Key Takeaways
- Treat workplace culture as a strategic business driver that reduces turnover costs and fosters the innovation necessary for financial stability.
In today's healthcare landscape, leaders recognize that organizational success hinges not just on clinical excellence, but on a thriving culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. High levels of employee engagement and a deep commitment to workplace diversity and inclusion help hospital systems deliver optimal care while fostering an inclusive environment in which employees—and patients—feel genuinely valued.
To glean practical lessons on this topic, we look to the insights and experiences of Arianne Dowdell Vice President and Chief Culture & Engagement Officer at Houston Methodist. With a career that spans television, law, university administration, and now healthcare leadership, Dowdell exemplifies what it means to continually adapt and grow, all while placing people at the center of her work.
Dowdell's own trajectory underscores how seemingly disparate experiences can converge into a role that enhances organizational culture. She initially studied broadcast journalism, worked in television (including at Court TV on the show Cochran and Grace), and was mentored by the late Johnny Cochran, whose advice led her to pursue law. Dowdell then practiced medical malpractice defense and labor law, recognizing early that her real passion lay in championing people rather than billing hours in a law firm setting.
She transitioned to higher education—working at institutions such as The Rockefeller University, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), and Syracuse University —where she spearheaded large-scale events, fundraising efforts, and community engagement programs. Those experiences honed her communication skills and further fueled her commitment to inclusivity and belonging.
Dowdell notes that her varied background taught her to appreciate everyone's story: "Every person has a story, and there's always some aspect of commonality if you look for it," she says. This empathetic perspective is the bedrock upon which a true culture of diversity and belonging must be built.
A hallmark of Houston Methodist's success is its deliberate focus on workplace culture. Employees across the system repeat the same refrain: they feel valued there. In turn, patients benefit from a diverse workforce that consistently exhibits respect, compassion, and teamwork.
"When you see organizations that have strong cultures, you can usually trace it back to senior executives who invest in their people—not just financially, but with time, resources, and a genuine openness to feedback."
But leadership alone cannot create a culture of inclusion and belonging. Every level of the organization has to live by the values. In her role, Dowdell partners with department heads, human resources, spiritual care, and community relations to ensure that DEIB initiatives are woven into daily practice. From frontline staff to senior leadership, fostering a welcoming, inclusive workplace becomes a shared responsibility.
For Dowdell, the cornerstone of her success in leadership is her willingness to listen before speaking, and to create spaces where everyone feels safe sharing. She emphasizes that listening and hearing are two different things. One can passively listen without truly absorbing the message; hearing someone out means taking in their experiences and actively working to address them.
One of the most tangible ways Houston Methodist fosters belonging is through a robust Employee Resource Group (ERG) program. In less than three years, the system launched 11 ERGs with over 3,500 active participants, surpassing the average ERG participation rates seen in many Fortune 500 companies. These ERGs serve as excellent diversity and inclusion examples within the organization.
ERGs provide safe spaces for employees to connect, share experiences, and network—often across aspects of identity like race, gender, or shared interests. They also serve as incubators for leadership diversity and employee engagement. By leading or actively participating in an ERG, employees sharpen communication, project management, and conflict-resolution skills.
Additionally, Houston Methodist's culture team offers ongoing education that moves beyond standard compliance training. Topics include equitable communication, cross-cultural competence, and the fundamentals of health equity. Dowdell's team uses interactive, scenario-based sessions that invite staff to think critically about how to relate to diverse patients and colleagues. This diversity training helps address unconscious bias and promotes inclusive communication throughout the organization.
Healthcare organizations often look to financial metrics and patient outcomes as indicators of success. While the "intangible" nature of belonging can make some leaders skeptical about investing in culture, Dowdell cites clear business advantages:
"We need innovation in healthcare now more than ever. Diversity of thought, life experience, and culture fosters that creativity."
For Houston Methodist, this has manifested in sustained margins despite industry-wide challenges, as well as giving back generously to the community through grants and initiatives focused on health equity and pay equity. These benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace demonstrate the tangible impact of a strong cultural framework.
