About the Institute

 

The Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE), part of the American Hospital Association (AHA), works closely with health services organizations to advance health equity for all and to expand leadership opportunities for ethnic minorities in health management. We have long believed that promoting diversity within health care leadership and tackling health disparities is critical to ensuring the highest quality of care for everyone.

 

Our Vision
IFDHE envisions a society of equitable communities where all individuals reach their highest potential for health.

Our Mission
IFDHE advances health equity, diversity, and inclusion by supporting hospitals, health care organizations, and the patients and communities they serve as a trusted partner by disseminating evidence-informed practices, resources and innovations that lead to sustainable transformation in health care.

 

In 1992, the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), an international society of health care executives, joined the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE), the association of African-American health care executives, commissioned a non-partisan study to take a close look at the relative career advancement of their memberships.

The study found that minorities represent more than 20 percent of hospital employees but hold less than 1 percent of top management positions. It also disclosed that African-American health care executives made less money, held lower positions, and had less job satisfaction than their white counterparts. A 1997 follow-up study, expanded to include Latinos and Asians, found that although the gap had narrowed in some areas, not much had changed.

The 1992 study was a call to action for three progressive health care organizations, the American Hospital Association (AHA), ACHE and NAHSE, to unite and create the Institute for Diversity in Health Management (Institute) in 1994. The Institute has since gained the Catholic Health Association as a partner. In recognition of the broader demand to increase leadership diversity and achieve health equity, in 2017 the Institute launched a new model with a new name, the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity.

 

Find out more about Institute membership and its benefits by clicking here. Our programs include:

For more information about the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity, contact us at institute@aha.org.