Jackson Care Connect’s Board of Directors set “health, well-being and equity for all people of Jackson County” as the guiding vision for our CCO. We are being reminded today—nearly seven years later—just how much work is still required to achieve this vision.

The recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor have catalyzed righteous anger, fear and grief, and they have captured the attention of the world in a powerful fashion. They are sparking important conversations about racism and privilege across families, communities, employers and policy makers. They have also deeply impacted me personally as a parent and ally, who is listening and learning how to be a more active partner for change.

We at Jackson Care Connect are listening intently to the voices of those protesting police violence and unjust policies in communities of all people of color. We affirm that Black Lives Matter and we condemn racism—in all the different ways it exists in our community. We refuse to be silent while continued injustices are disregarded.

With this in mind, we will revisit our work under the Community Health Improvement Plan to find additional ways we, as a health care provider, can work to address the needs of our community members who are black, indigenous and Latinx, and all people of color. Data shows that people of color in our valley experience more barriers to health and well-being, and we will dig into our Health Equity work with a renewed commitment to improving health for all, and work to counter discrimination, whether that be due to disabilities, gender, age, sexual identity, ethnicity or race.

Our work at Jackson Care Connect is rooted in our mission and vision, and we are proudly committed to the health of the most vulnerable in our community – whether they are a JCC member, staff or neighbor. The impacts of policies and institutions are etched into all of our bodies as health histories. We are committing to be more active in addressing inequities, to achieve our vision of health, well-being and equity for all people of Jackson County.

Jennifer Lind

CEO, Jackson Care Connect