The mission to create a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging does not stop at the organization's internal culture. Houston Methodist is distributing 5 million per year to community-based programs. This approach reflects an understanding that true belonging in healthcare extends beyond staff to the populations served.
Dowdell and her colleagues work to identify and address disparities that can emerge due to socioeconomic status, geography, language barriers, and more. Some of their efforts include:
Such work requires a concerted effort from multidisciplinary teams—medical staff, researchers, community organizers, and policy experts all bring different lenses. It also demonstrates how a commitment to DEIB can and should translate into concrete strategies that improve patient outcomes and overall population health.
A question often posed about DEIB is whether it stifles innovation or even creates "psychological unsafety" for those who might disagree with certain policies. However, Dowdell explains that true DEIB hinges on psychological safety:
In reality, healthcare needs innovation more than ever to solve systemic challenges. Diversity of thought fuels that innovation, enabling a richer pool of perspectives when tackling problems like staffing shortages, access to care, or telehealth implementation. This approach highlights the difference between inclusion and belonging, where inclusion ensures diverse voices are heard, while belonging fosters an environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute.
A culture of diversity and belonging thrives when people can bring their whole selves to work. For Dowdell, this means being the same person—rooted in empathy, open communication, and respect—whether she's in a boardroom, talking to frontline staff, or meeting community partners.
"Your steps are ordered, even if you don't realize it in the moment. Embrace the experiences that shaped you—then leverage them to serve others."
Leaders who model authenticity set the stage for employees to do the same. This alignment fosters trust throughout the organization, which in turn drives better teamwork, reduced friction, and higher levels of employee satisfaction. It's a key component of creating an inclusive environment where diverse talent can thrive.
Building a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in healthcare is not simply about following a checklist of diversity metrics. It is about investing in people—their stories, their talents, and their unique experiences—and channeling that collective strength to enhance both employee well-being and patient care.
Leaders like Arianne Dowdell show that creating this kind of inclusive workplace is not just good for morale; it is an imperative for sustained growth, improved retention, innovative care delivery, and stronger community ties. By listening before speaking, supporting robust ERGs, integrating employee feedback into actionable change, and focusing on health equity, healthcare organizations can transform "the intangible" into measurable, lasting impact.
As Dowdell succinctly puts it:
And that is the ultimate lesson for healthcare leaders seeking to build workplaces where everyone belongs, and where patients trust they will receive compassionate, equitable care. By embracing DEIB initiatives, fostering inclusive leadership, and implementing inclusive hiring practices and inclusive decision-making processes, organizations can create a truly diverse and inclusive workplace that benefits all stakeholders. This approach not only addresses workplace discrimination but also promotes equal opportunities and cultivates an environment where corporate
<p>what the other leaders make sure is instilled throughout the organization because culture matters no matter what we say and every organization should just think that way right we're all customer service at the end of the day in some way shape or [Music] form hello everyone this is Cole from the American Journal of healthc care strategy joined by a special guest many years of experience across healthc care working for just a really tremendous variety of organizations and roles uh Arianne please introduce yourself and your current role sure um good afternoon my name is Arian Dowell and I'm the vice president and chief diversity equity and inclusion officer for Houston Methodist and I also serve as the associate director of Dei over our Neal Cancer Center here in Houston as well nice to meet you it's nice to have you on and be able to kind of pick your brain a little bit about some of these these initiatives you're working on I got introduced to Houston Methodist by Henry Burns which uh you know as well and then uh kind of through him I've met so many people and I've become a fan of of Houston Methodist so I was really excited to have you on and talk about this also because you went to law school you've practiced as a lawyer and I think you know I've always liked the law but it's also an interesting path right uh you know you you didn't stay in law you went and and did a few different things things so I have to ask why did you go to law school and then why did you transition to healthcare sure so um interestingly enough uh I actually started out my career in television that is where my passion was um I actually wanted to be a sports caster so I started out working in television when I finished grad school at Syracuse University and um after school I actually um worked at court TV which some people know about and some people don't um but I worked there actually shortly after the OJ Simpson trial ended and so um my focus again was always television and I had the opportunity to work on a show called Cochran and Grace and it was with Johnny Cochran and Nancy Grace and so um the reason I actually went to law school was because of Johnny Cochran who really encouraged me he told me I needed