MultiCare stands against racism
By By Bill Robertson, President and CEO
We have been deeply saddened and disturbed by the events of the last few weeks. We live in very troubled times: the horrible killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the understandable outpouring of sorrow and anger, and the demonstrations that followed, which have often been eclipsed by rioting and looting. We join our community’s call for an end to racism in this country.
Our MultiCare values are respect, integrity, stewardship, excellence, collaboration and kindness. As we always do, we look to these values to guide us in responding to the circumstances we are now facing and to help our communities move forward.
Respect— affirming the dignity of each person and treating each individual we encounter with care and compassion—is exactly the right place to start. It includes how we treat our patients and how we treat each other. It includes addressing our own anxieties and fears and not isolating ourselves from friends and those we trust to discuss and process how we are feeling and what we can do to respond.
The only way to effectively address the most difficult issues of our time is with integrity—to speak and act honestly and in ways that build trust. Any process that will redress injustice and racism must be rooted in a commitment to honesty and transparency. Integrity is elemental to creating the safe, prosperous, and healthy communities that we desire for our children and the future.
At MultiCare, kindness matters in everything we do. Our values call on us to always treat everyone as they want to be treated. Kindness and compassion guide the way we listen, the way we plan, the way we engage, and the way we live.
Events like those of the past week are what drives MultiCare to renew our commitment to addressing the inequities in our communities and in our own organization. We believe everyone deserves the same opportunities to live a healthy life, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, religion or socioeconomic status.
We have provided system-wide education to our staff, built community partnerships, created patient advisory boards and identified ways to increase the diversity of our workforce. While we have made progress, we also recognize that significant and deeply rooted disparities and inequities remain and that we still have much work to do.
We stand with the community in the fight against racism and injustice. We stand with those who call for respect in our relationships with one another, for integrity in what we do and how we do it, and for treating one another with kindness and compassion. We believe that we can work together to create a fair, just, and healthy community—one that is shared by all and is true to our highest calling and values.
