Sullivan Commission Work Continues

The Sullivan Alliance to Transform America’s Health Professions has been established to increase diversity in the health professions and thereby help reduce disparities in health status and health care.  The Alliance is now a part of the Joint Center’s Health Policy Institute in Washington D.C., another Kellogg Foundation grantee. The Alliance is comprised of former members of the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce and former members of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel that examined diversity in the health professions.

The Alliance is launching an action outreach initiative to enlist health professionals, students, corporations, associations, business leaders, government officials, the academic community, and other nonprofit and community-based organizations to educate the public on the crucial need to increase diversity in the health professions. The Alliance will also undertake strategic activities to bring about needed changes.

Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Lonnie R. Bristow, former president of the American Medical Association, serve as chair and co-chair of the Alliance, respectively.

Drawing on the experience and expertise of leading health, business, higher education and legal experts, the Sullivan Commission completed their work and issued their final report in 2004: Missing Persons: Minorities in the Health Professions. The report offers the nation a blueprint for achieving diversity and ensuring cultural competency among health professionals. In all, 62 comprehensive recommendations were given, targeting key stakeholders in the U.S. health care system. 

The Health Policy Institute is part of the The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies,  a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that conducts research and analysis on public policy issues of concerns to African Americans and other minorities.