Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Framework

EDI launch

North York General Hospital (NYGH) is excited to share our first Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Framework, which will guide our organization’s work to advance EDI for our patients, families, caregivers, community and people.

As an organization dedicated to providing the highest standard of care, we must understand the experiences and views of all patients, residents and people at NYGH and in our communities, and make the necessary changes to ensure everyone’s needs are met.

NYGH’s commitment to EDI is part of our Strategic Plan, Thinking Beyond, and, most specifically, our Strategic Direction, People Come First in Everything We Do.  We strive to advance EDI in all that we do. To have healthy people and communities, every person must have access to the resources and support they need to be well.  Everyone – whether they are receiving care, living in our communities, or involved in health care delivery – must be safe, respected and able to achieve their full potential.

The advancement of EDI is a long-term commitment. Over the last few years, NYGH has focused on building foundations for EDI at our organization, while tackling pressing issues related to discrimination, systemic racism and health disparities, which have been exacerbated during the pandemic.  During this time, we have:

  • Created an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office and hired a Manager, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
  • Formed two Employee Resource Groups who steer and support NYGH’s actions to address Anti-Black Racism (ABR) and promote 2SLGBTQ1A+ inclusion.
  • Initiated greater awareness and education at all levels of NYGH related to EDI, Anti-Black Racism and 2SLGBTQ1A+ people.  This includes a partnership with the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) to educate leaders on Anti-Black Racism and health, and deliver mandatory education as well as a partnership with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion to learn about and address unconscious bias in hiring. Education is a constant commitment and also key focus during events including Black History Month and Pride Month.
  • Initiated our first ABR Experience Survey of NYGH staff and physicians. 
  • Planned our first Demographic Survey to get a baseline understanding of the identities of NYGH’s team related to equity, diversity and inclusion.
  • Amended the incident-reporting process to include dimensions of diversity to enable us to track identity-based complaints and the prevalence of diversity-related violence.
  • Started to track data from patients about their experience with equity, diversity and inclusion so we can identify health inequities at NYGH. We are also recruiting diverse patient and family advisors.
  • Started tracking and measuring our performance on the Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) indicator for patients’ experience with health equity at NYGH.
  • Started planning with our Ontario Health Team, North York Toronto Health Partners, to collect consistent sociodemographic data from people receiving care in North York.

This plan was shaped by the insights and experiences of many.  Thank you to the ABR and 2SLGBTQIA+ Inclusion and Advisory Committees, and staff and leaders from across NYGH who helped shape the Framework and who have supported our actions to date to cultivate a safe, respectful and welcoming environment for all.

Read the full EDI report here (PDF)