To act upon our commitment to equity in our health and workplace, Intermountain has formed two equity committees—a caregiver-focused committee focused on driving system efforts, and a community council to ensure we hear the voices of those we serve.
Equity Steering Committee
The Equity Steering Committee was established to actively engage Intermountain leaders as they develop, lead, and sustain efforts to ensure our environment, processes, and care are equitable for all consumers. The committee will oversee Intermountain’s equity efforts and identify equity needs within Intermountain and the communities we serve. The committee will create a framework that will give voice to those historically underrepresented and allow all caregivers and leaders to engage in a meaningful way. The Equity Steering Committee consists of leaders’ perspectives critical to organizing the work across the system.
Our chief equity officer will lead the committee. Until that role is filled, Seraphine Kapsandoy, RN, PhD, will act as the inaugural chair for the committee. Seraphine also serves as Intermountain’s Care Transformation Information Systems (CTIS) chief clinical information officer.
Equity Steering Committee members include:
- Jim Bradshaw, assistant vice president of data analytics
- Cammie Cable, Human Resources director
- Keyona Cole, RN, chief nursing officer for Intermountain in Nevada
- Heidi Hall, senior advisor for Mikelle Moore
- Russ Kuzel, SelectHealth vice president
- Kathy Lavitt, associate general counsel
- Kathryn Leslie, equity advocate
- Tiffiny Lipscomb, Human Resources vice president
- Carlos Martinez-Morales, language services and cultural competency manager
- Tina Murray, director of enterprise communications
- Lisa Nichols, assistant vice president of Community Health
- Natasha Ovuoba, equity and inclusion consultant
- Anne Pendo, MD, senior medical director for provider experience
- Katy Welkie, RN, vice president of children’s health
- Mike Woodruff, MD, chief patient experience officer
Committee members don’t yet fully reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, so there’s more work to do.
Health Equity Advisory Council
Members of this community-focused council will advise on Intermountain’s work to develop, lead, and sustain efforts to address disparities in healthcare. In particular, the council will advise on how Intermountain can address persistent disparities in healthcare access and other social needs affecting health outcomes across various underrepresented communities.
Mikelle Moore, chief community health officer, will act as council chair, alongside co-chair Nubia Peña, director for the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs.
“We must capture insight from a diverse set of community partners to ensure our various community members’ experiences inform the council’s guidance,” says Mikelle. “The diversity in council member perspectives is a model we’ll follow to diversify our committee further.”
Health Equity Advisor Council members include:
- Debra Daniels, director of the Women’s Resource Center at the University of Utah
- Dulce Diez, director of the Office of Health Disparities for the Utah Department of Health
- Maria Garcia, CEO of NeighborWorks
- Asha Parekh, director of refugee services for the Utah Department of Workforce Services
- Alan Pruhs, executive director of the Association for Utah Community Health
- Troy Williams, executive director of Equality Utah
We’re in the process of filling five additional council roles to fully include diverse perspectives, needs, and heritage of the many communities we serve.
“Nubia and I are thrilled to join a diverse set of community leaders as we team together to guide this fundamental, mission-critical work,” Mikelle says.
You’re encouraged to learn more—sign up for Disrupting Everyday Bias, access on-demand resources, and visit the Caregiver Resource Group (CRG) website.