Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH) Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Odesa Stapleton has been named one of the 2023 hospital and health system diversity, equity and inclusion officers to know by Becker’s Hospital Review.
“When diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are integrated into the framework of hospitals and health systems, patients and staff members benefit,” Becker’s said in its announcement. “DEI leaders are directing efforts to create inclusive health care environments where everyone feels welcomed, valued and safe.”
Hospitals and health systems that commit to an organizational culture of diversity, equity and inclusion create safer and more engaging environments for patients, providers and the communities they serve. The DEI officers at the helm of these organizations are paving the way for a more equitable future.
The prestigious list recognizes 86 DEI leaders who are instituting training sessions, establishing business resource groups, creating scholarship programs and improving hiring practices in an effort to uplift diverse populations and enhance health equity at their organizations and within their communities.
The Becker’s Hospital Review editorial team accepted nominations for this list and curated it to highlight the great work of DEI officers from health care institutions nationwide.
Stapleton joined Bon Secours Mercy Health in 2019 from Neighborhood Health Services Corporation in Plainfield, N.J., where she was director of human resources and operations for nearly five years. Before that, she served as executive director of human relations for the Manatee County School District in Bradenton, Fla.
Her previous experience includes service as director of talent management for Verizon Communications, director of staffing, recruitment and employment for Delta Air Lines and as a labor and employment attorney for the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Company.
Stapleton is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and earned her law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, State Bar of Texas, American Bar Association and Alpha Phi Omega, and she is a certified secondary teacher. Early in her career, she researched and wrote labor and employment law books for businesses at Summers Press.
