WE In The World, Supported By Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Calls Healthcare & Community Changemakers To Transform Structural Racism in Healthcare
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NASHUA, N.H. - illiNews -- Well-Being and Equity (WE) in the World, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), is excited to announce the launch of Just Leaders for a Just Health System (JUSTICE SQUARED), a groundbreaking initiative aimed at addressing structural racism in healthcare through collective leadership. The two-year program invites healthcare organizations, patients and community leaders to collaboratively engage in a trustworthy, humble and courageous journey to advance the work of building a more just healthcare system.

While many are working to ensure healthcare serves everyone with dignity and fairness, transforming complex systems is hard and can feel overwhelming, especially in the face of active threats to justice – if we're trying to tackle structural racism alone.  JUSTICE SQUARED provides a structured learning journey aimed at helping teams and communities better understand where structural racism exists within their healthcare organizations that leads to persistent inequities, and equipping participants with tools and resources to affect tangible change. The program challenges leaders to reimagine the relationships between healthcare organizations and communities experiencing inequities, fostering trustworthy partnerships and changes in policies and practices together.

"In JUSTICE SQUARED we will support and challenge each other, create practical system change, using methods that are effective, and engage in processes that are grounded in trust, joy, and justice," said Somava Saha, chief executive officer and president,  WE in the World, the organization spearheading the program. "By advancing change that's co-led by communities experiencing inequities and healthcare leaders, we'll begin to build a healthcare system that's healthier, safer, and more effective for us all."

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The program offers up to 12 teams of five healthcare and community champions the opportunity to participate in a guided learning and action journey with support from experienced coaches and mentors to address structural racism in their healthcare organization. Teams will receive tools, technical and peer support, and funding— $300,000 per core team ($400,000 if the healthcare organization is a safety net institution).

"JUSTICE SQUARED offers concrete tools to abolish racism in healthcare. The power of shifting, for example, from measuring racism, not just race, and eliminating racism from existing clinical, administrative and operational diagnostics, algorithms and processes, helps us to restore the foundation of a just healthcare system grounded in love," said Michellene Davis, Esq, president & chief executive officer, National Medical Fellowships and co-chair of the Stewardship Council of JUSTICE SQUARED.

"We recognize that it will take decades to truly abolish structural racism in healthcare," said Emmy Hall Ganos, associate managing director, Leadership for Better Health strategic portfolio at RWJF. "JUSTICE SQUARED is an essential step to remove the silos in this work, allowing leaders to collaborate effectively toward meaningful transformation."

Eligible participants include teams from healthcare organizations and associated patient and community leaders who show proven dedication to creating tangible, structural change in healthcare, starting in their respective organizations and communities. Applications will open on October 29, 2024, and are due by January 15, 2025. Interested parties can find specific details, application materials and other eligibility requirements by visiting the program website at https://justicesquared.org/.

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For inquiries or more information about the program, please contact j2@weintheworld.org.

About Well-Being and Equity (WE) in the World

WE in the World (WE) advances a just and abundant world by growing a movement of better ancestors. WE is composed of a diverse group of well-being and equity architects who bring decades of experience to this work and are connected from the grassroots to the grasstops–made up of health leaders and community leaders, urban planners and farmers, community organizers and community development leaders, policymakers and business leaders.

Together, we are building the social and vital conditions we all need to thrive, over generations, on a foundation of racial and economic justice.  As the National Program Office of JUSTICE SQUARED, WE will lead the program's design and implementation, including selection of participating teams.

About Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Support for JUSTICE SQUARED is provided by RWJF, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. Through funding, convening, advocacy, and evidence-building, RWJF works side-by-side with communities, practitioners, and institutions to get to health equity faster and pave the way together to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right