Mass General's Plan to Address Structural Equity

Mass General Brigham recently announced the United Against Racism initiative, a sweeping system-wide approach outlining broad social justice and equity goals and strategies. Against that backdrop, Massachusetts General Hospital is letting its community know how it is looking to support, complement and build upon that work with a plan specific for its institution.

The Mass General Structural Equity 10-Point Plan will bring unprecedented resources and a new and higher level of leadership and accountability to address and eliminate racism and achieve equity and social justice. The bullet points below describe how the plan aims to complement Mass General Brigham’s United Against Racism initiative, involving all four pillars of our mission—care, research, training and community health—and focusing on people, culture and care.

"With the launch of this plan, we are planting our stakes in the ground. We cannot ignore or deny that racism exists in every organization, including ours. Sadly, every day staff and patients are treated differently because of the color of their skin," Mass General President Peter L. Slavin, MD, and Mass General Vice President and Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer Joseph Betancourt, MD, said in a statement. "But at this important moment in time, there is great energy and urgency to recognize, understand and make changes that are right and just and fair. Change is our commitment to you and to those we serve."

Mass General Structural Equity 10-Point Plan

Initiative 1: Policy and Practice Review to Identify and Reconcile Structural Racism

• Mass General Brigham
  • Launching an effort to review administrative, Human Resources and clinical policies
• Massachusetts General Hospital
  • We will create a committee to support this efforts—bringing forwards issues to Mass General Brigham, and managing issues specific to Mass General

Initiative 2: Reporting & Reconciliation Plan for Incidents of Discrimination/Racism

• Mass General Brigham
  • Supporting the development of a system-wide reporting system
• Massachusetts General Hospital
  • We will launch an effort focused on reconciliation, proposed model to include an office, ombudsperson, mediators, licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW) and administrative support

Initiative 3: Developing a Training Pathway on Racism and Associated Factors

• Mass General Brigham
  • Will develop and deploy training for top 500 leaders, and create a course on racism for the entire system
• Massachusetts General Hospital
  • We will create a mandatory, hospital-wide learning pathway to complement this work with courses on microaggressions, bystander training and implicit bias, among other topics

Initiative 4: Assure Equity in Access to, and Delivery of Clinical Care

• Mass General Brigham
  • Supporting multiple efforts, including social determinants of health screening, community health workers, disparities (data collection, virtual health, equity goals) and systemwide interpreter/translation service
• Massachusetts General Hospital
  • We will expand our disparities efforts, including our data analytics and developing grants for innovation; expand our community engagement in Mattapan, Roxbury, Dorchester and launch two signature clinical initiatives focused on the treatment of sickle cell disease, and to promote equity in transplantation

Initiative 5: Eliminate Racialized Science and Medicine

• Mass General Brigham
  • Launching an effort to review guidelines
• Massachusetts General Hospital
  • We will create a committee to support this effort—bringing forward issues to Mass General Brigham

Initiative 6: Assure a Living Wage, Educational Development, Access to Care

• Mass General Brigham
  • Supporting a feasibility and planning study
• Massachusetts General Hospital
  • We will provide support as needed and develop strategies to facilitate educational development

Initiative 7: Commit to Diversity and Equal Representation

• Mass General Brigham
  • Supporting diversity efforts focused on governance and leadership
• Massachusetts General Hospital
  • We will create goals/targets and fortify and expand our diversity efforts, including expanding our Center for Diversity and Inclusion and its programs, creating a Diversity Leadership Academy, and seeding a Mass General Recruitment/Retention Fund and Research Fund

Initiative 8: Assure an Environment of Safety, Equity and Trust in Security

• Mass General Brigham
  • Will learn from efforts at Mass General
• Massachusetts General Hospital
  • We are working with Mass General Police & Security to create new metrics, goals and interventions

Initiative 9: Deploy an Equity, Anti-racism and Inclusion Campaign

• Mass General Brigham
  • Supporting a communications campaign
• Massachusetts General Hospital
  • We will develop a Mass General inclusion effort

Initiative 10: Engage and Invest in an Anti-racism Advocacy Agenda

• Mass General Brigham
  • Supporting an advocacy agenda
• Massachusetts General Hospital
  • We will provide support as needed