One mid-Missouri health provider is joining a nationwide effort to confront systemic racism by achieving health equity.
ST. LOUIS - One mid-Missouri health provider is joining a nationwide effort to confront systemic racism by achieving health equity.
SSM Health joins 22 of the nation s largest Catholic health care systems taking part in the initiative led by the St. Louis-based Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA). The vast majority of our health is not medical, said Dennis Gonzales, CHA Senior Director. Health systems are normally thought of as only caring for the medical, and we certainly do that. But we can also address other areas, other social determinants.
SSM Health joins Catholic Health Care Systems to confront racism, achieve health equity
SSM Health
SSM Health has announced that it is joining with the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) in a new initiative to confront racism by achieving health equity. SSM Health joins 22 of the nation’s largest Catholic health care systems committed to confronting systemic racism by prioritizing equity in response to COVID-19; enacting change across their own health care systems by examining and changing hiring, promotion and retention practices to ensure diversity and inclusion; forming stronger partnerships with communities of color to improve health outcomes; and leveraging their united and powerful voice to advocate for policy changes that address the root causes of racism and social injustice.
“COVID-19’s greater impact on communities of color and the police killings of George Floyd and others demonstrate the urgent need to address the devastating impact racism has on the health and well-being of individuals and communities,” said Sister Mary Haddad, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association of the United States.
Feb. 4, 2021 Catholic News Service WASHINGTON In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the nation s movement for racial reckoning, the Catholic Health Association of the United States announced an initiative to confront racism in the provision of health care. The initiative was announced in a Feb. 4 news conference on Zoom with Catholic health care leaders. With a deep sense of urgency, we feel called to act, said Mercy Sister Mary Haddad, CHA president and CEO. She said the pandemic s impact on people of color and the racial justice protests of last year demonstrated our strides against racism have simply not been enough . more must be done.
Catholic Health Care Systems Make Comprehensive Commitment to Confronting Racism by Achieving Health Equity
USA - English
Share this article
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/
The Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) today launched a membership-driven initiative to confront racism by achieving health equity.
Twenty-three of the nation s largest Catholic health care systems have already pledged their commitment to confronting systemic racism by prioritizing equity in response to COVID-19; enacting change across their own health care systems by examining and changing hiring, promotion and retention practices to ensure diversity and inclusion; forming stronger partnerships with communities of color to improve health outcomes; and leveraging their united and powerful voice to advocate for policy changes that address the root causes of racism and social injustice.