26 Feb UW Health CEO: Why our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion remains strong

By Alan Kaplan, Madison 365

UW Health serves a four-part mission to provide direct patient care, educate the next generation of health care providers, conduct world-changing research, and improve the health of communities. Our more than 1,800 physicians and 24,000 staff serve 800,000 patients per year.  Our providers and staff dedicate themselves 24-7 to providing remarkable care to all of our patients. These are the values we embrace at UW Health.

There are long-standing health disparities for communities of color and LGBTQIA+ in Wisconsin and Illinois. Many causes exist for these disparities, such as inadequate access to health care, environmental factors, lack of financial resources, historically inequitable approaches to treatment, and racism.

At UW Health we have a responsibility to address these health disparities. We are here to improve health outcomes and improve lives, not just engage in what has become a hyper-polarized debate. That means we need to take specific actions to improve health equity in the communities we serve. We are seeing the results of our actions. Read more…