“MHA and our members have serious concerns about the Trump Administration’s recent Executive Order that would restrict anti-racism and anti-discrimination training within organizations, like hospitals, that receiving federal funding. 

Our hospitals have always been more than just places of healing. As we care for and interact with people from every walk of life, our healthcare organizations serve as forums to address some of the most pressing issues facing communities of color and disadvantaged populations. 

The systemic inequities brought to light by the COVID-19 crisis and the events of the past six months have prompted our healthcare system to take a focused look at how our policies and practices reach people of color and other underrepresented communities. 

We have a distinct role to play in being part of the solution, with education being the most powerful tool at our disposal. Hospitals have mounted anti-discrimination programming to ensure that every patient and employee is treated with dignity and without bias. These initiatives not only stand to improve the way our organizations run; they will support the health and wellbeing of our patients.

The Executive Order handed down by the Trump Administration seeks to senselessly undercut our ability to maintain meaningful conversations on these issues, citing them as “divisive” and “anti-American.” The mandate fails to grasp the very mission of these trainings: to bridge the divides that are harming our communities and create a better version of what it means to be an American. 

What’s more, it asks that we disregard the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in exchange for funding that saves countless lives every year.

These topics aren’t political. They’re about doing the hard work required of all of us to improve our society and the health of its people.

MHA and our members will not be deterred in our efforts to educate our healthcare workforce and rethink the way we relate to patients of all backgrounds. We will continue to develop programming that puts equity, diversity, and anti-racism at the heart of our shared mission.”