Diversity Framework

Our supply chain is a reflection of our values, and we are committed to building supply chains that are as diverse as the communities we serve. We maintain a comprehensive supplier diversity registry that actively identifies, certifies, and supports minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, LGBTQ+-owned, disability-owned, and small disadvantaged businesses. This registry is not a passive database—it is an active tool that connects diverse suppliers with opportunities at LAC. We set ambitious annual spend goals with these businesses, recognizing that economic inclusion is essential to true diversity and equity. These goals are not aspirational—they are integrated into procurement strategies, performance evaluations, and business planning.

Partnership evaluations go far beyond price and quality—they include deep assessments of cultural competency, community engagement track records, and alignment with health equity goals. We recognize that the best suppliers are not just those who can deliver products, but those who understand and serve diverse communities with respect and effectiveness. We evaluate potential partners on their commitment to diversity and inclusion in their own organizations, their track record of serving diverse communities, and their alignment with our values. We believe that partnerships should be mutually beneficial and values-aligned, and we seek partners who share our commitment to equity and inclusion.

Mentorship programs for emerging suppliers are not charity—they are investments in building a more diverse, resilient, and innovative supply chain. We help emerging suppliers navigate complex regulatory requirements, understand healthcare industry standards, scale their operations, and build the capacity necessary to become long-term partners. These programs provide not just guidance, but real opportunities—we commit to giving diverse suppliers a fair chance to compete for and win business. We recognize that many diverse suppliers face systemic barriers that have nothing to do with their capabilities, and we are committed to being part of the solution.

We actively work to remove barriers that prevent diverse suppliers from competing for our business. This includes simplifying procurement processes, providing clear guidance on requirements, offering flexible payment terms, and ensuring that our procurement teams are trained to recognize and value diverse suppliers. We understand that traditional procurement processes can inadvertently favor established suppliers, and we work continuously to make our processes more accessible and equitable. We track and report on our supplier diversity metrics with the same rigor we apply to other business metrics, recognizing that what gets measured gets managed.

Our commitment to supplier diversity extends to our tier-two suppliers—we encourage our primary suppliers to also engage diverse subcontractors and partners. We recognize that true supply chain diversity requires looking beyond our direct relationships to the entire ecosystem. We provide resources, training, and incentives to help our suppliers build their own diverse supply chains, creating a multiplier effect that extends our impact far beyond our immediate operations. We believe that economic inclusion is a powerful tool for building stronger communities, and we use our purchasing power to advance that goal.

Healthcare is not delivered in a vacuum—it is delivered in communities that are shaped by history, culture, economics, and social structures. We are committed to understanding and serving the diverse communities where healthcare happens, recognizing that one-size-fits-all approaches fail to address the unique needs and strengths of different communities. LAC supports community clinics, public health initiatives, and educational programs that advance equitable access to care, understanding that health equity requires addressing not just medical needs, but the social, economic, and environmental factors that shape health outcomes.

Our philanthropic initiatives prioritize underserved populations and align with the social determinants of health, recognizing that health disparities are not accidents—they are the result of systemic inequities that require systemic solutions. We fund programs that address housing insecurity, food access, education, employment, and other factors that profoundly impact health. We partner with community-based organizations that understand local needs and have the trust of the communities they serve, because we recognize that effective solutions must be co-created with communities, not imposed upon them.

Impact measurement is essential to ensuring that our community investments are making a real difference. We measure impact through comprehensive community feedback, health outcome indicators, volunteer participation metrics, and long-term relationship building. We understand that true impact cannot be measured in a single quarter or year—it requires sustained commitment and patient measurement. We share our impact data transparently, recognizing that accountability to the communities we serve is essential to trust and effectiveness. We learn from both our successes and our failures, using that learning to continuously improve our approach.

We engage our employees as partners in community impact, recognizing that our workforce has deep connections to diverse communities and valuable insights about how to serve them effectively. Employee volunteer programs are not just about giving back—they are about building bridges between LAC and the communities we serve, creating relationships that inform our business strategy and strengthen our impact. We provide paid volunteer time, matching gift programs, and opportunities for employees to lead community initiatives, because we believe that engaged employees create engaged organizations.

Our marketing and communications reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, recognizing that representation matters. We ensure that our marketing materials, website, social media, and other communications feature diverse healthcare professionals, patients, and community members. We work with diverse marketing agencies, content creators, and media partners, understanding that authentic representation requires diverse perspectives in the creation process. We avoid tokenism and stereotypes, instead focusing on authentic stories that reflect the real diversity of healthcare and the communities we serve.

Innovation that does not serve everyone is not truly innovative—it is exclusionary. Our product roadmaps include comprehensive accessibility reviews and user research across diverse populations and professional roles, recognizing that the best solutions are those that work for everyone. We engage users from diverse backgrounds, abilities, and experiences in our design and development processes, understanding that products designed without diverse input will inevitably fail to serve diverse needs. We test our products with users who have disabilities, users from different cultural backgrounds, users with varying levels of technical expertise, and users from different socioeconomic circumstances, because we believe that inclusive design is not optional—it is essential.

Data science and artificial intelligence have the power to transform healthcare, but they also have the power to perpetuate and amplify bias. We test our data science models rigorously for bias, auditing them regularly to ensure equitable recommendations and outcomes. We recognize that algorithms trained on biased data will produce biased results, and we work actively to identify and address those biases. We engage diverse data scientists, ethicists, and domain experts in our model development and validation processes, understanding that diverse perspectives are essential to identifying and addressing bias. We are transparent about the limitations of our models and the steps we take to ensure fairness, because trust in technology requires transparency.

Co-creation is at the heart of our innovation process. We co-create solutions with patients, clinicians, caregivers, and community members, recognizing that the people who will use our products have insights that are essential to creating effective solutions. We engage diverse stakeholders not as research subjects, but as partners in innovation, compensating them fairly for their time and expertise. We recognize that lived experience is a form of expertise that cannot be replicated in a lab or boardroom, and we honor that expertise by making it central to our innovation process. We build feedback loops that ensure diverse voices continue to shape our products throughout their lifecycle, not just at the initial design stage.

We ensure that our innovation teams are themselves diverse, recognizing that diverse teams create more innovative solutions. We actively recruit diverse talent for our innovation and product development teams, provide development opportunities that prepare diverse employees for leadership roles in innovation, and create inclusive cultures where diverse perspectives are not just welcomed, but actively sought and valued. We understand that innovation requires challenging assumptions and exploring new possibilities, and diverse teams are better equipped to do that work.

Our commitment to inclusive innovation extends to how we think about intellectual property, recognizing that innovation should benefit everyone, not just those who can afford it. We explore open-source approaches, licensing strategies that promote access, and partnerships that ensure our innovations reach underserved communities. We understand that true innovation in healthcare requires not just creating new solutions, but ensuring those solutions are accessible to everyone who needs them, regardless of their ability to pay or their geographic location.