🔒Local hospitals commit more dollars to diverse suppliers

In late July, Hartford HealthCare hosted its first supplier diversity summit, which drew 75 minority-owned businesses to the Capital City interested in contracting with the hospital system.

As a result of the event, four companies landed new contracts and several others are under review with the healthcare provider, which has set an aggressive goal to increase spending with diverse suppliers — including minorities, women, veterans, LGBTQ and people with disabilities — by 10% before Sept. 30.

In the last 12 months, Hartford HealthCare, which operates Hartford Hospital and several other care providers across the state, said it has spent more than $17 million with local diverse suppliers and increased its national diversity spending by more than $37 million.

Hartford HealthCare’s efforts aren’t wholly unique. Healthcare systems across the state, including Yale New Haven Health and Trinity Health of New England, are ramping up efforts to diversify their supply chain as the industry puts a greater focus on diversity and inclusion efforts.

Experts say the move will be mutually beneficial, introducing care providers to new, innovative companies, and opening up new avenues for more diverse businesses.

“Increasing our supplier diversity has really been a cornerstone to our diversity and inclusion initiatives,” said Milrose Mercado, Hartford HealthCare’s senior vice president of supply chain. “Beyond that, this is really about engaging our communities and building partnerships.”

Setting new goals

Industries in all sectors have put a greater focus on diversity and inclusion efforts over the past year, following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota and ensuing social justice movement.

Many companies, particularly large corporations, have publicly disclosed efforts to diversify their executive ranks and overall workforce. Supplier diversity has gotten less attention but it could be just as impactful in decreasing the wealth and opportunity gap and providing more opportunities for minority-owned and other diverse companies.

A recent study by the Hackett Group found that companies globally currently dedicate 7.2% of their spend to diverse-owned businesses, but have plans to more than double that amount by 2025.

Hospital systems, of course, are major economic engines and substantial consumers of goods and services.

In 2019, Connecticut hospitals spent more than $6.3 billion on medical equipment and supplies, food and electricity for buildings, according to the Connecticut Hospital Association.

And now some hospitals are focused on increasing that spending.

Yale New Haven Health and Trinity Health of New England say they have supported the hiring of local and diverse vendors for many years, however, they’ve recently set new goals.

Yale, operator of Yale New Haven Hospital and several other care providers in the state, says it plans to double its woman- and minority-owned business spend over the next few years.

Health system officials say they are conducting outreach to local and diverse vendors and partnering with the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council and local chambers to identify additional local and diverse goods and services suppliers.

Trinity Health of New England — parent company of St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, Waterbury’s St. Mary’s Hospital and Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs — has set a goal to have at least 10% of its annual spend be with diverse suppliers, according to Carlos Brown, Trinity Health’s regional vice president and chief diversity officer.

Bridging the gap

Peter Hurst is the president and CEO of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC), which promotes minority business development and economic inclusion by certifying minority businesses and connecting them with corporate partners.

He said supplier diversity efforts have many benefits.

For example, they help reduce the racial wealth gap, create and maintain jobs (oftentimes in underserved communities), and generate tax revenue. He noted that many minority-owned companies are located in the same cities where hospitals are based.

GNEMSDC’s members include some of the state’s largest healthcare providers like Hartford HealthCare, Yale New Haven Health and the Community Health Network of Connecticut.

The group connects hospitals and other corporate members with a database of minority-owned businesses to fill their goods-and-services supply chain. It also hosts webinars and other networking opportunities to make connections.

Hurst said hospitals have stepped up supplier-diversity efforts, but more could and should be done. It will also take more than just care providers to make a difference.

All corporations should be taking part in the effort to diversify their supply chain to close the racial wealth gap and strengthen communities, he said.

New opportunities

Hartford HealthCare’s diversity summit was a half-day event that allowed business owners to network with company leaders and get a better understanding of potential contract opportunities.

Hartford HealthCare’s Mercado, who helped organize the event, said the hospital was looking to contract with various supply and service vendors across the state, not just in Hartford.

Many who attended were in the service industry, she said, and others came with new ideas and technologies.

Alisa Bowens-Mercado, CEO of New Haven-based Rhythm Brewing and Roasting Co., attended the summit with the hopes of supplying the hospital with coffee pods. Her contract is currently under review, the hospital said.

“As a woman and a woman of color, I’m looking forward to partnering with Hartford HealthCare,” said Bowens-Mercado.

A Newington landscaping company, The Ground Guys, was awarded a contract the day of the summit, and several other businesses have since signed on as suppliers to the hospital system. Businesses awarded contracts include Bethany-based B&W Painting and Remodeling, Soul de Cuba Cafe of New Haven and Onyx Elite, a West Hartford-based hospitality-consulting firm.

Today, the hospital spends more than $66 million with more than 250 diverse suppliers across the country, said Dr. Ajay Kumar, executive vice president and chief clinical officer of Hartford HealthCare.

And it’s not stopping there.

The hospital system plans to hold diversity summits on a regular basis at various locations around the state. The next summit will be held in Bridgeport in early 2022.