EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

MINORITY HEALTH MONTH

April is Minority Health Month and an opportunity to reflect on the disparities that exist between health outcomes for people of different races and ethnicities. Although many of the health disparities have gotten smaller in recent years, gaps in health outcomes still exist. For example, in the United States:

• Non-Hispanic black people are more than twice as likely as non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander people to die of heart disease

• Non-Hispanic black adults are more likely than adults of other races and ethnicities to have hypertension

• Hispanic and non-Hispanic black adults are more likely to have obesity than other races

• Mortality rates for Native Americans are almost 50 percent higher than that of their white counterparts

This year, the U.S. Office of Minority Health is using National Minority Health Month to encourage all Americans to be active and healthy through their Move Your Way campaign. The campaign encourages Americans to get at least 150 minutes of exercise and two sessions of strength training per week. For more information on the campaign and how you can get involved, visit: https://health.gov/moveyourway.

MOVE YOUR WAY

Want to improve your health? The U.S. Office of Minority Health encourages Americans to get 150 minutes of exercise and two sessions of strength training per week.

For more information, visit https://health.gov/ moveyourway.

Have you ever asked yourself: • What do I need to do as a new employee? • How can my team grow together to be more efficient and effective? • How can I continue to learn and grow in my position? • How can I promote within my division? • What can I do to feel more engaged at work? • How does my work fit into ALTSA’s strategic plan, mission, vision and values?

If you have, there’s good news! HCS has partnered with Adult Protective Services to recruit a full-time organizational development employee who will work on improving our organizational effectiveness, maximize employees’ potential, work to create positive change and more.

Edgardo (Edgar) Rivera was selected for this position and will work collaboratively with the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team to implement toolkits and workshops that foster a culture of diversity and inclusion for team building, peer learning, work/life balance and trust-building.

Edgar possesses a strong background in organizational development and is a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) and a Six Sigma Lean Black Belt Professional. For over 20 years, he has held management, operations and training positions within the United States Army, which has prepared him to thrive in a complex environment.

He comes from the Wellbeing, Improvement and Nursing (WIN) Unit in HCS where he served as an Outcome Improvement Specialist and Lean practitioner. In that position, he developed practical measures and best practice methodologies and disseminated evidence-based practices to increase effectiveness and efficiency. Before WIN, Edgar worked as a Continuous Improvement Manager at Western State Hospital, where he managed implementation, training and deployment of hospitalwide continuous improvement projects.