Porter Health System’s Commitment to Diversity

Porter’s commitment to a diverse workforce begins at the time an applicant applies for a position. Porter is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in any way or deprive any person of employment opportunities because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age disability, citizenship, veteran status, or military or uniformed services in accordance with all applicable governmental laws and regulations.

During new employee orientation attended by each new associate, a portion of the orientation is devoted to cultural diversity awareness.

Topics discussed include:

• Obvious signs of cultural diversity---religion, ethnicity (race), national origin (language) and gender.
• Less obvious signs of cultural diversity---age, education, views/beliefs as they relate to healthcare, mental and/or physical handicaps
• Definition of Culture: the learned and shared behavior of a community of interacting human beings; includes values, beliefs, standards, language, thinking patterns, behavioral reactions, communication styles, etc. Culture guides decisions and actions of a group through time.
• Definition of cultural competence: the ability to understand, communicate with and effectively interact with people across cultures. Acquiring cultural competence starts with awareness; grows with knowledge of different cultural practices and world views; is enhanced with specific skills such as attitude toward cultural differences; and is, finally, polished through cross-cultural encounters

An example of our commitment to our patients and customers whose primary language is not English is our language line service with interpreter access 24/7.

Porter is proud to be a participating member of the Valparaiso Diversity Network Association and we truly believe it is because we are different that each of us is special!