UMMS Colleagues:
June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month (LGBTQ+ Pride Month). UMMS is proud to honor and recognize Pride Month, celebrating our LGBTQ+ patients, colleagues and community.
As we celebrate our LGBTQ+ workforce, we must also remember that Pride was born of a struggle. Within our communities and around the world, LGBTQ+ people continue to be marginalized in many ways, one of which is through facing disparities in health care. UMMS is committed to addressing and eliminating all health care disparities. One way we can all help is by treating everyone with respect, and by embracing our differences as well as our similarities. The more we understand the struggles, experiences and needs of others, the better able we are to relate to and to care for them.
To help with that, we are providing information on resources and activities to learn more about LGBTQ+ Pride Month, will the goal to make UMMS more welcoming to all. Here’s a list of Pride Month celebrations being held across Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution offers a wide range of events and activities that share a diversity of pride stories.
I also encourage you to consider participating in two activities the UMMC Employee Resource Group, UMMC Pride, is planning, both of which are open to all UMMS team members and anyone else. One is the Baltimore PRIDE Parade on Saturday, June 15 – if interested in walking with UMMC Pride, please email ummcpride@umm.edu for more details and information. The other is attending LGBTQ+ Pride Night at Camden Yards on June 27 to watch the Orioles with your UMMS colleagues. Here is the link to order tickets.
During Pride Month and beyond, I encourage all of us to reflect on how we can continue to advocate for and support our LGBTQ+ colleagues. We commit to listening, learning and growing together, ensuring that our workplace is one where diversity is celebrated and everyone is empowered to bring their whole selves to work. We all need to do our part, and I am excited and look forward to working with you as we advance our System’s equity, diversity and inclusion journey.
Sincerely,
Roderick K. King, MD, MPH
Senior Vice President
Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer
University of Maryland Medical System