‘In the Spotlight’: Supplier Diversity

“In the Spotlight,” the podcast of the Hospital Association of Southern California, recently interviewed Andrew Kwok, MPA, associate director of Supply Chain Diversity for Cedars-Sinai Health System, about a new regional initiative that helps hospitals partner with diverse suppliers and makes it easier for women and minority-owned businesses to compete for hospital contracts.

Kwok told “In the Spotlight” host Adam Blackstone that Cedars-Sinai Health System considers its supplier diversity efforts part of its overarching diversity, equity and inclusion movement and that it brings value to patients as well as the community through job growth.

“This work is just doing the right thing, and it’s very aligned with the Cedars-Sinai value-based system that we have,” Kwok told Blackstone. “It’s about how do we elevate patient care. To me, I think supplier diversity has that ability to make that positive impact in our communities that we serve every single day.”

Kwok told Blackstone that supplier diversity at Cedars-Sinai Health System is an “evolving process” as leaders work to improve supplier inclusion, development and outreach, which involves everything from making sure that diverse-owned businesses are involved in the earliest process of securing contracts to helping suppliers develop and scale their businesses and then connect with each other.

“We really think about this as an ecosystem, and we know that we can all do this together,” Kwok said. “Because when we think about supplier diversity, it’s a shared responsibility. But also, if done right, we have that shared prosperity together and [we’re] being that economic engine … or making that broader community impact.”

Click here to listen to the entire episode of “In the Spotlight.”