The following statement can be attributed to Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” As we honor Dr. King today and the legacy he created striving for racial equality, the MHA and our member hospitals and health systems remain committed to the pledge every MHA member chief executive officer originally signed in 2020 indicating a unified responsibility to addressing disparities, dismantling institutional racism and achieving health equity. Simply put, hospital leaders will continue to listen, act and lead towards achieving health equity and eliminating racial disparities.
Words do not do justice to the tremendous change Dr. King led in our country. It falls on each of us as leaders to continue his work. In our hospitals, efforts persist to ensure all healthcare professionals are trained on the impacts of unconscious bias. With the help of the MHA Keystone Center, over 90% of hospitals have completed the Health Equity Organizational Assessment to identify the health equity priorities for their communities. Industry leaders are also meeting from all areas of Michigan within the MHA Keystone Center’s Health Equity Task Force to make health equity engrained in all facets of care.
Hospitals have treated the end results of decades of health inequity for far too long. We remind Michiganders today that eliminating health disparities is an all-hands-on-deck effort. The time is now for healthcare leaders to drive change and to achieve more equitable healthcare in Michigan.