Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity

Announcements from the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity

• Celebrating National Disability Employment Appreciation Month

  October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), and it raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the contributions of all employees with disabilities. We are honored to pay tribute to the accomplishments of our valued faculty, staff, trainees and patients who are living with a disability. Check out our event page for information about events being held during the month in honor of NDEAM.

  Please take this opportunity to learn about the amazing ways some of your colleagues are working to improve the lives of those in the disability community. Meet these Achievers Award recipients.

  James Deremeik, Research Associate, Rehabilitation Therapist for Low Vision, JHU, Ophthalmology has been working for the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins for over 25 years, caring for patients with chronic vision loss in the Lions Vision Research and Rehabilitation Center. As a Rehabilitation Therapist and low vision specialist, Deremeik has been integral in the establishment of many different clinical programs that address the education and/or rehabilitation needs for the communities of children and adults with low vision.

  Anna Moyer Graduate Student  JHU, SOM, Physics has been highly involved in the Johns Hopkins disability community as a student leader and as someone with a chronic illness. She leads the Equal Access in Science and Medicine committee, which is a group of PhD students in the School of Medicine dedicated to disability awareness, accommodations, and representation. One of Moyer’s most successful projects is Accessible Chef, a website she created to teach cooking skills to people with intellectual disabilities. 

  A.J. Nanayakkara ADA/ Accessibility Program Manager Johns Hopkins Health System, primary responsibility is to provide guidance to managers and departments when evaluating specific or appropriate accommodations or accessibility arrangements needed for an individual. However, AJ has a passion and mission that extends much broader when it comes to disability inclusion. AJ has created an impactful and important disability etiquette training program that provides JHH staff with a toolkit of disability cultural competency.

  Elijah Shannon, Child Life Aide, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, embraces his role of maintaining all toys and play spaces in the organization to ensure that all children have a safe place to play. Shannon must follow strict regulatory requirements and guidelines which requires critical thinking to ensure safety in each situation. He does this with great vigor and joy and loves to interact with others, especially children, making everyone feel welcome and comfortable regardless of any disability, difference or personality. He is a role model for how to treat others.

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Facts & Definitions

  JHM Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity
  Fast Facts Definition Sheet

  Diversity: Any collective mixture characterized by differences including (but not limited to) socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability status, or veteran status. Diversity focuses on representation.
  

  • Being invited to the dance.

  
  

  Inclusion: A practice of encouraging belonging and participation and celebration of differences. Inclusion focuses on involvement.

  • Being asked to dance.

  
  

  Equity: According to the World Health Organization, equity is the absence of avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people, whether those groups are defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographically; equity is the process and equality is the outcome (see the graphic below). Equity focuses on justice.

  • A practice of addressing the unique barriers that disadvantage a subset of the population because of their differences—providing transportation for those who do not have a ride to the dance.

  Download the full fact sheet 
  

• JHM Black Lives Matter Statement

  To the Johns Hopkins Medicine Community​​​​​​​

  Dear Colleagues,

  The mission of Johns Hopkins Medicine speaks to the values of our organization — namely, to “improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care.” Deeply embedded in this objective is the recognition that our institution cannot fulfill its mission without appropriately focusing on the values that guide us. This can be best described as our embrace of diversity and inclusion.

  Johns Hopkins Medicine is fully committed to serving the broader community. We must, and will, celebrate not only what makes us individually different and unique, but also what binds us together as a society. The health and well-being of the people we serve as an historic medical institution is critically important. Also vital is our respect for everyone employed by our organization, as well as anyone with whom our institution comes into contact. Johns Hopkins supports the noble cause of promoting social justice and joins the greater community, both near and far, in condemning and opposing racism, bigotry and intolerance in all forms.

  Black lives do indeed matter. This nation’s history does not always reflect the lofty sentiments expressed in its founding documents. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were not ideals originally afforded to everyone. For far too long, our nation has struggled to ensure equal justice under law for all its citizens. From the abolition of slavery, to efforts to desegregate how we interacted with one another in public places, to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, finding a more perfect union has always been our shared burden.

