Deborah Washington, RN, PhDc.
Director, Diversity, Patient Care Service for Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, Massachusetts. MGH is one of the founding institutions of Partners Healthcare, an integrated healthcare system that includes two academic medical centers, community hospitals, specialty hospitals, community health centers, a physician network, home health and long-term care services, and other health-related entities. Partners HealthCare is one of the nation's leading biomedical research organizations and a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.The MGH is a Magnet designated hospital and the largest nongovernment employer in the city of Boston, with more than 19,500 employees, including almost 4,300 registered nurses. In her role as Director of Diversity, Ms. Washington is responsible for program development that addresses issues related to increasing the presence of diversity in professional roles in addition to educating staff and leadership in cultural competence as it relates to clinical practice as well as skill acquisition in managing a diverse workforce. Nationally, Ms. Washington was featured as the "Leader to Watch" in the February 2005 issue of the AONE Nurse Leader Newsletter and in May, 2007 honored as the finalist in the New England Nursing Spectrum Excellence Awards in the category of Advancing and Leading the Profession.