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Shyun Lin, a registered nurse in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, gives Alda Maxis, 70, the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccination site in the William Reid Apartments Jan. 23, 2021. (CNS photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool via Reuters)
The Catholic Health Association, a group of 23 Catholic health care systems that collectively employs nearly 500,000 people across 46 states and Washington, D.C., announced its commitment to the pursuit of health equity in order to help fight systemic racism. The plan places a particular emphasis on ensuring equal access to Covid-19 testing, treatment and vaccination.
Tragedies in communities of color, such as police killings and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic, “demonstrate the urgent need to address the devastating impact racism has had on the health and well-being of individuals and communities,” Mary Haddad, R.S.M., the president of the Catholic Health Association, said in a press release on Feb. 4.
Feb. 4, 2021 Catholic News Service WASHINGTON In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the nation s movement for racial reckoning, the Catholic Health Association of the United States announced an initiative to confront racism in the provision of health care. The initiative was announced in a Feb. 4 news conference on Zoom with Catholic health care leaders. With a deep sense of urgency, we feel called to act, said Mercy Sister Mary Haddad, CHA president and CEO. She said the pandemic s impact on people of color and the racial justice protests of last year demonstrated our strides against racism have simply not been enough . more must be done.
Largest Catholic health systems pledge to confront racism
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Ascension, CommonSpirit Health, Trinity Health and 20 other Catholic health systems have pledged to confront systemic racism in part through top-down examinations of their operations to ensure they re promoting diversity and inclusion.
The systems, which together treat more than 4 million patients annually and employ almost half a million people in the U.S., unveiled the initiative Thursday alongside leaders from the Catholic Health Association. A big part of the undertaking will be addressing the disparities that led to COVID-19 s disproportionately devastating impact on communities of color. They ll also ensure COVID tests are accessible in minority communities and vaccinations are prioritized for those at higher risk.