to have a backup plan one day um and I told him I was leaving to go work at Madison Square Garden Network which was like my dream job at the time and he just asked me to please consider going to La school and so that was really the impetus um for why I decided to be a lawyer my dad actually was one and I still had no desire to practice ever um but Johnny became my mentor and a friend to me and so that he's the reason why I practiced love for a while but when I went I said I was actually going to go and I wasn't going to do what he suggested and I wasn't going to do criminal law what I was going to do was go and own a WNBA team which was before they're what they are now so I was always going back to sports at the end of the day so yeah I I'm impressed I had no we had talked previously I had no idea that you knew Johnny cochan personally yes yes he and Nancy Grace were great to work with when I was first starting out my career in TV great opportunity I have to ask this for my personal reasons too I work with a lot of great great leaders you know transiently but you said that he was your Mentor how did you actually you know not just be kind of working around him with him but transition to the point where he was your Mentor because I mean he's a legend right I followed many of his cases and his work it's incredible so I'm very interested in this well you know I always um part of the reason I wanted to go into television before I met him was I believe everybody has a story um it's something that you know you can talk to people I think everyone has a story and I also think you can always find something in common with someone I firmly believe that no matter how divided we are as a country there's always some piece of a commonality right even if it's the same color you like so for me having the OJ Simpson trial just finished and having an opportunity to work on Cochran and Grace I saw him studying his craft of going from being a lawyer right and a litigator and to then being in a studio and hosting a show and the way that he was able to go back and forth with nany Grace and have conversations I started asking him questions right and then those questions led to more questions and asked me you know I would try to learn more about how did you you know handle the case how did you litigate this and I was just always so inquisitive about the craft that he had and the way that he was it was so natural for him to transition right from being a lawyer to them being on TV so it just kind of morphed you know in time and I was young at the time you know I think I was uh 21 or so coming out of school and so it was so great to be in this big city which I'm from New York originally but like truly be on my own and have someone that was looking out for my best interest in my career not knowing you know the impact that he would have so many years later but I you know I'm eternally grateful to he and Nancy Grace as well for everything that they did for me when I was at um at court TV wow that is very cool that's awesome so uh so how long did you practice before transitioning into you know more leadership roles yeah so um I practiced for goodness maybe five years give or take um I can tell you I knew it wasn't my thing like I I started out doing medical m practice Defense work um and I knew within the first couple months that it just didn't feel right in my soul I'm not a hypochondria but I felt for a minute maybe that I was um and I went on to doing labor and employment Defense work I worked at a big firm um in Detroit Michigan when I graduated from law school and so I did that I worked at that firm and then I went and worked at a smaller firm um and then I ended up working for the National Association of Black Automotive suppliers so that's when I really started to transition I didn't make like this hard course stop of practicing law it just kind of evolved over time um I love the idea of representing people I just didn't want to be billing hours doing that I kind of knew what I liked and what I didn't like um so I didn't do it for a long time I kept my law license and I did work on the side so I kept my law license until just a couple years ago um but realized I probably will not go back into practicing but again it still for me always goes back to that every person has a story um you know I believe it's you can I was Defense work so I think you know there's always that side there's the other side to the story um and I I love certain parts of it but I just knew it wasn't my true calling in life so aspects of it yes but not all of it and then you you began working in in University space kind of uh several stints in different universities as well uh Syracuse VCU Rockefeller I mean so these are good universities why why universities because that's that's an interesting space as well to get into it is it's an interesting space um one I actually never anticipated doing um so I did my representation work in Detroit um ended up moving to uh Columbus Ohio for a brief period of time and then got offered the job in New York um by a friend who said hey there's this opportunity for you to come and Lead special events and work with the president of the university to enhance their visibility and really open up the doors to Rockefeller and I just kind of thought like I didn't go to school to do events but I'm good communicator I love to do a nice party this is a change for me I was raising a young family at the time um and so I went to Rockefeller great experience there brought me back to New York City so I loved it um stayed there for five years and then I was ready to transition um to something different so during the time I was there my father worked at um Sloan ketering right across the street so that was amazing to be able to have a parent right across the street you know that I could go and visit you know as an adult which was