Together, we stand with our Black members and colleagues.
We stand with our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons.
We stand with all those who believe that racism threatens our common health and safety.
And with those who seek to build a better world. A more just system. A more inclusive future.
At Eden, we cannot effect systemic change in healthcare without recognizing that race is a fundamental part of the equation.
So to our communities and to our families, we want you to know that we are here.
Black Lives Matter.
The events all across our country the last weeks have been profoundly disturbing, punctuated with the killings of George Floyd in Minnesota, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky. We also saw blatant displays of racism such as the incident in Central Park. These horrific events accompany a resurgence of open intolerance and racism of all kinds in our society. All of these appear against the backdrop of the global pandemic that has hit black and brown communities in disproportionate ways.
At Eden Health, we understand that we operate within a system that is inherently unjust, and that silence and neutrality only perpetuate injustice. On Monday afternoon, we brought together our staff to listen, share, and gather as a community. We wanted to create a safe space to have an open dialogue, and to underscore the values of our company, as well as our commitments, not only to sustain our goals of diversity and inclusion but also to elevate them. We spoke of the dangers that Black Americans confront every day, the disgusting discriminations accumulated in everyday life, and the pain of racism and unequal treatment before the law.
Diversity and inclusion are foundational commitments, essential for our success as a healthcare organization and as a society. There is much work to be done, and we will:
- Institute a weekly dialogue and put resources, including healthcare and mental health services towards organizations dedicated to social justice
- Identify and expose barriers and inherent biases that affect our organization and the healthcare system as a whole
- Call on those within our sphere of influence to understand their role within systemic racism and actively work to change those roles to be allies of equity
We believe that an unjust society for some is an unjust society for all. We hope you will join us in standing together.
