A Diversity Message From Neil Meltzer - February

Before I begin my February diversity message, I want to address some concerns that I have been hearing from some of our employees as well as members of our communities.

As an organization, we generally refrain from taking a position on political issues not directly related to health care. However, there are some principles that we assert proudly and unequivocally. At LifeBridge Health, our diversity is part of our strength. We're only able to provide high-quality health care to our patients because of the contributions of a diverse group of dedicated staff members, including many who have come to us from countries around the world.

While, as individuals, we may have differing faiths, traditions or political philosophies, we are united in our shared goal of caring for our communities. Part of that goal is caring for each other, so we will do what we can to assist and support any of our colleagues who may be personally affected by rapidly changing events. If you have personally been impacted and need advice, please contact our legal department.

This month we're celebrating Black History Month. In 1926, historian and journalist Carter G. Woodson, along with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, lobbied for a week-long commemoration of African American history. The second week of February was chosen because it marked the birthdays of social reformer, abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. In 1969, the Black United Students, a group at Kent State University, proposed to extend the week-long celebration to a month, which was officially recognized nationwide in 1976.

Especially during this month, we should take the time to acknowledge the incredible contributions that African Americans have made to our country and culture. One of the new ways to observe the month is by visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in September. Part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, its contents are devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history and culture.

Congress has set aside Feb. 3 as Four Chaplains Day. On this day, four military chaplains from different backgrounds and faiths will be remembered for giving their lives to save civilians and military personnel during the sinking of the troop transport ship Dorchester during World War II. The chaplains - Methodist minister George L. Fox, Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Catholic priest John P. Washington and Reformed Church in America minister Clark V. Poling - joined arms, said prayers and sang hymns as they went down with the ship on Feb. 3, 1943.

Tu B'Shevat, or the New Year of the Trees, falls on Feb. 10 and 11. Known as Jewish Arbor Day, it is one of the four New Years in the Jewish calendar. To mark the holiday, Jews in Israel and around the world plant trees in honor or in memory of loved ones.

On Feb. 15 Mahayana Buddhists around the world will celebrate Parinirvana Day. Buddhists believe this is the day that Buddha experienced his physical death, freedom from earthly suffering and his entry into Nirvana. Nirvana, one of the most essential concepts in the Buddhist philosophy, reflects an ultimate state of peace and enlightenment and a release from the cycle of death and rebirth. Buddhists use this holiday as a day of reflection by going to temple for meditation and prayer.

The message behind Random Acts of Kindness Week - that we are only as strong as the most vulnerable members of our communities - is lived out every day, in every interaction we have with our patients and each other at LifeBridge Health. Random Acts of Kindness Week, which runs Feb. 12-18, recognizes that small gestures like letting someone go ahead of you in line at the grocery store or complimenting a work colleague for their excellence uplifts us and our communities. Showing kindness to others allows us to honor their uniqueness, transcend our differences and create a more compassionate world.

At LifeBridge Health we celebrate both what makes us diverse and unique, and what makes us the same - our shared purpose of caring for communities together.

- Written by Neil Meltzer, president and CEO of LifeBridge Health