Children's Hospitals Today - Spring 2024 - 23

WORKFORCE / FEATURE
Bragg said the payoff is well worth the
hospital's own investment.
" It will cost you a lot less to make
this type of investment than it will in
advertising, paying a recruiter, and
the impact open positions have on
employee well-being, " she said. " Funnel
those dollars into this. You'll get a lot
more out of it. You'll get that loyalty,
that dedication. "
Growing diverse leaders
Cicely " CC " Brooks was one of two ethnic
minority employees in her leadership
development program at Wolfson
Children's Hospital in Jacksonville,
Florida, in 2005.
Now the hospital's vice president of
patient care services and chief nurse
executive, Brooks said Baptist Health,
of which Wolfson Children's is a part,
has increased minority representation
among its leaders in the 18 years since.
Specifically, Baptist Health set a
goal of having 25% of managerial roles
filled by underrepresented ethnicities
by 2024. The hospital has steadily
progressed toward the goal, with
ethnic minorities representing 15% of
positions at the vice president level
and above, 30% of nurses and nursing
management, and 18% of physician
positions.
To move the needle further, Brooks
said the Baptist Black Organization
for Leadership and Development
(BaptistBOLD) employee resource
group created a career development
program aimed at employees in support
areas like environmental services
and food services.
" We wanted to expose them to the
possibilities of leadership within the
organization, " she said.
Identifying applicants
The BaptistBOLD Career Development
Program launched in 2021 to position
employees for career growth and create
BY THE NUMBERS
Ethnic Minority Representation at Wolfson Children's
15%
of vice-president
positions and above
30%
of nurses and
nurse management
18%
of physician
positions
a pipeline for the system's leadership development
program. Initially, the group
relied on managers to identify employees
with the potential to become " stars
in the organization. " In the program's
first year, 20 employees participated.
" We wanted to make sure we had a
high level of commitment from the participants
because this was going to be a
big investment. We wanted to be able to
prove that we were getting a return on
our investment, " Brooks said.
Growing skills and
building relationships
Participants started with the basics.
Hospital leaders taught classes on resume
writing, interviewing, and business
acumen. Brooks said participants
also learned how to understand objectives,
set " SMART " goals, interpret body
language, and network with peers.
" We wanted them to be able to feel
comfortable having a conversation
about their career or goals. We helped
them come up with their 60-second elevator
speech, " Brooks said.
Participants were also matched with
a mentor within the Baptist organization.
The pair met for an hour a month
and took part in a panel discussion
with other Baptist Health minority
leaders, specifically at the executive
level and above.
" No question was off the table. They
got to engage their executive leadership
team in a very different, non-punitive,
open way, " Brooks said.
Achieving results
Brooks said the pilot program's results
speak for themselves. After finishing
the six-month program, 20% of participants
were promoted or moved to an
expanded role, and 11% were accepted
into Baptist Health's leadership development
program.
" We didn't anticipate the value of
some of the basics taught in the program.
We did not know how impactful
that was for the participants, and they
absolutely loved it, " she said.
In the second year, the number of applicants
doubled. " All of the folks who
worked alongside these participants
saw their growth and development and
talked about this amazing opportunity, "
she said. " We wanted to make it engaging,
we wanted to make it fun, and obviously,
we were able to accomplish that. "
Send questions or comments to magazine@
childrenshospitals.org.
CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS TODAY Spring 2024
23
Children's Hospitals Today - Spring 2024

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