Seattle Children's Health Equity and Anti-Racism Action Plan June Quarterly Progress Report

Today, Seattle Children’s is releasing the third Health Equity and Anti-Racism Action Plan (Action Plan) quarterly report, on our updated anti-racism web page.

As you will see in this report, Seattle Children’s continues the work to identify, challenge and change the culture, structures and behaviors that perpetuate systemic racism. Reflecting on where we are today, we are grateful for the efforts being made across the organization that will allow Seattle Children’s to become the institution patients, their families and workforce members expect and deserve. Monitoring and sharing progress and challenges is a critical component of holding ourselves accountable. While we want to acknowledge our progress, we remain humble knowing there is still much important work ahead.

Next month marks one year since Covington & Burling LLP completed its independent assessment of Seattle Children's efforts to combat racism and promote equity, diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to share Seattle Children’s CEO Dr. Jeff Sperring has invited Covington & Burling to review the organization’s progress on the Action Plan recommendations for Phase 1. We look forward to Covington’s thorough and independent review starting later this year and will publish the Phase 1 results in their entirety when Covington’s work is complete in spring 2023.

Covington’s review will complement the ongoing work of Seattle Children’s Health Equity and Anti-Racism (HEAR) Council, which serves as the organizing force to help realize the Action Plan. We are grateful for all who are supporting the work to address systemic racism and inequities experienced by our patients, families and workforce.

Seattle Children's equity value calls us to champion inclusivity and to celebrate and promote the diversity of our patients, families, workforce and community members. This value is essential in helping to create an environment where everyone feels heard, respected, and engaged, enabling us to live out all our values.

Thank you for your ongoing engagement, as we continue Seattle Children’s journey to live up to our value of equity, eliminate health inequities and address any form of systemic racism within our organization.