BHCHP’s Commitment to Equity and Inclusion
Health equity and justice have been guiding principles at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program from our founding in 1985. In 2019, our Board of Directors along with our Equity and Social Justice Committee voted to amend our Mission Statement to appropriately reflect this commitment: To ensure unconditionally equitable and dignified access to the highest quality health care for all individuals and families experiencing homelessness in our community.
From our earliest days as a program, we have always sought to do work that is transformational: recognizing our shared humanity; centering dignity, compassion, mutual respect and supporting the right of every individual to access the highest levels of health care and every staff member to reach their fullest potential. We continue to be committed to building bridges and breaking down barriers, including systemic racism which harms us all. We provide community-based health care services that are compassionate, dignified, and culturally appropriate, incorporating social determinants of health, with the goal of breaking down the physical and systemic barriers that our patients face.
We remain committed to promoting and sustaining an inclusive environment that is welcoming, supportive, and respectful of the diverse backgrounds and life experiences of both patients and staff without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, military services, national origin, immigration status, genetic information, or marital status. We must and will continue to strive to adapt and improve in our quest to maintain excellence in these areas.
As a program, we continue to recognize our ongoing responsibility to do more to create and sustain an equitable and just environment for our patients and staff. Our longstanding commitment to equity goals became formalized in 2006 when we established our BHCHP Diversity Committee, composed of staff and managers from across our program. This group has since evolved into our Equity and Social Justice Committee. In 2015, we conducted a broad assessment of our diversity climate and saw the importance of creating the senior position of Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer.
We have made significant strides over the years, but the murder of George Floyd summoned a greater call for action. Achieving equity is a lifelong pursuit and we realize that we must always strive to do more. In 2020, we created the Equity and Inclusion Partners to support the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer.
Through the larger Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative, headed by our Medical Director, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, and the Equity and Inclusion Partners, our Equity and Social Justice Committee and Immigrant Health Initiative, and our Senior Management team, BHCHP is taking deliberate steps to foster an equitable, safe environment for staff and patients alike. We are critically examining the systemic inequities that drive poor health and unequal access to quality health care, while addressing how structural racism manifests within our own workplace and care model.
We strive to empower staff on their own racial and social justice journeys through a continuous schedule of frequent trainings, discussions, caucuses, expert speakers, and working groups designed to bring racial equity to the forefront of our collective consciousness.
Achievements:
BHCHP is proud to have been named a 2019, 2020, and 2022 LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader by the Human Rights Campaign. Leader status is awarded to health care facilities that attained a score of 100 in the Healthcare Equality Index. In 2021, the Human Rights Campaign moved to releasing HEI data every other year. Our commitment to LGBTQ patient-centered care is unwavering, and this award reflects BHCHP’s staff-wide efforts and dedication to equity.
Creating a space of belonging
At BHCHP we strive to maintain the work of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion so that we move towards the eradication instead of the perpetuation of the harms caused by systemic racism. We provide every staff person foundational equity literacy learning opportunities which then allow us to build cultural understanding and create a space of belonging for all.
Leadership at BHCHP has implemented a second full-day of new staff orientation solely focused on equity and includes foundational topics—including micro aggressions and implicit bias trainings—as well as classes to support translation services.
Through all these efforts, BHCHP is establishing a standard of excellence and inclusion from within our program, which will both improve our staff’s work experiences and our ability to provide the highest quality health care to all patients.
Sampling of JEDI Programs and Initiatives:
- New staff attend a full day of training focused on JEDI- Justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism.
- Recognizing monthly observances and cultural and religious holidays
- Language Immersion Courses that support translation services at BHCHP.
- Equity focused Brown Bag Lunches and various related classes
- Staff led Committees and Caucus Groups
- Salary premium for bi-lingual and multi-lingual proficiency
- Equity based Employee Benefits
- Equity Program Highlights
JEDI Contacts:
Patricia Holliday, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer – pholliday@bhchp.org
Adline Juste, Equity and Inclusion Associate – ajuste@bhchp.org
Levi Green, Equity and Inclusion Partner – lgreen@bhchp.org
To learn more about supporting our DEI efforts:
Corporations and Foundations: Colleen Eagan, Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations, ceagan@bhchp.orgIndividuals: Linda O’Connor, Chief Development Officer, loconnor@bhchp.org
Interested in getting involved with the BHCHP Equity Efforts?
Contact JEDI at jedi@bhchp.org
