THE UNIVERSITY-OF-MARYLAND MEDICAL SYSTEM INVESTS IN ITS COMMUNITY MINORITIES

As a private, non-state-owned teaching hospital adjacent to a predomin ately low income African American community in Baltimore, the Universi ty of Maryland Medical System (hereafter called the Medical System) in partnership with the state's medical school has historically provided excellent medical care to the community's residents regardless of the ir ability to pay. Nevertheless, executive leadership recognized that the Medical System needed to be even more socially and economically re sponsible to the minority community by investing more of the system's resources in that community. Doing so would improve the economic stren gth of the community, and this strength would help the Medical System to continue to thrive and expand its business in Baltimore City. There fore, in the late 1980s, the Medical System created a program that foc uses on greater inclusion of minorities, particularly African American s, in personnel, construction, purchasing, and community outreach. In the area of personnel, recruitment efforts have focused on increasing the representation of minorities, particularly African Americans, in m anagement and residency positions. The result has been the creation of a more supportive environment for minority personnel throughout the o rganization as well as for minority patients and vendors who have deal ings with the medical system. In the area of construction, minority de velopment efforts have included the establishment of a flexible bid-aw ard policy and a partnership with the minority business community. As a result, total construction dollars spent with minority-owned firms i ncreased from $2 million to $18 million over seven years, and the port ion of these dollars spent with African American-owned firms in crease d sixfold. In the area of purchased goods and services, more creative approaches to improving minority participation have been necessary. Th ese have included partnering minority distributors with major supplier s and literally assisting in the creation of new minority firms capabl e of effectively responding to the competitive marketplace. As a resul t, purchasing dollars spent with minority-owned firms increased from $ 1.5 million $3.2 million in four years, and the portion of these dolla rs spent with African American-owned firms nearly tripled. In communit y outreach, a comprehensive program has emerged that includes educatio n, career development, disease prevention, and health promotion activi ties. The Medical System has encountered many barriers to success in t hese efforts but fortunately has overcome many of them. This article o utlines the methods the system has used to achieve its minority develo pment goals, with particular emphasis on the difficult area of purchas ing.