Memorial Healthcare System Signs CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion Pledge

As part of its ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, Memorial Healthcare Systems has recently signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ pledge. The healthcare system joins more than 2,000 organizations that are taking action to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.

“Within Memorial Healthcare System, these values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of our culture,” said Aurelio M. Fernandez III, president and CEO, Memorial Healthcare System. “It is who we are, and we will continue our long-standing commitment to support initiatives that ensure equity for all.”

The CEO Pledge is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. By signing on to this commitment, CEOs are pledging to take action to cultivate a workplace where diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected, where employees feel encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion, and where best known—and unsuccessful—actions can be shared across organizations in an effort to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

With this promise, Memorial Healthcare System is pledging to:

• Cultivate environments that support open dialogue on complex – and often difficult – conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion
• Implement and expand unconscious bias education and training
• Share best-known diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives – as well as those that have been unsuccessful
• Engage boards of directors when developing and evaluating diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies

CEO Action was founded on a shared belief that diversity, equity, and inclusion is a societal issue, not a competitive one, and that collaboration and bold action from the business community – especially CEOs – is vital to driving change at scale. Its goal is to advance the inclusion of all employees and help them feel supported in the workplace, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability status, veteran status, or other aspects of diversity.

In addition, Memorial also pledged to the American Hospital Association’s #123 for Equity Pledge to Act Campaign, which launched in July 2015 and is building upon the National Call to Action to Eliminate Health Care Disparities. The pledge urges hospital and health system leaders to continue to develop and implement strategies to increase the collection and use of race, ethnicity, and language preference and sociodemographic data; advance cultural competency training; and increase diversity in leadership and governance. A fourth goal was added to improve and strengthen community partnerships.