• Asking members about their race, ethnicity, and preferred language helps caregivers identify and address health risks and provide culturally competent care
• Using a prompt card at the start to remind team members to ask patients for their demographic information
• Holding friendly competitions to keep team members engaged

What can your team do to standardize collection of demographic information and make it part of the workflow?

• Adding questions about sexual orientation, gender identity, and preferred pronouns to the intake form for new patients
• Asking patients about their backgrounds to better understand their unique health risks and challenges  
• Spreading the practice to Northwest teams specializing in mental health and addiction medicine

What can your team do:  Demographic data can include sexual orientation, gender identity, race and ethnicity, ability status, military veteran status, and language proficiency.

• Educating staff about the operational challenges caused by last-minute sick calls and encouraging them to schedule time off in advance to minimize staffing disruptions
• Hiring employees to fill staffing gaps, enabling team members to schedule time off
• Recognizing employees for outstanding attendance

What can your team do: Identify the root causes of job-related stress and burnout and work together to minimize them. Encourage employees to plan vacation and mental health days in advance and use sick days for illness.