President’s Council on EDI Launches

Earlier this week, Lurie Children’s launched the President’s Council on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), a key initiative to develop equitable care and erase racism in our workplace.

As a leading institution in the Chicago region, it is Lurie Children’s responsibility to address the factors that lead to inequalities in medical care and create a hospital that reflects diversity and inclusion. The President’s Council will be a major driver of change at Lurie Children’s that focuses on this problem with an urgent and highly coordinated approach.

The President’s Council is an institutional think-tank to mobilize ideas, expertise and oversee progress so Lurie Children’s reaches the following goals in step with Vision 2025:

  1. Drive multicultural partnership, outreach and engagement to serve under-resourced communities and suppliers
  2. Attract and sustain pipelines of qualified staff, faculty and trainees from underrepresented backgrounds in healthcare
  3. Optimize professional development and recognition that establish the value of equity, diversity and inclusion
  4. Provide top-quality clinical care to all patients and families, ensuring equitable experiences across all of Lurie Children’s

As part of the first steps to reach these goals, the President’s Council will undertake these activities in partnership with other hospital areas:

  • Launch a new EDI brand identity and micro-site
  • Redesign the 11th floor portrait wall to reflect more dimensions of diversity
  • Develop a baseline survey assessment to inform current and future organizational practices related to equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice

The 48-member council represents a wide cross-section of hospital staff and faculty. The group will meet monthly and work between meetings. In conjunction with other hospital groups dedicated to health equity, the President’s Council aims to make Lurie Children’s a nationally recognized leader in equitable delivery of pediatric care.

The council values input from all staff and faculty and can be reached at edi@luriechildren.org.