Since our #WhiteCoatsforBlackLives demonstration and racial justice town hall, Pennsylvania Hospital has continued crucial dialogues surrounding institutional and systemic racism and reaffirmed our solidarity with the health system’s mission to advance a culture of diversity, inclusion, and equality. This summer, leaders at PAH and across Penn Medicine underwent trainings examining unconscious bias and how to start the conversation on race and racism. These types of workshops will be opened up to all faculty, staff, trainees, and students in the coming months.
The Executive Leadership Team has also been focused on adapting the “Action for Cultural Transformation” (ACT) plan created by the Office of Inclusion and Diversity into an operational framework for PAH. I am deeply grateful for the thoughtful feedback that employees across disciplines have shared, and as we take the next step toward justice and equality, I hope that you will continue to engage in this essential work. I invite you to share your voices, experiences, and ideas by participating in workgroups focused on each of the thematic areas of the ACT plan.
These themes — creating an antiracist culture centered on listening and learning; setting people up for success with opportunities for advancement; ensuring the excellent clinical care we provide is equitable; supporting research led by underrepresented minorities in medicine, including work addressing health disparities; providing students, trainees, and staff with culturally competent education; and partnering with the diverse community we serve to better support their needs — are complex, but over the next year, we will identify opportunities for sustainable change, refine impactful long- and short-term goals, and advance our understanding of and commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion.
Whether you commit to participating in one of these workgroups or are inspired to act in other ways on your teams and in your communities, we are all in this together. Each of us plays an integral part in the success of this cultural transformation. Though this journey will take time, effort, and a willingness to grapple with challenging and uncomfortable subjects, I am proud to embark on it with the Pennsylvania Hospital family at my side. Let’s get to work.