The Middlesex Hospital Alliance (MHA) is committed to being an equitable and inclusive healthcare organization for ALL. We are committed to addressing all forms of discrimination, including but limited to anti-racism, gender bias, and rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. As an organization dedicated to providing exceptional people-centered care, we must understand the experiences and views of every person who visits, works for, volunteers, or receives care at our hospitals, and make the necessary changes to ensure everyone’s needs are met and respected.
Here is what the MHA is working on to achieve these goals:
| Erected a JEDI-R committee in 2023 to review hospital policies and procedures from a health equity lens, and advise hospital leadership on how to make the MHA a more welcoming organization for all | All MHA Senior Leaders have completed advanced JEDI-R training for health professionals, and a training module is now required by all MHA staff |
| Initiated the development of an organization-wide Anti-Racism policy with a specific focus on Indigenous Anti-Racism | Are working on an inclusive, accessible and patient-centered process to collect health equity data |
| Working to diversify our Patient & Family Advisory Committee and Board of Directors | Launched a new Strategic Plan with a specific JEDI-R focus |
| Developing a multi-year JEDI-R Action Plan | Offering ongoing education to staff, physicians and Board members on specific JEDI-R topics |
The MHA is also deeply committed to strengthening relationships with local Indigenous communities, and to ensuring that our hospitals are welcoming, safe places for our Indigenous community members to access the healthcare services they need. This is why we included a commitment to Truth and Reconciliation in our new Strategic Plan.
MHA has also established an Indigenous Working group that is tasked with developing a multi-year Indigenous Engagement strategy and action plan for the organization, to support our journey to Truth and Reconciliation.
MHA’s Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation
We acknowledge our role in history and the injustices faced by Indigenous Peoples in Canada. We are committed to building a renewed relationship with local Indigenous Peoples and communities, fostering an environment of healing, trust, partnership and respect. By listening and learning, we can take meaningful action to support the specific health care needs and experience of Indigenous Peoples.
Land Acknowledgement
The Middlesex Hospital Alliance acknowledges that our two Hospital sites are on Indigenous land that has been inhabited by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. There are longstanding relationships of the three local First Nations groups of these lands and in Middlesex County. We wish to recognize the three First Nations communities with longstanding ties to this area: Chippewa of the Thames First Nation (Anishinaabe); Oneida Nation of the Thames (Haudenosaunee); and Munsee-Delaware Nation (Leni-Lunaape) and wish to show respect to these communities today. We acknowledge and thank all generations of Indigenous People across Turtle Island for their commitment, contributions, and protection of the land and its resources and acknowledge that this is sacred land upon which we are privileged to live and work.