JUST LEADERS for a JUST HEALTH SYSTEM (JUSTICE SQUARED)

Call For Proposals (Overview)

Overview of JUSTICE SQUARED Initiative

Structural racism runs through the air we breathe and the water we drink. Depending on who and where we are—our level of exposure—it can be toxic and make us sick. And yet, when people turn to healthcare expecting to be healed, the air and water there, too, can be deadly. Many healthcare organizations have courageously begun to address racism to advance health equity, and are finding that real system change is complex. Many communities have attempted to address racism in the healthcare system but don’t feel seen or heard. Transforming complex systems is hard and can feel overwhelming, especially in the face of active threats to justice—if we’re trying to tackle structural racism alone.

That’s why WE in the World, which brings decades of experience in creating practical, impactful, structural change to advance health equity, is forming the JUSTICE SQUARED collective, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  Just Leaders for a Just Health System (JUSTICE SQUARED) invites healthcare organizations and patient and community leaders to engage in a trustworthy, humble, and courageous journey to confront structural racism in healthcare together. We are looking to recruit healthcare organizations that are already committed to this charge and invested in this critical work.

JUSTICE SQUARED will equip up to 12 teams of five core healthcare and community leaders with $300,000 ($400,000 for safety-net institutions) in funding over two years. Teams will take a guided journey focused on learning and action with a comprehensive support system of racial justice and system change transformation experts, as they take practical action together to change organizational policies and practices to address structural racism. JUSTICE SQUARED makes this complex journey of dismantling structural racism easier to navigate by supporting healthcare organizations to either (1) shift how they measure and account for racism (not just race) or (2) remove racism from clinical, operational, and administrative diagnostics and algorithms. 

Equally important, JUSTICE SQUARED will encourage leaders to reimagine the relationships between healthcare organizations and the communities they serve through the formation of lasting partnerships to co-create a healthcare system that is trustworthy, healing, and just. Together, healthcare and community changemakers will lead with an intentional focus on equity, creating accountability structures that ensure progress is measured and sustained.

See the complete Call for Proposals or the website

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