Wellstar Health System, one of Georgia’s largest and most integrated healthcare systems, has hired Le Joyce Naylor as senior vice president and chief diversity, equity & inclusion officer. Naylor began her role on August 2 to provide systemwide thought leadership, strategic planning, and implementation of DE&I initiatives at Wellstar.

Naylor has nearly 20 years of diversity and inclusion experience and an exceptional track record of setting strategy, engaging stakeholders and driving results, including leadership of DE&I initiatives in a healthcare setting. Most recently, she served as the executive director diversity & inclusion officer at the Cleveland Clinic. She was responsible for driving the diversity and inclusion strategy and execution for more than 66,000 employees andoversaw the system’s 21 Diversity Councils and 13 Employee Resource Groups. Under Naylor’s leadership, theCleveland Clinic received National recognition for their employee resource groups, along with being recognized by DiversityInc. as a Top 10 Health System for twelve consecutive years, most notably ranking #1 in 2019.

Nurturing diversity, equity and inclusion inside and outside the walls of Wellstar

Wellstar is dedicated to nurturing a diverse workplace that mirrors its communities. Approximately 81% of thecompany’s employees are women, and just over half (51%) of the workforce is comprised of minorities. When it comes to ascension, 47% of Wellstar’s executives and 77% of frontline managers are women, while minority executives make up 21% of the workforce, with minorities in 38% of the frontline management roles. Also, Wellstarhas 7,300 nurses, of which approximately 90.2% of the system’s clinical RNs are women.

In December 2020, Wellstar formally launched the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council to identify opportunities to grow and drive positive change for our communities, patients and team members. As part of her scope, Naylor will lead the council to collaboratively address workforce diversity, a culture of inclusion, cultural competence, health equity, community engagement, and supplier diversity.

Wellstar is regularly recognized for diversity excellence, including accolades from Diversity MBA magazine, Diversity Best Practices, Working Mother/Working Father, and National Association for Executive Women (NAFE), among others. Wellstar was also named among Great Place to Work® and Fortune “Best Companies to Work For” and

“Best Workplaces for Diversity,” as well as in PEOPLE “Companies that Care,” in part due to the health system’s emphasis on inclusive policies and programs for Wellstar’s workforce and communities.