FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Media Contact:
For Public Health Management Corporation
Veronica Mikitka Reed, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
PHMC tracks commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in first DEI report
A national public health leader and one of the largest nonprofit employers in the region, PHMC has launched a report reflecting the organization’s efforts to embrace diversity, foster equity, and achieve inclusion.
PHILADELPHIA – Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities, released a report outlining its progress addressing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) both internally and within the communities it serves. The comprehensive online and print report details PHMC’s commitment to DEI efforts over its history and the impact of this focus over the past two years, while also identifying opportunities for the future.
“Racism is a public health crisis and PHMC’s mission to create and sustain healthier communities can only be achieved when there is equity for all,” said Celeste Collins, Chief People and Inclusion Officer at PHMC. “The report demonstrates our commitment to addressing diversity, equity and inclusion, and creates a strategy for the future by learning and understanding what matters most to our employees and creating greater opportunity to support both staff and the communities we serve.”
PHMC has long recognized its obligation to contribute to and lead systemic change, and in 2020 redoubled its efforts to share this message. By listening to internal and external audiences, the work continued with the creation of a PHMC Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Governing Council to identify DEI strengths, issues and opportunities.
PHMC’s key DEI priorities include:
- Partnering with external experts: PHMC partners with Dr. Brian Gittens, senior diversity and inclusion executive at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, to provide guidance for the Governing Council and lead unconscious bias training for employees and inclusive leadership for managers. In addition to Dr. Gittens, PHMC partnered with ICW Consulting who facilitated listening sessions across the organization to inform the Governing Council’s strategies and plans.
- Engaging Employees: In addition to the listening and learning sessions, a PHMC-wide DEI survey was distributed to PHMC and subsidiary employees to collect insights and experiences. PHMC also created a series of panel discussions to foster dialogue among employees and address key DEI issues in public health and health care. The expert panelists hailed from a broad range of organizations such as NAACP, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Drexel University, Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Penn Medicine and 6abc.
- Launching a new Supplier Diversity Program: The supplier diversity program was enhanced to guide the procurement and partnership process in promoting business opportunities for diverse suppliers. PHMC and its network of subsidiaries centralized their efforts to maximize impact and outcomes related to DEI. For example, last fiscal year, 30% of vendor payments were paid to minority and women-owned for-profit businesses and $44M was paid to minority and women-run for-profit and nonprofit businesses.
- Reviewing policies to create opportunity and eliminate bias: PHMC conducted a comprehensive review of hiring, promotion and leave policies to ensure equity. Various new initiatives were launched, which included: two increases in minimum wage for employees, a new approach to interviewing and hiring manager-level positions, recognizing Juneteenth as a company-wide holiday, opening gender-neutral bathrooms in PHMC’s headquarters and committing to gender-neutral bathrooms in all newly constructed locations, providing guidelines to employees on gender pronoun use, creating a mentorship program for employees to be paired with seasoned employees, and the launch of an internal DEI Intranet page.
PHMC is one of the largest nonprofit employers in the region and one of the most comprehensive public health organizations in the nation, with more than 3,500 employees serving close to 350,000 clients annually. More than half of the company’s leadership team and Board of Directors are minorities. Seventy-two percent of PHMC staff are minorities and 77% identify as women. Fifty percent of clients served are African American and 16% are Hispanic.
“We’re proud of the progress made and the conversations we’ve advanced over the past two years, as we know that this work is ongoing, complex and ever evolving,” said Richard J. Cohen, PHMC’s President and CEO. “Garnering feedback from our employee initiatives has helped us create key DEI strategies for the upcoming year and we are committed to continuing this necessary work for years to come.”
To read the full report, please visit https://phmcdei.org/. For a copy of the printed version, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities. PHMC uses best practices and evidence-based guidelines to improve community health through direct service, partnership, innovation, policy, research, technical assistance, and a prepared workforce. PHMC has served the region since 1972. For more information on PHMC, visit www.phmc.org.
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