PBN 2025 DIVERSITY EQUITY & INCLUSION AWARDS
Health Care (Enterprise Company): Care New England Health System
Care New England HEALTH SYSTEMS based in Providence, is committed to advancing medical research and improving the well-being of communities through health care. The organization includes several hospitals and organizations that provide particular aspects of care, such as treatment for psychiatric illnesses.
“I’m passionate about what I do because I get to serve people in the communities that I grew up in,” said Kevin Martins, vice president and chief diversity officer. “Care New England is focused on Rhode Island in a way that most other health systems our size are not.”
Care New England is focused on the five pillars of a quality patient experience: its people and culture, access and equity, innovation, growth, and financial health.
“As a native Rhode Islander, as someone who has always focused on how we can improve circumstances and situations, as a person who is the son of immigrants, very working class, working poor childhood, I see health access as a right, and I see health care as a right for people,” Martins said.
“It’s my job to help people make sense of it, to make sure that the organization can serve people from all walks of life, and to specifically look at the slivers of the population who are usually the hardest to serve, the most underserved and to make sure that their outcomes are equitable, their access is equitable, their services are equitable,” he said.
Administrators are heavily involved in the company’s employee resource groups, Martins said. The company offers various development programs for leadership as well.
“They look at the needs of that community and not just the patients and clients but also the employees and make sure the policies are equitable, that there’s a lot of learning engagements that are provided for the employee understanding and cultural celebrations and being able to really focus on the differences and commonalities across populations,” he said.
Martins feels strongly about serving patients in ways that actually work with their needs and life circumstances. You need to ask the right questions, he said.
“You cannot serve every single patient the same. They present with different needs. So you have to tailor their treatment for their specific needs,” he said. “If you’re not asking some of those questions, you’re going to miss that there are social needs that vary across patients and that cultural competence is what helps bridge that understanding.”
The company is focused on making a real impact on people and communities.
“If you are in the business of making a difference in people’s lives, you have to make that argument in your outcomes, not just in your visual campaigns,” he said. “So we don’t focus on just putting up a social media post every time a holiday comes around. We look inward and we say, ‘How are we making differences in these populations?’ ”
Brydie Thomasian, co-chair since 2021 for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council at Kent County Memorial Hospital, focuses on identifying areas for additional opportunities around the hospital. The council began in 2020 after employees from different departments came forward with concerns about their day-to-day work.
“We kind of just lead that charge and work with a lot of advocacy through all levels of the organization,” she said. “And so we pulled a group together, including our leadership, and kind of said, ‘You know, what can we do? How are we addressing this?’ We know this isn’t the experience we want folks to have.”
Thomasian, as a social worker by training, said she’s very invested in making sure change gets made.
“I’ve had a heavy focus on social justice and some awareness and line of sight to some challenges or failures of various systems,” she said. “We’ve had several initiatives that have opened up conversations or greater awareness about some of the challenges for employees or patients coming into an environment that we want to make sure that it is as welcoming for any employee or patient that comes through.”
For example, employees have partnered with the nutrition department to share family recipes with the hospital, she said.
