Creating the Beloved Community

This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we affirm our commitment to eliminating systemic racism and achieving health equity in the communities we serve, by engaging in intentional conversation with our teams and community members, elevating the voices of those who marched with Dr. King, and volunteering virtually.

Many Spectrum Health team members are honoring Dr. King’s legacy during the week by distributing food baskets and hand sanitizers, participating in blood drives, and elevating the voices of those who marched with Dr. King, reading a book on diversity and exploring other resources available to our community, such as the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University.

Dr. King had a particular phrase to describe the world he worked so tirelessly to bring about: “the beloved community.” In Dr. King’s beloved community, human interactions are characterized by mutual respect. People of all ages, colors, genders and histories come together based on shared understanding and common goals. This vision of beloved community fueled Dr. King’s work, his championing of civil rights, commitment to nonviolence and deep concern for the well-being of others.

This is work Spectrum Health is called to do by our own mission, vision and values, and our longstanding history of improving health for our communities. Like Dr. King, we try to bring about a better, fairer and healthier world. Like Dr. King, as we look around our system, communities and world today, we recognize we still have far to go.

Achieving health equity is a long-term commitment. We are on a journey, and we are making progress. This MLK Day comes after a year filled with milestone actions to promote greater diversity, equity and inclusion.

These actions include:

•  Expanding health equity funding by an additional 40%—a total commitment of $100M over the next 10 years
• Holding a systemwide virtual Day of Understanding on Juneteenth, to talk openly and honestly about the impacts of systemic racism on Spectrum Health, our teams, patients and communities
• Adopting a systemwide Pledge to Act to eliminate racism and achieve health equity
• Forming a system Health Equity Council and health equity committee on our System Board of Directors, to help monitor and guide health equity initiatives
• Updating our Responding to Patient and Visitor Bias policy and creating an Anti-Bias Response Team to assist team members who encounter incidents of bias or discrimination in the workplace
• Enhancing unconscious bias training and cultural education offerings for all team members
• Engaging in proactive outreach to our diverse communities, particularly communities most at risk from COVID-19 and most challenged by barriers
• Designating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday 

Through intentional words and actions, holding each other accountable, listening, learning and continuing to do better, together, we can bring ourselves and our world a bit closer to the one Dr. King envisioned. Through our shared purpose and living our values, we can help create the beloved community, here and now.