The Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee recognizes the challenges that many communities face because of targeted attacks, and with the CAHL Board of Directors, acknowledges the impact this has on our membership and their families and organizations. Just weeks into 2023, we have already seen several mass shootings in California that directly impacted the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, as well as continued police violence towards the Black community, including the recent brutal beating and killing of Tyre Nichols. We acknowledge the toll such egregious events take on our members, and how this challenges our ability to show up to work, at home, and in all aspects of our lives.
Having entered Black History Month, the JEDI Committee would like to reiterate that as an association of healthcare leaders, we have an obligation to call attention to intolerable acts of violence, raise awareness, create and then hold safe spaces, and honor our members and their work through difficult times. This obligation is not only for our members, but also for the individuals we serve in the healthcare community who are similarly confronting these issues daily.
The JEDI Committee’s goal and mission is not only creating and keeping a safe space for all groups, communities, and cultures, but also bringing to light any inequities within our healthcare systems. To support you, our members, in your vital efforts to improve and ensure equitable outcomes in your organizations, we invite you to join us in this work by making your voice known. Engage with JEDI or any other CAHL Board Director or committee: share your concerns or challenges with us so that we can advance the JEDI charge to drive positive change in our organizations and communities.
As we organize for the year ahead, our commitment to you, the members of CAHL, is that we will not only put in the work, but we will make it “THE WORK” that is visible to and respected by all groups, communities, and cultures.
In solidarity,
The JEDI Committee
The CAHL Board of Directors