Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Celebrates Diversity

Bridget Hurd
Bridget G. Hurd

| 2 min read

Ms. Hurd is the vice president, Inclusion and Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan where she is responsible for leading and executing the corporate inclusion and diversity strategy for Blue Cross and its subsidiaries and shaping a culture of inclusion. She also leads the Office of Health and Health Care Disparities with a vision of Better Health for All which focuses on achieving health equity in the delivery of, quality and access to care. Ms. Hurd facilitates the enterprise’s Diversity Leadership Councils, Physician Diversity Council and oversees diversity and cultural competency learning opportunities for employees, Inclusion and Diversity coaching programs, 15 employee resource networks and the integration of an inclusion and diversity lens in providing service to members and customers. She currently represents Blue Cross on the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in April 2020. She serves on the BCBS Health Equity Champions Committee and the national Health Care Transformation Task Force Health Equity Advisory Group. Hurd is a recipient of the national DentaQuest 2020 Health Equity Heroes award which recognizes individuals working to achieve equity during this time of coronavirus. In 2021, she was also recognized as a Top 100 Diversity Officer by the National Diversity Council.

Author Rochelle Riley talks to Blue Cross employees.
It’s so exciting to be part of the cultural mosaic that is the Blue Cross family. We’re a diverse company serving a diversity of customers and members, which underscores the importance of learning about and increasing awareness of different cultures and communities. Cultural competency is important to the work that we do. It helps us do our jobs better and provide the best in customer experience. It develops our capacity for empathy and opens us up to understanding and accepting the differences and similarities that every person brings to the workplace and our communities. Leveraging our differences makes us stronger and more innovative. When we can relate to our customers and adapt how we communicate to them, we can ensure they receive the information that they need. BCBSM celebrates diversity each and every day and holds numerous events and learning sessions throughout the year. In August, we put the spotlight on celebrating diversity through history, arts and food. This month, our employees had the opportunity to learn about German history and culture. They heard famed Detroit journalist and author Rochelle Riley speak about the burdens of slavery on African-Americans. They’ve had opportunities to attend learning sessions on Alzheimer’s disease, watch an African drum and dance performance and participate in the Jewish History Walking Tour. Latino, Filipino, Polish and Korean cultures were also learned about and experienced. We believe that bringing diversity to life for our employees empowers them to become more fully culturally competent, which makes us better-equipped to serve all our members across the state.

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