Building bridges and aiming high at Niagara Health

As one of Ontario’s largest hospital organizations, Niagara Health has made diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) a priority, pledging to ensure that everyone who walks through its doors feels safe, valued and cared for.

Niagara Health’s more than 7,300 staff, physicians and volunteers support a full-range of acute-care hospital services for 450,000 residents across multiple sites in the Niagara region.

President and CEO Lynn Guerriero says she has forged ahead to build bridges despite a plethora of COVID-19 challenges. “Through the stress and strain on our health-care system as a result of the pandemic, we have continued to focus on this important work and have made great progress in a number of areas,” says Guerriero.

Key measures include accepting the federal government’s 50/30 Challenge, with 50 per cent of the leadership team or board of directors being female and 30 per cent from an equity-deserving group. There have also been various DEI processes implemented to reach members of all communities, including an inclusive recruitment process, diverse interview panels for leadership and physicians, as well as inclusive recruitment training, explains Guerriero.

“I think one of the things you have to learn through experience is that having a diverse workforce is a highly valuable asset,” she says.

“Diversity of thought and upbringing, diversity in value systems and life experiences bring a richness and increased value to the team.”

Niagara Health has also worked with Toronto Metropolitan University to establish a demographic baseline, understand experiences and review and revise policies and programs based on best practices.

“We’ve enhanced a lot of our policies and programs to advance diversity and inclusion,” says Guerriero. “Each year, we review all of our policies and our continuing education programs with respect to diversity.”

As part of next steps, Niagara Health plans to launch a mentorship program for staff.

“Part of the program will be designed specifically for equity-deserving groups. We will highlight the individuals that demonstrate leadership qualities and ensure that they have the tools and supports in place to be successful,” says Guerriero.

As the DEI specialist at Niagara Health, Zainab Awad is focused on supporting the organization’s vision as it relates to its team members’ experiences.

“Building bridges means being intentional about creating opportunities for people,” says Awad.

“It is extremely important to feel that you fit in and have potential to succeed at work. This truly has an impact on a person’s sense of belonging, accomplishment and identity.”

Awad stresses that the entire organization, from the board to the senior leadership and management teams, is on side with this focus on diversity.

“The support from every level of the organization and from our DEI committee has been absolutely instrumental in the success in establishing our DEI profile,” she says.

Shining a light on the staff, physicians and volunteers who make a difference in the lives of patients and colleagues every day, Niagara Health is also sharing a series of stories called, ‘We are Niagara Health.’

“These stories have been a powerful tool to build inclusion because they allow us to understand others’ perspectives and how they impact day-to-day experiences,” says Awad.

“Empowering our team members as they build career bridges is what I love about the work I am doing,” she says. “It starts with building a true understanding of the challenges people face and the support they need to overcome them.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada’s Best Diversity Employers winners, published March 7, 2023 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.