$400K Grant to Create More Diverse Workforce

Program will offer training to more than 26,000 Mercy employees

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Sep 27, 2016, 08:15 ET

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To say that Adam Lare is committed to his job is an understatement.

For the majority of his four years working at Mercy Hospital St. Louis, Lare commuted about two and a half hours each day to work. Not only is he committed to getting to work, his colleagues have nothing but positive things to say about his dependability and his hard-working nature while on the job.

Mercy's co-workers with disabilities speak out and share their thoughts on why diversity matters.

Lare may have an intellectual disability, but Lare doesn't let anything get in his way.

"It just takes me longer to learn with the disability I have, but once I learn, it's pretty easy to do," said Lare, a supply chain technician at Mercy. "Whatever needs to be done, I get it done."

Using $400,000 in grant money from the Kessler Foundation and private donations, Mercy hopes to recruit additional dedicated co-workers like Lare. The funds will be used to replicate Mercy Hospital St. Louis' success through the development or expansion of Mercy's Healthcare Workforce Inclusion Model at Mercy's hospitals in Fort Smith and Rogers, Arkansas; Crystal City, Joplin, Springfield and St. Louis, Missouri; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The inclusion model promotes job, training and volunteer opportunities for individuals with developmental, physical and/or mental health disabilities. It also provides training to current employees to build a more inclusive and collaborative environment.

Both Mercy and Kessler's foundations will also partner with a team at Rutgers University in New Jersey to study the methodology behind Mercy's model and will share best practices within Mercy and with other health care organizations.

"Mercy has a long tradition of recognizing that society's 'disabled' are actually people who are simply gifted differently," said Lynn Britton, Mercy's president and CEO. "Creating meaningful job opportunities for men and women with disabilities offers them the hope and dignity of financial self-sufficiency, while enriching our organization with their unique perspectives and gifts."

Lare is thankful to work for an organization that values the contributions of every co-worker. He loves his job and the people he works alongside every day.

"I think it's a huge opportunity for any person in the world to be able to have a good job – it doesn't matter if you have a disability," said Lare. "Everyone should be treated equally."

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SOURCE Mercy