BJC HealthCare names VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

(October 8, 2020 – St. Louis, MO) Steven Player will take on the newly-created role of vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion for BJC HealthCare on November 1.   The role was created to advance BJC’s mission to provide equitable, culturally aware care for all patients and ensure a diverse, culturally competent workforce.

Player currently serves as executive director of diversity, inclusion and community engagement for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where he oversees diversity and inclusion education, extensive language services and works to ensure that BJC’s exceptional care is equitable for all.

Last month, Player was selected by the St. Louis Business Journal for its 2020 Diverse Business Leaders Awards. The award honors individuals, nonprofits, corporations and civic leaders promoting diversity around race, sexual orientation and disability.

Player’s background is as a pharmacist, having originally joined Barnes-Jewish hospital in 1995 as a pharmacy intern and worked his way up to inpatient pharmacy manager. In that role, he co-founded the BJH, Express Scripts and St. Louis College of Pharmacy (BESt) Pharmacy Summer Institute and created the Barnes-Jewish Hospital-Xavier University College of Pharmacy collaboration, which both serve today as a diverse workforce pipelines into the health care field.

Player earned his doctor of pharmacy degree from Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy in New Orleans, LA, his master’s in business administration degree from Webster University in St. Louis, and a certificate in diversity management in health care from the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity and Georgetown University. He served as adjunct faculty to Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy (XUCOP) and the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, and remains a member of the XUCOP’s Dean’s Advisory Board, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Board, and the Girls Inc. St. Louis Board. He has participated in several prestigious leadership programs including the FOCUS Impact Fellow, FOCUS St. Louis/Leadership St. Louis, and the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative Fellow programs.