great um and then I went on to VCU and worked there for five years doing the work I did but all the while while I was at both of those jobs I always thought about like employee empowerment how could we enhance the employee experience so I always got involved in doing other things outside of my role that were always a little bit Dei related you know we didn't call it that at that time so it was more of like an engagement piece whenever there was um issues and surveys I was the person that wanted to get involved in those or planning and how could we um better serve our students I love doing that kind of work and so again like life just kind of took me through these twists and turns and I always say you know you want to be agile in your career and kind of go with what makes sense and and for me doing that actually brought me to Houston Methodist um I moved here uh in 2017 and took a job with our Houston Methodist Foundation during Centennial year to oversee their largest events that they were having and oversee the team which was an incredible team team doing 150 events a year I mean it was like the cren of crme right right of events um and so you know it's brought me to where I am so everything makes sense I tell people if it doesn't feel like it's in place our steps are all ordered even though we don't realize it when we're in it so um I've had a fun different kind of a career than most people and they're like what are what were you doing and I'm like it was great it's been fun you know looking I think at just the resume on LinkedIn uh it is interesting to see when you speak to you you really understand like oh this you know this makes sense why you're good at your role now is because you have always had that focus on people in their unique story yes and that's what Dei is kind of about right I mean what do you think is there anything that that's made you really successful in the role aside from from past experiences they've already talked about is there any maybe like key qualities or key beliefs you have because you know four years for an executive you know that's getting you know to about kind of median tenure length right and so that's a good amount of time you know clearly you're not bad at your job right and I've talked with everyone Houston Methodist that has said they feel valued there and I you know various people so you're very good at your role and and it's not easy to to do that a lot of people struggle especially in the intangible space which is you know what a lot of people focused roles are so are there any qualities that you can speak to I can you know the first thing is um I think being a team player right is so important if you're in this role in particular so a Houston Methodist we talk about our culture that's what you know is you talked about it's a great place and you and I have talked it truly is one of the best places I've ever worked and I mean that wholeheartedly and that's because of the culture and so I think you know in a leadership position you have to be willing to work with everyone I think when you think about folks that are in this Dei space where most people don't stay in these roles for more than two years and so um you know for me it's not about my opinion of things it's about making things better for other people and so I think you know part of what you have to understand is um it's my role is really to fix things right to fix those pieces that are broken and that doesn't require my opinion it requires me to listen a lot oftentimes listen more than I speak and hear people right they're two different things to listen and hear and I think you know as Leaders sometimes we forget that because it's easy to say can you do this and can you do that but how much are we listening how much are we hearing people and then are we asking questions to then really be wanting to implement change I don't um always feel like I need to be the person to speak up in the room because I think sometimes I can hear more and take those notes and Implement because like you were saying those intangibles what can I make tangible for someone to really feel the effects of the work that our team is doing so I think for me you know connecting with people is really important um I still pick up the phone I still think that that's important you know I know not to fire off the wrong kind of emails even though I think somebody could be right or wrong all those things matter all those things are what makes our culture at Houston Methodist truly what it is for any leader not just myself but really caring about those that we work with and caring about our patients right they're at the center of every single thing that we do that's why we're all there every day and so you know when I get into work every day it's just it's inherently who I am it's how I treat my family it's how I treat my friend so it's not Aran one way at work and then different when I walk out the door I I don't think I could be hypocritical in that sense at all so this is a tough question a lot of people are gonna listen to that and they're going to think you know I want to be like that I mean including me right but we kind of sometimes say I want to be like that or this is great and then we go on about our day and I say this on almost every episode we we hear things that are awesome and then we aren't really able to do anything about it and this is a tough one right because there's not really like a website I mean there is but there's not really like a a degree in being like a good person right you're right any advice on how people can adapt some of those qualities like listening like really caring about the people you work with yeah I think first you know take stock of yourself what are those areas that you need to focus on I think for me like I had to learn over time what are those things for myself and I think we're all a work