  Now, present day, we occupy another defining moment in our nation’s history. A time when we are presented with yet another opportunity to demonstrate that we, collectively, can rise above partisanship and deeply entrenched cultural beliefs to become better versions of ourselves. We can, and must, face this opportunity collectively. In doing so, we have the ability to steer the direction of our nation to its proper path. As an institution, Johns Hopkins Medicine is committed to undertaking this endeavor by doing its part to foster understanding, collaboration and dialog designed to bridge whatever artificial divides or obstacles have served as barriers to progress in the past.

  Black Lives Matter is not a political statement. Rather, it is the expression of a core value and principle that was unfortunately long denied to many of our citizens. Just as with White Coats for Black Lives, it is a statement of peace and solidarity that our organization embraces, not a comment meant to sow division and mistrust.

  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. remarked, “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” These powerful words recognize that we are united by a common destiny. One that requires shared sacrifice and mutual understanding. Together, we have the power to make permanent and lasting change for the better. And together, we can create a better future for the generations that follow. We are guided by these values, and we will live up to our obligations.

  
  

  Sincerely,

  Paul B. Rothman, M.D.

  Dean of the Medical Faculty

  CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine

  
  

  Kevin W. Sowers, M.S.N., R.N., F.A.A.N.

  President, Johns Hopkins Health System

  EVP, Johns Hopkins Medicine

  
  

  Inez Stewart, M.Ed.

  Senior Vice President

  Chief Human Resources Officer

  Johns Hopkins Medicine

  
  

• Racial Discussion Resources

  We recognize that we have a lot more work to do to bring about systemic culture change that will address structural racism within our own organization and enhance the work experience for all of our employees. The JHM Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity (ODIHE) is committed to providing diversity, inclusion, health equity, and cultural competency training across Johns Hopkins Medicine and committed to listening, understanding and implementing strategies to advance and strengthen our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

  Below are lists of resources for your department/unit leadership and staff.

  #HopkinsStrongerTogether!

  • Context of the 2020 Civic Unrest
  • Town Hall Racial Discussion Template
  • Support Resources for Black Individuals and Communities
  • 10 Steps to Non-Optical Allyship
  • Suggested Readings, Documentaries, and Movies
    • Suggested Race Education Reading List
    • Additional Suggested Readings
    • JH Resource Guide
  • 400 Years of African-American History in Maryland
  • Johns Hopkins Stands in Solidarity Against Racism and Inequity
  • Tips for Managers in the Workplace
  • Interrupting Bias: Calling Out vs. Calling In

  
  

  Suggested Resources: Talking to Children About Race

  • Four Questions to Ask Yourself Before Talking to Your Kids About Racism
  • A Parent's Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice
  • "But Daddy, Why Was He Shot?": How to Talk to Children about Race
  • Talking to Kids about Ahmaud
  • I'm a White Mother of a Black Son and We All Need to Talk to Our Kids About Ahmaud Arbery
  • White Parents: Here's How To (and How Not To) Talk to Your Kids About Racism
  • A Conversation to Consider: Get Home Safely: 10 Rules of Survival
  • Imani Perry | Breathe: A Letter to My Sons (Interview, Book Link, Article)
  • WBUR.ORG Interview on The Importance of Addressing Race with Your Children
  • How to Talk to Your Children about Protests and Racism
  • Talking to Kids About Race
  • Resources for Talking About Race, Racism and Racialized Violence with Kids
  • 10 Ways to Start a Conversation About Race
  • Harford County Public Library: Resources on Discussing Racism
• COVID-19 Resources

  As we face this unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 outbreak, we would like to highlight available resources for our Johns Hopkins employees and the within our community.

  JHM Internal Staff Resources
  JHM Internal Clinical Resources
  Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Resources for Families
  Johns Hopkins Community Resources​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

  Spanish Patient COVID website