BMC HealthNet Plan Holds Town Hall Discussion on Race Relations for Employees

Photo (left to right): Susan Coakley, President & CEO of BMC HealthNet Plan; panelists Michael Curry, President, Boston NAACP; Julie Donaghey, BMCHP; Rafael Ruiz, 30-year veteran of Boston Police Department; Tonya Platt, Assistant District Attorney, Suffolk County; and Darnell Williams, CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Mass.

Boston – BMC HealthNet Plan became one of the few companies in the Greater Boston area to provide an open forum for its diverse workforce of more than 600 employees to discuss the state of community and law enforcement relations in Boston.

The event featured a panel of speakers, including Boston NAACP President, Michael Curry; 30-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, Rafael Ruiz; Assistant District Attorney of Suffolk County, Tonya Platt; Superintendent of Suffolk County House of Correction, Yolanda Smith, CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, Darnell Williams; and a Director at BMC HealthNet Plan and former police officer, Julie Donaghey. The event was moderated by President & CEO of El Mundo Newspaper, Alberto Vasallo III.

Susan Coakley, President & CEO of BMC HealthNet Plan said “What takes place outside of work also impacts employees at work. In discussing this concern with our Diversity & Inclusion Council, we decided to bring together a range of voices in the hopes that it would ignite an honest, ongoing dialogue that arrives at a common understanding.”

The panelists offered varied and enlightening points of view, resulting in a dynamic conversation around community and law enforcement relations. They discussed how life experiences at work and in the community differ based on race, the existence and new evidence of racial profiling and the fears associated with that, as well as the challenge police face balancing community needs with their own fears. They advised on the importance of safely communicating with each other and respecting different perspectives.

“We need to find an intersectionality of how we talk to one another, not talk past one another, to deal with these various issues,” said Darnell Williams. “It’s only when you get to that particular point in life that we can dismantle these barriers that are artificially put up.” He also reminded employees to expose their own children to individuals of all different cultures, saying, “they will be so much better off.”

“This was a timely and substantial conversation about these issues and what people can do to be part of the solution,” added Curry.

Alberto Vasallo III added, “I want to congratulate BMC HealthNet Plan for being so proactive. There’s a younger generation of folks (who) have a totally different perspective...a lot of our biases, a lot of our convictions, are based on the era that we grew up in…so I think they’re growing up in a little different era and I think it’s thanks to conversations like this.”

About Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan

Boston Medical Center founded Boston Medical Center Health Plan, Inc. in 1997 as a not-for-profit managed care organization doing business in Massachusetts as BMC HealthNet Plan. Outside Massachusetts the business name is Well Sense Health Plan. BMC HealthNet Plan’s HMO is rated 4 out of 5 among Medicaid plans in the U.S., according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2015-2016. BMC HealthNet Plan’s Medicaid HMO has been awarded Excellent Accreditation status by NCQA. In addition, BMC HealthNet Plan’s Qualified Health Plan program has been awarded Accredited status from NCQA, the highest accreditation level available at this time. For more information, go to bmchp.org. For more information about BMC HealthNet Plan Senior Care Options, go to seniorsgetmore.org/.

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