in progress every day I think every day we can find things we can do better and I definitely know what some of my shortcomings are and what those things are I have to listen to um so that's the first thing take stock in yourself but also are you willing to receive feedback from people when they tell you what you're doing wrong that's hard to do that's a really difficult thing and I have someone on my team I have a couple people that when I'm not doing something that doesn't feel right they have that space to come to me and let me know what that feels like so I can understand I can be more empathetic I can adjust myself because their opinion matters not everyone's going to like you and I think there's a difference but I want everybody to respect you I want everyone to respect me it's okay maybe if you don't like me every day but do you always respect me they're two very different things and I think also who are the people that you've seen that you can model really good behavior after and those that you think have not done a good job so you know what you don't want to do right I say like did you ever have a boss or a co-worker or a class or just somebody you saw acting a certain way at a restaurant and it really bothered you well make sure you never do that again right like take those moments in and think about those because people are always watching people when you leave work whether I have all my Methodist badge or not I still have to be a good person right you can't not be and so I think when you pay attention to others maybe the website I should maybe make a website actually called you know maybe there's not specific websites but what are those things that we really like and what are those things that we can fix you know inherently about ourselves to do better but we're always all a work in progress every day that is great yeah I hope we can I mean I'm definitely going to take away encouragement from this but I hope the audience can as well because that's that's really important um so going on to kind of the implementation phase what what's you know you have these great qualities that you've you've developed in in this experience through the career what is that translating into at Houston Methodist what are some of the initiatives you're working on uh at the gation sure so um you know we've been in um existence our department since 2020 the team really came um in January of 2021 and we've kind of been moving at warp speed ever since so there's a couple different things so obviously we focus on our employee experience culture and engagement working closely with human resources and spiritual care all of our departments but um some of the things we've done we have 11 employee resource groups which we're really proud of uh we have close to I think uh 3500 employees that are part of that so we actually have surpassed within three years um higher than the average of our Fortune 500 company averages for the number of employees that participate in ergs so we've seen a need for people to really come together to engage to network um to have opportunities really just to kind of problem solve together in those groups and just giving them leadership skill of training um ways to get involved so that employee piece has been very big for us we do focus groups those types of things things right so on the employee side we do pay attention to making sure that we're also having diverse panels right diversity of thought those kinds of things um we also focus on we used to call it training now we call it education so we have a team of three folks on our team that are absolutely fabulous um and they do all of our educational work throughout the system so they serve as 33,000 employees at Houston Methodist um and they do a variety of educational trainings all from your basic kind of like Dei type stuff all the way to things like um Equitable communication um they'll start training on Health Equity later because that's our big Focus for us moving into the next year um so we really focus on that piece we also have a community portion um so when I started um our board of directors set aside $25 million so we have a grant that lasts five years and we're giving out $5 million we're in our fourth year of that now it's a Dei and Health Equity Grant to make sure we're paying attention to different economic factors economic empowerment healthy living um all of those types of things so our community benefits team helps us with that piece of it it's huge for us and then of course as I said Health Equity so we've been doing a lot of work in that area throughout the hospital for several years but now we've really formalized a lot of what we're doing we have some committees that we've stood up um which is really important to us and so next year we'll be launching some big programs around Health Equity so we really break it up into employees our community right and then our patients that we serve as that Health Equity piece so always a lot going on in the department Lots wow how many direct reports then are you are you overseeing at that rate um actually I have two people that report directly to me um and then we have a team of eight other folks that are part of the team that report up to our director um and we also have two interns currently that are in our uh Department because I think it's really important to get internship experience I'm a big fan of it so I try to make sure we emulate what I hope others will do um as often as possible and then we're looking to always continue to grow because there is a lot of work to be done wow nice so that's a lot of work for not that many people that's a nice way to put it and the team I tell you has been going strong so we have just about almost everybody that started with us and we've just grown um so it's it's been a fun ride and they it's a committed group of uh people on our team and