Blog

A Letter from David Brown, Chief Information and Equity Officer

March 27, 2023

Dear Friends,

The events of the past few years have forced us to acknowledge long-standing disparities and shortcomings evident in American and world culture.  At Edenwald, we have taken time for not only self-reflection but also reflection on the world around us.  We continue to recognize those directly and indirectly affected by societal inequities and injustices happening within our country and we have made a commitment to do what we can to make the world a better place.

At Edenwald, we are a family and we stand as a family. We will speak out against injustice and will ensure that our staff, our residents and anyone associated with our organization feels valued, respected and appreciated. It is critical, now more than ever, that we are living our values as a community and hold up the best of what Edenwald and our nation stand for.

Edenwald is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion; therefore, we have started viewing every aspect of our community through a DEI lens.  While we are building our foundation and establishing our goals, we have already taken actionable steps and completed several short-term initiatives.

• Edenwald’s Board of Directors annual retreat focused exclusively on diversity, equity and inclusion and included not only board members, but also staff and residents.
• Edenwald’s DEI Committee was formed which is composed of staff, residents and board members.
• Edenwald completed the Long-Term Care Equality Index.
• Edenwald joined the Baltimore County Police Department’s Safe Space Initiative and is designated as a Safe Space for the LGBTQIA+ community.
• Edenwald’s DEI Committee held their first annual retreat.
• Through the above work, we evaluated and altered all of our standards and guidelines impacting staff, residents, visitors and business partners to ensure they reflect our inclusive environment.
• We have also evaluated and altered our employee benefits package and have made adjustments to be certain that our benefits support all of our staff members and their families equally.

We believe in fostering a culture of acceptance and belonging because it enriches the lives of everyone in our community.  As we continue to engage our staff, residents and board members to define our goals and future initiatives, we will provide further updates on our progress.

Sincerely,

                                               

David Brown                                                                                   Mark Beggs
Chief Information and Equity Officer                                        President and CEO
DEI Committee Chair