – with foundational support from infrastructure, inclusive leadership and change management initiatives. Memorial Hermann is embedding a culture of inclusivity and respect throughout our operations and overarching strategy as a health system in collaboration with employees, leaders and EDI stakeholders.
Our workforce benefits from programming to foster an inclusive culture, as well as governance and leadership accountability. Our work in the community, through our Community Benefit Corporation and beyond, is grounded in our EDI commitment and efforts to address social determinants of health. As the region’s largest health care provider, we are dedicated to providing high-quality, value-based care in tandem with promoting health equity for all.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Framework
Our People Strategy
Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion journey begins with the incredible people who proudly wear a Memorial Hermann badge. We believe that in order to positively impact our community, we must first empower every employee with the skills and support needed to advance their career and cultivate a respectful, inclusive environment for our employees, affiliated providers, students and trainees, volunteers and vendors. Click below to learn more about a few of the EDI programs that help Memorial Hermann employees grow and thrive.
To further engage and support our workforce in our EDI efforts, Memorial Hermann has Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which provide a safe space for employees and affiliated providers who are drawn together by shared characteristics or causes to create opportunities for personal growth and professional development. Our ERGs also offer insight and guidance as we work to address health inequities that persist in our communities. While we will continue to expand our ERGs in the future, the groups we currently support are described below.
Allies for the Improvement of Disability Experiences (AIDE)
The AIDE Employee Resource Group empowers employees to achieve their best by working in an environment where we focus on everyone’s abilities and contributions. This group focuses on recruiting and retaining individuals in the community with physical and/or cognitive disabilities by creating an inclusive and barrier-free workplace.
Black Organizational Leadership and Development (BOLD)
Our BOLD Employee Resource Group champions the representation of Black and African-American health care professionals by promoting advancement, recognition and contributions and by offering career development, mentorship and community outreach opportunities.
Pride Alliance
Our Pride Alliance Employee Resource Group celebrates and supports our LGBTQIA+ employees and community members. This group focuses on inclusion and acceptance as well as recognition of the unique contributions made by members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Veterans and Employees Together in Service (VETS)
Our VETS Employee Resource Group offers an open forum for employees who are veterans, family members of veterans and allies to build a sense of community and belonging. In addition to a focus on mental health resources, this group empowers veterans to advance their careers and strengthen their skillsets.
Women United for Equity Network (WUEN)
Pronounced “win,” our Women United for Equity Network Employee Resource Group is dedicated to supporting women and promoting professional opportunities through inspiring mentorship and cultivating inclusion and a multicultural environment.
Any employee who has completed at least six months of service has the opportunity – with supervisor approval – to formally support our EDI efforts by serving as an EDI Champion. Champions are responsible for assisting in the planning and execution of campaigns and events and are tasked with developing creative ideas to generate and maintain engagement on various EDI initiatives.
Our Health Strategy
At Memorial Hermann, we understand that health encompasses more than physical or mental well-being. We also know that addressing health inequities in our community is one of the most important actions we can take as we work toward our vision of creating healthier communities, now and for generations to come. We are working on developing, implementing and monitoring programs that improve health access and utilization among diverse populations. In addition, we are addressing issues relating to diversity that may impact patient care experience and outcomes and are working to improve our provision of culturally appropriate care. Top priorities in this area include bridging the gap in mental and behavioral health, as well as addressing racial and ethnic disparities and inequalities in maternal health care.
The Memorial Hermann Women’s & Children’s service line’s clinical operations team is heavily involved in the Texas AIM initiative, created to end preventable maternal death and morbidity by sharing maternal safety best practices across hospitals and clinics. Through our Maternal EDI Council, we are part of the Texas Collaborative for Healthy Mothers and Babies (TCHMB), founded to improve birth outcomes across Texas. Additionally, our affiliated OB-GYNS are participating in March of Dimes implicit bias educational courses (CMEs). In partnership with the March of Dimes, Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, we have established the March of Dimes Perinatal Safety Center, the first-ever center in the U.S. dedicated to improving safety for pregnant women and babies.
Learn more about Memorial Hermann's maternal EDI Initiatives »
Our Community Strategy
Memorial Hermann’s vision is to create healthier communities, now and for generations to come, and we work to achieve that vision with a concerted focus on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Through community partnerships and community-based initiatives and programs, we are working to address social determinants of health across Greater Houston, expand our opportunities to do business with local, diverse-owned companies, and further partner with key stakeholders and organizations that uplift communities that have been historically marginalized or under-resourced.
This work is closely connected to the work of our Community Benefit Corporation (CBC), which implements initiatives that work with other health care providers, government agencies, business leaders and community stakeholders that are designed to improve the overall quality of life in our communities. Guided by four intersecting pillars – Access to Health Care, Emotional Well-being, Food as Health and Exercise is Medicine – the CBC engages in a number of initiatives and partnerships to provide care for the uninsured and underinsured; to address mental and behavioral care services through innovative access points; to work against food insecurity and physical inactivity; and to educate individuals and their families on how to access the services needed by and available to them.
In addition, Memorial Hermann has joined the Healthcare Anchor Network, a nationally recognized collaboration of more than 70 health systems intentionally leveraging their hiring, investing, volunteer base and purchasing influence to improve the health and well-being of our communities by addressing economic and racial inequities.
Our Research Strategy
Memorial Hermann is committed to engaging in research initiatives designed to improve health equity and advance Equity, Diversity and Inclusion on a large scale. We are also developing a strategy to embed EDI principles and practices within the clinical studies and research trials we pursue. Through our partnerships with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and the University of Houston, we are committed to ensuring our clinical trials and education opportunities reflect our EDI values and expectations, are developing strategies to diversify the participants of research projects and activities as well as establishing best practices for research strategies with culturally diverse populations.