I try to tell them as often as I can how thankful I am for them because I know how much work they've put in and it's not because it's just hard work it's because they truly care and it's their passion and and it's showing right those intangibles are starting to become more tangible and we're starting to see the results of their work which is fantastic So Beautiful to see yeah I'm really proud what are some of well I'll preface this by saying one of the comments that we get especially on the shorts um and what's great about these comments it actually boosts our engagement but uh some people will dislike some people like the video especially about Dei oh yes and it's these questions on you know I don't think the money should be going in this direction you know some CFOs even think you know I get you know we want equity and we want diversity but spending money in that area when we're struggling you know is challenging what have you seen in terms of you know efficiency performance um and not not even like just raw performance but also kind of you know the benefit what have you seen from that right so you know it it's been proven there's studies that have been shown that when people feel more attached to organizations when they feel that there is a sense of belonging they're more likely to stay at organizations right most people don't leave for more money some do they leave because they don't like their managers right or they're not getting what they need and so when we're continuously creating that culture that you and I have talked about so many times it's reducing our turnover rate right our retention of our employees is a lot higher we're able to grow our employees right so you think about succession planning so you get that historical knowledge that within the organization and when people have that sense of belonging it actually helps us from a marketing perspective when we have a more diverse Workforce and people can see folks that can identify with their health needs right not just their race and gender that's a small composite of who we are as people right there's economic factors there's educational factors there's so much more when we see patients come through the door and so when you think about that diversity which a lot of people don't understand the cost benefit right it's not about the cost of the staff it's what are you getting on the back end that really is the more tangible piece of it so we've seen how effective the work is you know I would say and I've said to people that question the work we do I say well what is it that we do and most people don't know what it is that we do if I said we were the department of everyone act right and get along people would get it right like that would be the easy way to explain it but with three words it really doesn't Encompass all of the work that folks like myself do right of counseling people when they're trying to figure out how do I relate to my manager better or I have this issue or maybe this person isn't racist maybe you guys just have grown up in two very different parts of the country and what's being said I can break down walls in a way that maybe you can't if you go to HR alone right and it's not against HR this is just a fact I'm not I'm I don't sit in HR so I can allow people to come to a table and have a conversation of understanding that sometimes people don't appreciate how important that is um and what I often times say is a conversation doesn't have to be a confrontation so you may not like Dei but do you understand what Dei is we can talk about it without it being a confrontation but at least understand what the work entails so you know the benefits are there the benefits have been shown and a lot more companies are actually still doing this work even though there's been a lot of negative press behind it and that's why I wanted to bring you on to to discuss this is because when we talked you were just really receptive to questions and I could put you on the spot and that's what we need is because we don't want people to feel like we're you know we're hiding anything we're not being honest in and you're being very open and so what I did is I did some research as well on I'm not going to name the competitors but on some of the competitors in the Texas area you know the median tenure at Houston Methodist is 5.7 years at one of these other close competitors it's 2.8 years right I mean that's a huge huge difference another difference is in profit margins most of these hospitals in the country are struggling with profit margin and Houston methodists was 1.7% and I I which is great but I delve deeper wondering why isn't it 2.5 or three and it's because Houston Methodist gives back more to the community I realized than almost any other system in the region and so I think it's interesting financially how well you guys have done but like you said tenure in real numbers we can see how good the tenure is there I mean that's incredible absolutely I mean you don't find that at a lot of places um at Houston Methodist during covid all of our employees were kept whole not one single person lost their job during covid for those groups where their jobs changed we found other work for them to do and so during the beginning of Co I was actually with the foundation still and our events team was helping out in other functions throughout the hospital right and so when you see organizations doing that utilizing the talents of people in other ways most people have more than one Talent of what they do every day right we allow people to seek out what those other options are if there's other things that you want to do we never say don't try those things right and so when you see that in an organization and we celebrate our employees every year and the number of people that I tell you that have 20 years 30 years it's unbelievable and 50 plus years at this