Global Patient Week at Bristol Myers Squibb: Connecting for a Purpose

With a worldwide pandemic keeping us apart, Global Patient Week highlights what pulls us together at Bristol Myers Squibb.

COVID-19 is like nothing any of us have seen in our lifetime. It has posed a myriad of challenges to the way we work and live. This pandemic has highlighted healthcare disparities that permeate our society and has accelerated the change curve for us to take action. We have had to pivot to work remotely, adopt new practices to keep our workers safe and create unique solutions to serve our patients.

Even with all the ways COVID-19 separates us, at Bristol Myers Squibb we continue to find new ways to come together. We come together when we see grave injustices, when we experience loss or to celebrate milestones. We remind one another that even though we cannot physically be together, we are still here for each other.

At Bristol Myers Squibb, we dedicate one week each fall for Global Patient Week, a time when we fully immerse ourselves in a celebration of why we exist. It is an opportunity to celebrate the amazing impact of patients’ lives transformed through lifesaving, innovative medicines, and the promise of our new company’s leading-edge science, pipeline and portfolio to reach more patients. It is an opportunity to reconnect to our mission, to be inspired and feel united and unified in our purpose. 

A special addition to our celebration this year is BMS for Community. We are encouraging our global workforce, their families and BMS patients to collectively move in an activity of their choice such as walking, running, biking, swimming, or even volunteering their time – for one million minutes. We will donate $1 for each minute of movement, up to a $1 million donation for the COVID-19 relief efforts of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) around the world and to support the urgent mission of the American Red Cross.  

I plan to cycle along with my family to help support the million minutes of movement goal. My inspiration is essential workers who show up every day, enabling us to continue to fulfill our mission. Some of these essential workers also are Bristol Myers Squibb patients. These are our true heroes.

This year, Global Patient Week serves as a reminder that while we may be miles apart, we are working toward the same goal. We are one Bristol Myers Squibb community, unifying for patients, because there is more to do together.