Seattle Children’s Hospital (Courtesy photo)

Seattle Children’s Hospital (Courtesy photo)

Seattle Children’s Hospital identifies racial disparities in infections, security response

The healthcare provider did not respond to multiple requests for data used to identify disparities.

As part of their recently released Health Equity and Anti-Racism Action Plan, Seattle Children’s Hospital has identified racial and ethnic disparities that exist in their practices including infections in specific IV techniques as well as in a protocol used to call security on patients.

The action plan comes after public backlash surrounding how the organization’s administration and board of trustees kept hidden the results of an independent audit of the organization’s workplace culture of racial and ethnic equity issues.

The document identifies goals such as increasing “employee diversity by race/ethnicity to 40% to further reflect patient population,” and measures to improve equity, diversity and inclusion training among multiple levels of staff.

It also addresses a plan to dismantle the “Code Purple” system, which was used to call security on patients.

“We have recognized disparities and revised our policy and processes in January 2021,” said Seattle Children’s spokesperson Jennifer Morgan. “We have chosen to completely redesign our processes, utilizing a design process that will include patients and families.”

Morgan said it is not possible to speculate on what the team will design. She said their goal will be to embed psychosocial/de-escalation expertise within the clinical areas that can partner with patients, families and staff in a more proactive manner.

The plan also identified goals to reduce disparities in central-line bloodstream infections associated with specific kinds of IV’s in “patients who use a language other than English and Black/African American patients.”

“We have disparities in our central line associated bloodstream infection rates. Over the past year, we have been measuring how we care for lines by race, ethnicity, and language,” said Morgan. “To date, there are no differences in how we are caring for lines. We are working to identify additional strategies to implement that will eliminate these disparities, focusing on our Black and African American patients.”

Seattle Children’s did not respond to multiple requests over several weeks for the data used to identify these disparities that also would have identified the extent to which they exist, despite their stated goal to “redesign reporting on anti-racism and equity, diversity and inclusion efforts and commit to quarterly reports.”

“Creating a plan does not make an organization anti-racist. We acknowledge that Seattle Children’s is not an anti-racist organization now, but we commit to our workforce, patients and families and community that it will be,” said Seattle Children’s CEO Jeff Sperring in the action plan’s foreword.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

Courtesy Photo, Kent Police
Kent City Council considers sales tax hike to hire more police

Council could approve measure without going to voters; hike would be 10 cents on every $100 purchase

t
Kent father, 26, killed in shooting June 16 on East Hill

Family identifies Leroy Tinoga, married father of two young children

King County’s Patricia Clark Children and Family Justice Center in Seattle, where juveniles facing criminal charges are detained. COURTESY PHOTO, King County
Man, juvenile face murder charges in Kent student’s death

Kent-Meridian High student fatally shot in June 2024 during drug deal at Campus Park

t
Signs at Reith Road roundabouts in Kent take a beating

Drivers knocking down directional and yield signs at two new roundabouts

t
Kent woman faces vehicular homicide charge in March crash

Wajiha Din also faces vehicular assault in collision that killed Jose Ortiz and injured his wife

Courtesy Photo
Kent man, 63, charged with robbing Auburn bank

The suspect wore no mask, but donned an orange safety vest.

File Photo, Kent Reporter
Man fatally shot on East Hill in Kent; found inside vehicle

Incident Monday afternoon, June 16 in area of SE 240th Street and 108th Avenue SE

t
People ‘fed up’ with Trump administration protest in Covington | Photos

Estimated crowd of 1,500 lines main street in town June 14 with signs and chants

t
Kent firefighters fight three fires in three days | Photos

Puget Sound Fire responds June 10-12 to camper, house and apartment fires; no injuries

Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. FILE PHOTO, Kent Reporter
Man receives 10-year sentence for Kent parking lot killing

Fatally shot man in 2023 after he approached vehicle with baseball bat as part of ongoing feud

File Photo, Kent Reporter
Kent Police Blotter: May 26 to June 8

Incidents include domestic violence, store robbery, vehicle pursuit, copper wire theft

Washington State STEM Signing Day 2025 honorees in a group photo at a celebration event on June 6, at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center (VMAC) in Renton. Courtesy photo.
Select Kent seniors, grads honored on STEM Signing Day

Two Kentridge High students, one Kent-Meridian student receive recognition