Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

At Columbia St. Mary’s (CSM) we value the diversity of our patients, employees, physicians and visitors. We recognize the importance of intentional activities, projects and initiatives to help make our environment one that cares for and nurtures the health and personal development of every individual. The diversity of each of these individuals, makes CSM the successful organization it is today. Our success and growth are dependent upon our:

• Creating an environment of continuous learning about diversity and inclusion
• Community involvement
• Creating new and innovative ways to serve others

Our patients and staff deserve an inclusive environment in which they can move towards optimum health and development without unnecessary barriers to their success. We are made stronger by the diversity of knowledge, experiences and perspectives we each bring to this environment.

Our vision of being the most respected health care system in Southeastern Wisconsin can only be achieved and maintained if we continually strive to understand the varying cultures, practices and beliefs that exist in the communities we serve. And our work environment must be representative of those communities. Having been recognized as one of the Best Places to Work for Women by Milwaukee Magazine, we believe in healthcare that leaves no one behind.

Our Diversity and Inclusion Efforts
Promoting diversity and inclusion in an organizational environment requires ongoing activity and planned initiatives. While we continually strive to meet new and existing goals, CSM has instituted the following…

Diversity Resources Council
Originally formed in 1992 as a task force and has grown into an advisory council for CSM’s diversity initiative. This council is responsible for recommending, implementing and monitoring diversity and inclusion strategies and activities within the organization.

Leadership Accountability
In 2003, we introduced the "CSM Diversity & Inclusion Scorecard." This internal "report card" is designed to create increased opportunity, accountability and involvement of our entire management team in our diversity and inclusion efforts. We use this Scorecard to record and strive towards specific organizational goals that will improve our health care environment. These annual goals are determined by our Diversity Resources Council, Senior Leadership team, staff and management representatives.

Community Involvement
CSM continually seeks to build community partnerships with organizations that embrace our core values and strive towards a mutually beneficial goal of diversity and inclusion. Organizations we partner with include:

• 16th Street Community Health Center
• Inroads Wisconsin
• Project Equality of Wisconsin
• St. Joan Antida High School
• Milwaukee Public School System
• The Institute for Diversity in Health Management

Our business is health care, so we realize that we can better meet the health and employment needs of those in our community by being a part of the community. We provide specialized outreach services to the community in a variety of ways including our Parish Nursing Program, Our St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Dental Clinic which provides dental care to those who are uninsured or underinsured, our St. Ben’s Clinic which provides health care for the homeless, the establishment of a Russian Liaison who works with our local Russian community in a variety of ways and the institution of a Community Career Development Manager who continually works to create new and exciting career development opportunities for middle school, high school and college students.

Language Services
We believe in serving all people through excellence in patient care. We won’t allow language to be a barrier for those patients who have limited English speaking or reading skills. We have built a strong Language Services program to provide qualified staff interpreters and translators for Spanish, Russian and Hmong speaking patients. We work with external agencies to serve those with languages less frequently encountered. We are using a system wide approach to serving these individuals by offering foreign language classes to our health care providers, computerized recording of language needs and more.