UTSW hosts Diversity Summit

By Lin Lofley

Members of the panel discussion at the Greater Dallas Healthcare Diversity Summit were (left to right): Don Taylor, Kenya Woodruff, Dr. Katherine Coyner, and Dr. Epfianio Elizondo.
Members of the panel discussion at the Greater Dallas Healthcare Diversity Summit were (left to right): Don Taylor, Kenya Woodruff, Dr. Katherine Coyner, and Dr. Epifanio Elizondo.

Dr. Dale Okorodudu, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, was honored Wednesday with a major award to cap the 2016 Greater Dallas Healthcare Diversity Summit.

Dr. Okorodudu, a pulmonary and critical care physician, earned the Healthcare Diversity Advocacy Award. In addition to his work as a clinician and educator, he is President and Founder of the web-based mentoring institution DiverseMedicine Inc. and one of the creators of the highly acclaimed Black Men in White Coats short documentary series.

In introducing Dr. Okorodudu, Dr. Byron Cryer, Associate Dean for Faculty Diversity and Development and Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern, noted that one of the Black Men in White Coats productions had featured Dr. Brian Williams, Assistant Professor of Surgery at UT Southwestern and a U.S. Air Force veteran.

In other honors, Dallas-based American Heart Association received an Excellence Award for Healthcare Diversity.

Veterans were the theme of the 2016 event, with keynote speaker Lisa Rosser, a U.S. Army veteran of 22 years talking about “Veteran Cultural Competency,” followed by a panel discussion moderated by Kimel Hodges, Assistant Vice President for Diversity & Inclusion and Equal Opportunity at UT Southwestern.

Panel members included Dr. Katherine Coyner, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UT Southwestern; Rear Admiral Epifanio Elizondo, Assistant Surgeon General in the U.S. Public Health Service; retired U.S. Air Force Col. Don Taylor, Director of Southwestern Health Resources Integration; and Kenya Woodruff, Partner and Co-Chair of the Healthcare Practice Group at Haynes and Boone, LLP.

Ms. Rosser, founder of The Value Of a Veteran, displayed a chart of military ranks and responsibilities and pointed out that veterans often face skepticism that they can lead a team of people to complete a task.

“The veteran just wants to know one thing,” she said, “and that is, ‘Is anybody shooting at me?’ ”

Ms. Rosser called for greater education for corporate leaders seeking to recruit veterans. She said the hiring entity needs to identify a “champion” – someone who is committed to the goal of hiring veterans – and a program manager who will oversee the process.