Christiana Care Health System is one of the largest health care providers in the mid-Atlantic, serving all of Delaware and parts of PA, MD and NJ.

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New Castle County Scholarship

Natalie Torres is the director of Inclusion & Diversity at ChristianaCare, which has been ranked as high as No. 2 by Forbes among best employers for diversity and inclusion in health care. In this role, she provides leadership over the multi-year strategic priorities, curates interventions to develop inclusive leaders and cultivates a work environment where every caregiver can thrive. Her focus is on equity-liberation in the workplace by uprooting systemic barriers and its origins to establish a new and inclusive lived experience. She believes what was once a crucial or courageous conversation is now essential.

Inclusion & Diversity

Inclusive Leadership

Leadership Development

Employee Resource Groups | Governance

Equity Liberation

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Caregivers and volunteers assemble 3,500 supply kits for neighbors transitioning to permanent housing and for those getting cancer treatment

Director, Inclusion & Diversity

Chief Public Affairs Officer and Chief Health Equity Officer

Chief Community Health Impact Officer

More than 200 ChristianaCare caregivers and their families came together for a systemwide service project on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Jan. 20 to pack supply kits for neighbors in need.

 Hosted by ChristianaCare’s Office of Inclusion & Diversity, caregivers united in service on our Cecil County, Newark and Wilmington campuses. 

These volunteers assembled 3,500 supply kits with essential items like washcloths, dish soap and detergent for individuals transitioning into permanent housing and toiletries, journals and puzzle books for patients in treatment for cancer at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute.

The kits also carried inspiration. Caregivers handwrote encouraging messages that were tucked in alongside toiletries and other essentials: “You’ve got this!” “You are stronger than you know.” “This is tough. But so are you!”

 Other caregivers delivered the inspirations and the kits to the the Graham Cancer Center, the Union Hospital Emergency Department, New Castle County Hope Center, Inc., and other community partners.

Natalie Torres, director of Inclusion & Diversity, credited ChristianaCare’s Supply Chain and Transportation departments with making sure toiletries and other supplies were available at the three campus locations and also coordinating the pickup and delivery of donations.

 “This service project is such a powerful reminder of how our values of love and excellence shine through in everything that we do,” Torres said.

“Dr. King truly resonates with who we are as an organization. Serving our community, connecting with one another, making a difference — it’s what we do best — and we are so honored to carry on this tradition in Dr. King’s name.”


ChristianaCare Caregivers Help Our Neighbors on Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

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ChristianaCare Future of Health Scholars complete second internship on their journey to health care careers

A late July dinner was the finale to her second internship with ChristianaCare for Tania Paden. Her eight weeks at Christiana Hospital had left her feeling more confident in herself and excited to continue exploring direct patient care as she prepares to head back to Delaware State University in the fall.

 “I learned how to be more comfortable with direct patient care and communicate with the patients,” Paden said. “My favorite thing would have to be going to tour the different units and getting shadowing experiences throughout the hospital.”

Paden is one of 10 Future of Health Scholarship Program recipients at ChristianaCare. Graduates from Delaware high schools attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were each awarded a $12,500 annual scholarship and a paid summer internship in 2021 each year until they graduate.

The program, a partnership between ChristianaCare and the HBCU Week Foundation, is designed to help support HBCU students as they pursue degrees in health care.

Teachable moments and big opportunities  Paden’s enthusiasm is shared by Natalie Torres, director of Inclusion & Diversity at ChristianaCare, who oversees the scholarship program.

 “This experience is so much more than offering the scholarship funding,” Torres said. “It’s the time, it’s those quiet moments in-between meetings and their experiences where the teachable moments really take place.

“When they come to us, we really want to lock into their lived experiences, and not only make sure they can thrive at ChristianaCare, but in life.”

With these scholarships and other community-based endeavors, ChristianaCare continues to work to build a diverse workforce and represent its communities. Forbes recently listed ChristianaCare as one of America’s Best Employers for Diversity for the fourth year in a row.

Although she is a young intern herself, Aniyah Barnett, a rising biochemistry junior at Hampton University, jumped at the chance to help make new caregivers feel comfortable at ChristianaCare. She played a key role welcoming medical and dental residents to campus.

“My favorite project was probably the new resident orientation,” Barnett said. “I spent time getting all the new residents together, making sure they have all the information they need, and getting to meet them!”

A pathway to medicine  For Ashley Christopher, Esq., founder and CEO of HBCU Week Foundation, these scholarships mean a lot. Ten years ago, Christopher had a stroke that left her feeling scared and alone as she lay in hospital. Her cardiologist, a Black woman, was the only one who made her feel heard, she told the students during their summer-end dinner.

 With IT experiences gained at ChristianaCare, Future of Health scholar Solomon Devard is thinking about continuing on that path to become a system administrator for a big corporation.
“She was the only one who made me feel safe, secure and seen during a time where I was questioning life as I knew it,” Christopher said.

“You can do and be anything coming from an HBCU. This scholarship gives students who want to go to HBCUs a pathway to the field of medicine for more people who look like me to tend to the care of patients.”

The HBCU Week Foundation creates opportunities through coaching and scholarships for students who want to attend HBCUs. To support these efforts, ChristianaCare committed $500,000 to providing financial and networking support, and hands-on experiences for HBCU students.

“These students are energized, they’re talented, and I’m so excited for the next step,” Christopher said. “I just feel so happy to be a part of that process.”


‘You Can Do and Be Anything Coming From an HBCU’

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