Newly appointed to Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island’s board of directors, Dr. Dioscaris Garcia is the co-director of the Weiss Center for Orthopaedic Trauma Research and co-chair of the Department of Orthopaedics Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at Rhode Island Hospital, and assistant professor of orthopaedics and director of the Center for Student Belonging at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
PBN: What drew you to Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island?
GARCIA: Sometimes life comes full circle and we’re able to join forces with those who helped us during a time of great need. This is my story with Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island.
A native of the Dominican Republic, I migrated with my family to the United States at a young age, settling in Rhode Island with few material possessions and very few individuals to guide our new beginning. Upon searching for health coverage, Neighborhood was the only health insurance company to embrace us. We quickly learned that Neighborhood was much more than a health insurance provider. The organization was a welcoming community of caring staff who became trusted guides to much-needed services and social supports.
To Neighborhood, my family and I weren’t just new members of a health plan; we were important community members in need of shepherding. The caring individuals who comprise Neighborhood treated my family with dignity and respect and seemed to take tremendous pride in helping us far beyond their job descriptions.
Fast forward 30 years. After establishing a career in the health sciences and serving the community alongside Rhode Island’s elected leaders and through involvement in nonprofit organizations – including becoming a leader in the COVID-19 pandemic response – I received an opportunity to become a board member of the organization that helped shape my future. Not surprisingly, to this day, two of Neighborhood’s core values focus on “ardently advocating for members” and “passionately promoting health equity,” phrases that are central to many of our conversations.
It is Neighborhood’s demonstration of authentic care, humanity and going above and beyond that sparked my interest in joining its board of directors.
PBN: How do you see your background and previous experiences advancing Neighborhood’s vision and shaping your goals for the company?
GARCIA: By training, I’m a pharmacologist and microbiologist who specializes in infectious diseases, orthopaedics, mechanisms of addiction and cancer. I’ve been fortunate to have received all of my training in Rhode Island, from my humble beginnings taking science classes at Central Falls High School, to earning a Bachelor of Science at the University of Rhode Island, to doing doctorate training at Brown University. I’ve also received all of my postdoctoral training in Rhode Island, at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital.
Most importantly, I’ve never left my community. Although I was born in the Dominican Republic and spent time in New York City, I consider myself a proud, lifelong Rhode Islander. I’ve been honored to serve the community which helped shape who I’ve become, and to use my training to serve as a mentor and resource to those that need me.
In many ways, the Neighborhood philosophy is engrained in my drive to uplift the community. Like Neighborhood, I’ve been a champion of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion to ensure all Rhode Islanders, including the most vulnerable, have access to high-quality health care. I do this important work at the institutions where I’m employed, the nonprofit organizations where I provide counsel, and have proudly served the public without hesitation on major health initiatives and emergency responses such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It is these parallels to Neighborhood’s mission and my intimate knowledge of the health care system in Rhode Island that I feel are my greatest assets toward advancing the organization’s vision.
PBN: You have experience advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion in health care and beyond. What are some of the main inequities we see in health care today?
GARCIA: As someone who has had the honor of traversing life from the very bottom of the socioeconomic system to a position of leadership, one of my proudest and deepest passions is being a beacon of equity and belonging for those who have followed my path.
My laboratory at Rhode Island Hospital has become one of the nation’s most successful and productive models of diversity and equity, having trained over 300 doctors from dozens of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. As the director of the new Center for Student Belonging at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, I aim to continue expanding diversity and justice for tomorrow’s health providers.
Although we’ve come a long way, inequities in health care are still prevalent at a systematic level. Training for students wishing to become clinical doctors is still marred in economic obstacles, and support during training in the form of mentorship, equity and belonging is lacking, leading to a shortage of physicians with intimate knowledge of the needs and cultures of their communities.
Additionally, families lack education of the mechanisms of health insurance, their options and affordability, leading to populations of uninsured, which unfortunately results in undiagnosed chronic illnesses.
Lastly, the lower socioeconomic classes, which are often the densest populations with the poorest health outcomes, continue to lack access to quality health care.
PBN: What is the role of health insurance companies in helping bridge these racial and social inequities?
GARCIA: Embedding diversity, equity and inclusion into a work culture is key to bridging racial and social inequities. At Neighborhood, DEI is a cornerstone of the organization’s core values and reflected in the people who work there, as well as through its mentoring programs, cultural competency trainings for leaders, employee resource groups, continuous diversity events and diverse representation in leadership positions.
Also, Neighborhood was founded by Rhode Island’s federally qualified Community Health Centers, which means the organization grew from the neighborhoods where its members live and where the fight for health equity happens. It is because of its deep-seated roots in the community that Neighborhood is able to have the intimate optics to identify the true needs of the community relating to racial and social inequities.
As often the first and continuous point of contact for patients, health insurance companies can leverage the earned trust of vulnerable Rhode Islanders and learn about their communities’ needs directly from those affected. For example, Neighborhood is a constant, familiar face out in the community – supporting a multitude of organizations across the state each year in a variety of ways, including involvement in community and cultural festivals, health fairs, community health center visits, volunteering with charitable organizations and participating in fundraising events.
This immersion in the community has earned Neighborhood the trust of underserved Rhode Islanders and, in turn, important information about their health needs. Health insurance companies should aim to use these voices, as Neighborhood has, to empower vulnerable populations, amplify their concerns and issues with accessibility, and provide information on the topics that are most important to them.
Lastly, the dynamic landscape of public health and insurance is a complex topic that is not taught in the educational system. As a result, health insurers have an opportunity to become a hub of plainly written information for those that need it most.
PBN: How are you hoping to continue to promote diversity and equity in health care spaces as a board member at Neighborhood?
GARCIA: As a trusted community leader and health professional, I see the advancement of my community’s health needs as a priority. Through my participation as a Neighborhood board member, I aim to continue my mission of increasing diversity, equity and inclusion through support of increased DEI hiring, community outreach and serving as a resource for DEI expertise for the board and my community.
Being a privileged member of the Lifespan Corp. and Brown University community as co-chair of the Department of Orthopaedics DEI Committee, co-director of the Diane N. Weiss Center for Orthopaedic Trauma Research and director of the Center for Student Belonging at the Warren Alpert Medical School, I have the opportunity to amplify DEI across some of the major health care-influencing institutions in the state. Above all, I will continue to be a representing member of Rhode Island, where I still proudly reside.
Claudia Chiappa is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Chiappa@PBN.com.
