September is a month of new beginnings and changing seasons, and as we welcome the cool, crisp fall air, I am thrilled to announce the inaugural monthly newsletter from the Office of Equity & Inclusive Excellence, ENGAGED.
An important theme from the departmental discovery process last fall was that folks wanted to have information about our initiatives, campus happenings, and bite-sized education opportunities in an easily accessible format. Hence, ENGAGED was born. This newsletter is aptly named to enhance our institutional/interdepartmental community of belonging and engagement, and importantly, develop and sustain the bonds of community engagement within Omaha. We can do this through intentionally educating ourselves about the cultures and experiences of others, thinking about health, wellness, and inclusive excellence through a lens of equity, and purposeful interactions with Omaha community members and leaders.
I am excited to lead the Office of Equity & Inclusive Excellence as Vice Chair, and will take this opportunity to reintroduce our OEIE team. Dr. Chelsea Navarrette (Hospital Medicine & General Internal Medicine) is the Associate Vice Chair, leading efforts related to advocacy and supporting division initiatives. We launched the Equity & Inclusion Council (with representatives from most divisions across professional identities) led by Co-Chairs Drs. Natalie Crump (Hospital Medicine) and Jennifer Davis (Infectious Diseases). Rounding out the office for Equity and Inclusive Excellence are program manager Stacy Rafferty, who brings project management and extensive community engagement expertise, and office associate Maureen Seymour-Karpf, who effectively communicates our activities in the department. Each of these leaders bring experience, innovation and empathy to the work we are doing. Now that the office is fully assembled, I am excited about the coming year as the team develops the departmental inclusive excellence strategic plan and launches new initiatives to support faculty, staff and trainees.
In this September newsletter, we recognize the contributions of unique communities through Women in Medicine month and Latin Heritage month and highlight several local opportunities for education and community engagement. There are educational resources and a (non-exhaustive) list of religious, cultural, and national observances throughout the month. I am especially thrilled to highlight the amazing blood pressure screening initiative at the recent AfroFest event led by Dr. Chydubem Nwaiwu (HO-II) and supported by the OEIE.
This newsletter has a little something for everyone, and I hope that you can find new opportunities to connect or learn.
Yours in community,
Jasmine R Marcelin, MD
Vice Chair of Equity and Inclusive Excellence, Department of Internal Medicine