Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health—but societal barriers often make it far too challenging for many people. To remove those disparities, our Providence family of organizations is investing $50 million over five years and strategically partnering with our communities in support of health equity for all.

Our strategy is centered around 3 principles:

1. Delivering equitable care in all settings
2. Partnering with our communities to reduce inequities
3. Innovating for a more just tomorrow

Although we’ve made significant strides so far, much work remains to be done. Below are a few recent examples of our health equity efforts.

Improving the birth experience through culturally affirming care

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. pregnancy-related mortality is three times higher in Black women and two times higher among American Indian and Alaska Native women than white women. That’s why Providence Swedish created the Justice Unity Support Trust (JUST) Birth Network to empower and improve the birthing experience of Black and Native birthing women and people from across the sex and gender identity spectrum.

The network began serving patients in May 2022 with funding from the Providence Health Equity fund, as part of our commitment to address inequities experienced by our patients and communities. It includes dedicated cultural navigators, childbirth educators, and birth and postpartum doulas, who provide patients and their families with expert care and guidance throughout their pregnancy and birthing experience. Read more about the network here.

Educating caregivers with diverse manikins

Another way we’re advocating for equitable care today and in the future is by investing in new high-fidelity training manikins in darker skin tones. These manikins, which reproduce lifelike physiologic functions of patients, are important for representation but also for holistically educating our caregivers on the specific medical needs for persons of color. Says Sacred Heart Chief Nursing Officer Neil Christopher Apeles in The Spokesman-Review, “For someone with a darker skin tone, it takes a little bit different view of how you’re diagnosing certain conditions so it’s really important for students and current health care workers to recognize they are treating someone with a different color…and assess their skin very differently.” An example would include the varied ways different skin tones react to certain rashes or pressure injuries.

Providing opportunities to a diverse supplier population

We support the health of our communities by diversifying our supplier population to include and disadvantaged businesses; women-, veteran- and minority-owned businesses; LGBTQ+ businesses and small businesses located in historically underutilized business zones. Through these efforts, we’ve increased contracting and purchasing with women and minority owned businesses by $404 million since our 2020 baseline.

Help us realize a world where every person has the chance to live their healthiest life. View all open roles.