organization it's not just one or two people we're talking several I think it was several dozen if I'm not mistaken that speaks volumes that's going through change managing change effectively right and being able to do so consistently and so there's a reason why we stay where we are and we're ranked where we are because we care about our people we do and that is just what Dr boom has set up in some way shape or form so and this is not you know a remote hospital that's the only job around that people have to stay at right there is a ton of job I mean Houston's a booming area right there are shortages of staff and you'll have somebody staying at a place for 50 years I mean you only nobody's going to do that unless they they enjoy working there so that's that's really important yeah one of the last questions I want to ask so we don't go over time and you already answered this a bit um but there's been a lot of discussion you know does Dei harm Innovation does it does it you know create psychological unsafety and one of the things that we've talked about before is how Dei requires psychological safety it should foster Innovation what have you seen in the Innovation area uh under your leadership in in Dei sure I mean you know you think of it as um I'm a car fanatic so think of it as um building a car there's so many different ways to make a beautiful car if everybody had the same way of putting the parts of the car together or if it's a recipe for food if everybody made their mac and cheese the exact same way if you didn't like that one right you'd be upset and you'd give up on it we have this diversity of thought this diversity of experience like people like me that have lived all around the country versus people that have been here we have vastly different experiences right depending on what Coast you live on when you bring those things together and we think about the Innovation that takes place we have a center for Innovation that's incredible um at Houston Methodist but just think about Innovation within your own team right how are we going to do things differently when you allow those diverse perspectives to come in based off of all of our own experiences you're thinking about what other patients may need that maybe someone else doesn't know because that wasn't their experience so the value of having that can never be understated you know you never not everybody wants to drive the same type of car right some people want a SUV some people want a two- seat or someone a four we all want something different and you need those differences really to drive organizations forward right and so for me you can't underestimate that need to bring different voices together again this is not about race and gender and sex this is about diversity of thought diversity of experience right life experience work experience these are all those things that matter to really Drive Innovation that is that is going to be key for healthc care with all the challenges that Healthcare faces nowadays we're going to need those Innovative minds and experiences in order for us to continue many many years from now one of the experiences that I've had is H where I grew up it was um a lot of white people pretty much only white people and when I moved to the South it was great because I got to have all kinds of friends that were you know Black and Hispanic but it was still Rural and so everybody was from the US and their grandparents and their great- grandparents so it was diverse and I thought that I was like really living in a diverse area and then I moved to Philly and there's white people from so many different places and there's black people from so many different places and there's Hispanic and as and it's like oh wow you know so I actually had to read up on geography and learn about the different areas of the globe because I you know I realized oh wow you know Asia is a bunch of different places right and and I was like you know this is incredible because there were things that I could have thought or said that were offensive at different stages of my life because of just how limited my perception was right and and that's why like you said not everyone wants to drive the same car I mean think about the diversity of food and clothing and culture and education level I and like you said depending on what Coast you're on the cultures you know me and my La you know California colleagues joke about those differences all the time it's so important for that in order to have that Innovation because Healthcare is not working well right now and to fix it we need to do something different right you have to pay attention to those differences that we have and then also at the same time you can't um we have to be mindful not to fault people for what they don't know right if if you lived in the same town your whole life and that's all that you knew you can't be faulted for knowing what you know right you maybe will learn stuff on TV social media Etc but if that's not your life experience that is who you are inherently and that's where we have to that's where that Innovation piece comes in this is this person's life experience this is what they know so could this be one of our patients life experiences that has never used a cell phone that has never done checking online that doesn't know how to use the heart monitor you know on their Apple phone or their Android or whatever it is these are real experiences that people have and we need everyone's voice to consistently think about how do we care for each other and our patients better it's really really essential thank you so much for coming on I I'm motivated after talking with you I think this was a really great episode and I hope we can have you back on again Arian thank you so much thank you it was great talking to you I appreciate it</p>
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