Where We Stand on Health Equity and Racial Justice
As an organization that advocates for health equity, SCHA recognizes that there are racial disparities throughout this state and this country that disproportionately impact black and brown communities. Like our hospitals throughout South Carolina, we are dismayed by the death of George Floyd and continue to listen to those who are marching in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville and areas across this state in protest of systemic racism. We support every South Carolinians’s right to protest in a way that respects the communities where hospitals work 24/7 to care for all individuals.
Healthcare providers grapple with these disparities every day and we are well aware of the challenges and opportunities that exist to work towards a better state of health. Much of the work supported by the SCHA Foundation directly addresses racial health disparities, from the Alliance for a Healthier SC that is a driving force for health equity, to the Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas community coalitions that are working to address obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
As we continue to see the impact of COVID-19 disproportionately affect communities of color in our state, SCHA will be making renewed efforts at putting health equity front and center in the conversation at the State House and in Washington. Our goal is a better state of health for every South Carolinian, regardless of race, creed or color, and we know that our hospitals are united in meeting that challenge every day.