SIHF HEALTHCARE & TOUCHETTE REGIONAL HOSPITAL TO BUILD UPON MISSION TO ADDRESS RACIAL EQUITY AND EQUALITY.
The following statement was issued jointly by Larry McCulley, CEO of SIHF Healthcare and Touchette Regional Hospital; Willie B. Nelson, Sr., Chair of the SIHF Board of Directors; and Richard Sauget, Sr., Chair of the Touchette Board of Directors:
The nation – and the communities we serve here in Illinois – is distressed by the recent horrific deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmad Aubrey. Distress and anger created from racial injustice that has existed far too long and must be overcome. We are seeing pain, frustration, anger, grief, and fear in our communities.
SIHF Healthcare and Touchette Regional Hospital were built on and continue to embrace equality, diversity, and inclusion that clearly demonstrate our stance for equality, respect and dignity to our employees, our families, our patients, and our communities! We have always fought to combat racial disparities in health care, housing, employment, education, and in our judicial and legal systems.
Today, we announce an expansion of this fight to address the impact of racial disparity and injustice through a strengthened Commitment to Equity and Equality. As a healthcare system and community leaders we must do better to hear the voices and advocate for equity and equality in the lives of those suppressed for way too long. Our strengthened actions will focus on internal goals to ensure: 1) A workforce that welcomes and seeks to learn the necessity of diversity for a stronger pathway to equity and equality; 2) A work culture that welcomes continual learning and open conversation on the systematic inequities that have impacted racism; 3) Mentorship that provides resources and programming that fosters the growth of knowledge, access to new experiences, shared learning, and a professional support system for our team; and 4) A new pathway for professional and personal growth for each member of our team through new Personal Support Plans that set professional and personal growth goals and objectives that shall contribute to equity and equality.
We will address external conditions by pursuing goals that: 1) Take action to achieve health equities for access and outcomes to health care services and community services like nutrition, affordable housing, safe neighborhoods, and recreation opportunities; 2) Achieve income equity so that we overcome the greatest barrier by growing employment through job programs and partnerships; 3) Pursue an active role in addressing violence and crime in partnership with local leaders that targets the root cause of inequities: 4) Establish partnerships that foster knowledge and personal growth with a focus on income, banking, and community reinvestment.
We will not stand by idly in our opposition to all forms of racial injustice in our efforts to build on our vision and mission statements to achieve equity and equality.
SIHF Healthcare and Touchette Regional Hospital will use this commitment for inspiration to move forward with strengthened energy toward equity and equality around us.
ABOUT US:
Touchette Regional Hospital was founded in the 1950's as Centreville Township Hospital after an African-American youth was refused treatment at local hospitals. SIHF Healthcare was started in the 1980's due to the lack of healthcare access in the same communities. SIHF Healthcare now serves over 105,000 patients with health centers in 11 Illinois counties.