The American Academy of Sleep Medicine presents a webcast to learn about the need for diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DEI) in a large tertiary care setting. Implementation of a DEI process starts at the highest levels and has to involve employees at all levels to be successful. This presentation covers how the information can be disseminated and what involvement is needed of all stakeholders. Benefits of implementing a DEI process include personnel wellness, improved recruitment, and improvement in patient safety and outcomes.

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to: 

• Describe the importance of DEI in institutional settings
• Explain how to initiate the DEI process by identifying stakeholders and creating institutional engagement 

David J. Brown, MD

Dr. David J. Brown is the Associate Vice President and Associate Dean for Health Equity and Inclusion and Associate Professor of Pediatric Otolaryngology at Michigan Medicine.

Dr. Brown leads the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion at Michigan Medicine which implements the University of Michigan Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan, provides training to advance diversity and inclusion, and provides numerous healthcare pipeline and mentorship programs. He has successfully recruited many medical students, house officers and faculty to the University of Michigan Medical School. As a leader at Michigan Medicine, Dr. Brown is an executive sponsor of the Anti-Racism Oversight Committee (AROC), initiated in June 2020.

Dr. Brown has been a faculty member at Michigan Medicine since 2011 and was the Medical Director of the Pediatric Otolaryngology Clinic, and Multidisciplinary Aerodigestive Clinic, and a founding member and faculty lead of the Otolaryngology Essential Skills Simulation Bootcamp. He is a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group on Diversity and Inclusion (GDI), and formerly served as the central region representative for the AAMC GDI from 2017-2019. Dr. Brown is the Chair of the Society of University Otolaryngologist Diversity Committee.