A letter to our communities,
To our black employees, patients, and communities, we know you are hurting, and we hurt with you. We stand with you and for you, with a promise to take action to fight injustice, inequality and discrimination.
The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and so many others have brought into clear focus the tangible and painful impact that racism, social injustice and police violence have on the lives and wellbeing of Black Americans. We are heartbroken over these senseless acts and the resulting civic unrest. It is obvious there is much work to be done to create an equitable society for everyone. To our black employees, patients, and communities, we know you are hurting, and we hurt with you. We stand with you and for you, with a promise to take action to fight injustice, inequality and discrimination. While we know long-term action and sustained transformation are needed, we are announcing the following steps today to show our immediate support:
- We will actively listen to all voices for justice and equality and especially to those voices from our black employees, patients and community members;
- With advice from Landmark’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, we will launch anti-bias and cultural competency training for our managers and team members;
- To directly show our support and demonstrate that we believe that Black Lives Matter, we will make a financial donation of $150,000, split equally amongst three charities of our employees’ choosing that support black communities; and
- We know there is much more to be done and we will be collaborating with experts to improve our awareness and focus on strategies that advance inclusion and equity.
In 2020, COVID-19 emerged as yet another risk disproportionately threatening black lives. Already suffering from higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and access to care, the latest data shows that black Americans have died from the disease at 2.4 times the rate of white Americans.[1]
As medical providers, Landmark Health and our affiliated medical groups have the privilege and responsibility of caring for some of our nation’s most complex, frail people, in their homes. We meet their families, join their healthcare teams, help them manage multiple chronic conditions and urgent medical events, and support them as they and their families make the most intimate decisions about the care they receive at the end of their lives. Doing this work takes a remarkable, compassionate, committed team of employees.
Going to work when you are in pain and worried about your family and community is hard.
We thank every one of our team members for the extraordinary care they provide every day, while recognizing that some of these same team members (and especially those members of the black community) are hurting. Please know that we will continue to use our voice and platform to make progress together on stamping out social injustice and racism.