Our storiesOur staff

Our Strategic Goals

Placeholder image
Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH

Under the leadership of Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President, Equity and Community Health, Mass General is developing innovative strategies across our mission to measurably improve equity and inclusion in:

Clinical Care

  • Identify and address disparities and achieve equity in our quality of care
  • Recruit, retain, promote and support diverse talent across the organization, at all levels
  • Create a welcoming, respectful environment for all, including patients and staff

Research

  • Diversify researchers, research participants and our research agenda

Training

  • Train all caregivers to effectively communicate and care for diverse populations, and work effectively and respectfully in teams

Community Health

  • Diversify our patient population and further strengthen our community engagement

Additional Resources

Why Mass General?

Review the top 5 reasons why the Center for Diversity and Inclusion believes Mass General is an incredible place for trainees and physicians to advance their careers.

Mass General Fosters a Supportive Work Environment

Mass General is consistently recognized as a top hospital in the nation based on the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals Honor Roll. Organizations such as Modern Healthcare, DiversityInc, The Scientist, The Boston Globe, Forbes Magazine, American Nursing Credentialing Center and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation have named us a top workplace. Attendings are committed to education, are very approachable, and serve as mentors for trainees. Similarly, the Mass General nursing and ancillary staff are dedicated to our patients and love to work with trainees.

Mass General Supports Varied Career Paths

Whatever your career interests, there is a place for you at Mass General! Vast opportunities exist in clinical practice and basic science, clinical, health services and health policy research. Mass General is the home of the 2009 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Jack W. Szostak, PhD. In 2000, Mass General established the Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation dedicated to revitalizing and redesigning care delivery. Mass General operates community health centers (CHC) in Chelsea, Charlestown, Revere and the North End. Mass General also focuses on many global health initiatives in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. The Centers of Expertise provide trainees with important cross-specialty resources for professional development and strategies for innovative health care delivery.

Mass General Is Committed to the Community

At the core of Mass General’s mission is improving the health and wellbeing of the diverse communities it serves. Mass General has been awarded esteemed community service honors in health care, including the 2015 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service, and the 2011 Association of American Medical Colleges Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service.  In 2017, Chelsea CHC received the RWJF Culture of Health Prize honoring communities for efforts to ensure all residents live healthier lives. Residents have many opportunities to work closely with the Center for Community Health Improvement and serve as mentors for underserved youth interested in science and health careers. Our Disparities Solutions Center is an international leader in promoting equitable care; the Mass General Annual Report on Equity in Healthcare Quality monitors several key components of quality by race, ethnicity and language, and was developed in response to the IOM’s “Crossing the Quality Chasm.”

Mass General Cares for a Diverse Patient Population

13% of Mass General’s inpatients and 28% of our outpatients are African American or Latino. In 2017, Mass General cared for patients from over 140 countries, and our Medical Interpreter Services provided a total of 166,892 interpretations in 128 different languages, including American Sign Language (ASL.) Our Chelsea CHC patient population is especially diverse:

  • 50% of patients are Latino
  • 9% are Black
  • 30% indicate Spanish as their preferred language

Our Chelsea, Charlestown and Revere CHCs support communities where:

  • 20% of the residents have incomes below the poverty level
  • 30% are foreign-born
  • 40% speak languages other than English at home

Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Are Priorities for Mass General

We believe because of diversity we will excel; through inclusion we will respect; focused on equity we will serve, heal, educate and innovate. These core values are reflected in Mass General’s diversity statement and our credo and boundaries. Mass General has a longstanding hospital-wide Diversity Committee focusing on the hospital’s role as an employer, provider of care and member of the community. We are continuously raising awareness and educating our community on bias, inequities and race/racism through trainings, speaker series and by participating in the annual YW Stand Against Racism. Mass General was awarded the American Hospital Association’s inaugural Equity of Care Award in recognition of our work to reduce health care disparities and increase workforce diversity.  We support and help advance the diversity of trainees and faculty through many resources, including the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI), the Office for Women’s Careers, and our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Employee Resource Group. Other employee resource and networking groups (the Association of Multicultural Members of Partners; the Committee for Latino Initiatives; the Chinese Staff and Scientists Association; and the Employees Disabilities Resource Group) are also available to trainees. Hospital-sponsored celebrations of Black History Month, Latino Heritage Month, Iftar, Diwali and Chanukah are held annually.