American Association of Healthcare Executives

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Approved by the Board of Governors Dec. 9, 2024.

Statement of the Issue

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data reveals that disabled people in the labor market made record employment gains in 2023, but still see significantly lower employment rates than people without disabilities. Even in the case of healthcare organizations, which face periodic personnel shortages in administrative, clinical and support functions, people with disabilities may not be sought after as willing, productive resources for employment.

Obstacles to including the disabled in the pool of potential employees may be related to misperceptions about accommodation and healthcare costs, productivity losses, reliability of workers, how to access potential candidates and, in many communities, the lack of reliable transportation. However, research suggests that the additional costs to accommodate employees with a disability may be minimal or nonexistent, and any accommodations they may need are often easy to implement and cost less than employers realize..

There is evidence that healthcare organizations may already be more likely to employ those with disabilities than organizations in other sectors. In 2023, 22.5% of all civilian workers were disabled, and 22.2% of those workers were in the education and healthcare sectors, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Disability is defined as having a condition that limits full participation in work and/or having specific conditions such as learning, emotional or mental disability or disease; a sensory impairment; physical handicap; pain; or chronic fatigue syndrome.

The prevalence of disability in our society, and the responsibility of healthcare leaders to lead by example, creates a particular responsibility for healthcare executives to be vigilant in ensuring ongoing opportunities for people with disabilities while fostering an inclusive environment with equitable workplace treatment for all.

Policy Position

ACHE believes healthcare executives should take the lead in their organizations to increase employment, advancement and leadership opportunities for people with disabilities. Additionally, healthcare executives should advocate on behalf of the employment of people with disabilities in other organizations in their communities.

ACHE encourages all healthcare executives to pursue the following actions:

• Develop an organizational culture that is inclusive of the abilities of people with disabilities so they can contribute to the organization’s mission. Create an employee culture centered on accessibility, diversity, equity and inclusion with ongoing programs to educate those within human resources departments, supervisors and co-workers on disability inclusion.
• Develop disability inclusion and accessible products to affirm that equal access to employment for people with disabilities exists through recruiting firms committed to disability inclusion.
• Reallocate or redistribute job responsibilities to integrate people with disabilities to improve and enhance inclusive workplaces to retain individuals already on staff who acquire a disability.
• Determine appropriate accommodations, such as accessible infrastructure and technologies, to foster diverse workplaces for employees with a disability. The employer may wish to seek the assistance of a third party who is knowledgeable in disability matters.

Policy created: May 1992
Policy updated: December 2024