A Diversity Message from Neil Meltzer, President and CEO, and Dr. Sybil Pentsil, Chief Diversity Officer - January 2023

A meaningful commitment to diversity and belonging is one of our most essential priorities here at LifeBridge Health. Our office of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI), formerly known as DEI, supports this commitment through action, advocacy and education. JEDI is an increasingly common acronym which includes the concept of justice, integral to our core values as an office and organization. Each concept represented in the JEDI acronym is vital to improving the LifeBridge Health experience for all patients, visitors and team members. Over the next four months, we’ll be highlighting a different aspect of the JEDI team’s work in each monthly Diversity Message, beginning this month with Justice.

Justice has to do with rights and fixing what is wrong. When a leader or team functions through the lens of justice it means that fairness prevails in team activities and barriers to inclusion and equity are addressed. Examples of this could include changing policies to ensure and encourage diverse hiring and addressing cultural norms that make it difficult for some team members to thrive.

New Year’s Day
2023 has begun! As members of our LifeBridge Health team and community welcome the new year with celebrations and resolutions, we take this opportunity to express our gratitude – to our team members, for your hard work and commitment to care and to our community members for their trust and partnership. From all of us here at LifeBridge Health, we wish safe and joyful celebrations and a wonderful new year to all. 

Blood Donor Month
January is Blood Donor Month, dedicated to honoring those who’ve donated blood and inspiring others to do the same. By donating blood and/or platelets, you’re directly helping to save lives and improve outcomes for those in need. This month, we encourage you to consider making a life-changing blood donation! 

Orthodox Christmas and New Year
Orthodox Christians around the world will celebrate Christmas and New Year's Day on January 7 and 14, respectively. These dates are based on the Julian calendar, which predates the Gregorian calendar most commonly used today. Orthodox Christian Christmas celebrations vary based on culture, but generally include attending church services, family gatherings and large feasts.

World Religion Day (third Sunday in January)
Established by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States in 1950, World Religion Day began as an observance of the Baháʼí belief that all religions exist in spiritual harmony. World Religion Day has since spread beyond the Baháʼí faith to be embraced by many others around the world as a promotion of mutual understanding and tolerance between members of different faiths. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day
The holiday honoring the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Jan. 15) will be observed this year on January 16 and honors the legacy of its namesake. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a prolific advocate for racial equality and a fierce opponent of the virulent discrimination faced by African American people in the United States. Dr. King is one of the most prominent contributors to the cause of anti-racism in the history of the United States, and his birthday serves as both a celebration of his efforts and an opportunity to reflect on progress that still needs to be made in the struggle against racism. 

Holocaust Remembrance Day 
Holocaust Remembrance Day takes place annually on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. During the Holocaust, perpetrated by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945, approximately six million Jews were killed along with millions of others including Soviet citizens, Poles, Serbs, Romanis, disabled people, Free Masons, Slovenes, homosexuals, Spanish Republicans and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Holocaust Remembrance Day serves as a somber reminder of Nazism’s consequences and the need to resist antisemitism, racism and other forms of discrimination. 

Calls to Action:

Reflect
• Think about your goals for 2023. Consider how you can make your work environment more just. 

Recognize
• Are there any practices in your unit/division that prevent anyone from being fully included?

Respond
• Be the change. Do one thing to address injustice in your sphere of influence. 
• The engagement survey will go out January 16 to February 3, and new JEDI-related questions have been included. We encourage all team members and providers to take the survey and share your perspectives.