Leading nonprofit medical service center, Wellstar Health System — the largest health system in Georgia — has appointed Le Joyce Naylor as its new senior vice president and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer.
In her new role, which she started in early August 2021, Naylor will provide systemwide thought leadership, strategic planning and implementation of the organization’s ongoing DE&I initiatives.
Prior to Wellstar, Naylor had served for nearly 20 years in the diversity and inclusion realm, and according to the health system, she has “an exceptional track record of setting strategy, engaging stakeholders and driving results, including leadership of DE&I initiatives in a healthcare setting.”
In her previous role, Naylor served as the executive director diversity & inclusion officer at the Cleveland Clinic (No. 5 on The DiversityInc Specialty List for Top Hospitals and Health Systems in 2021). There, she helped drive the diversity and inclusion strategy and execution for more than 66,000 employees, overseeing the system’s 21 Diversity Councils and 13 Employee Resource Groups.
“Under Naylor’s leadership, the Cleveland Clinic received National recognition for their employee resource groups, along with being recognized by DiversityInc as a Top 10 Health System for twelve consecutive years, most notably ranking #1 in 2019,” Wellstar officials said.
Naylor has said she hopes she can bring the same levels of success and inclusion to Wellstar. Currently, the health system includes 11 hospitals, 300+ medical office locations, nine cancer centers, 74 rehabilitation centers, three hospice facilities, one retirement village, 17 urgent care locations and five health parks. Approximately 81% of the company’s employees are women, and just over half (51%) of its workforce is comprised of minorities.
In December 2020, Wellstar formally launched the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council with the goal of “identifying opportunities to grow and drive positive change for our communities, patients and team members.”
As Wellstar’s chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, Naylor will lead that council to “collaboratively address workforce diversity, a culture of inclusion, cultural competence, health equity, community engagement and supplier diversity.”
Candice L. Saunders, president and CEO of Wellstar Health System, proudly welcomed Naylor to the team, saying, “Wellstar is committed to sustaining a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment that honors and values the voice of each patient and team member. Le Joyce will work with leaders across our organization to advance Wellstar’s diversity, equity, and inclusion and cultural competence programs to positively impact patients, team members and the communities we serve — both today and into the future.”
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