Summary
- Five years ago, the world held its breath as George Floyd breathed his last. Then and now we honor his life, mourn his loss, and pause to reflect on our collective commitment to advance fairness, justice, and opportunity for all.
Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, there was a groundswell of indignation that sparked a global movement, challenging each of us and our institutions to examine racism, inequity, and the systems that perpetuate them.
At IHI, we recognized then — and reaffirm now — that improving health and health care cannot be separated from addressing these deeper societal issues. If we truly believe that fairness and equity are essential to achieving better health and overall outcomes for all, then George Floyd’s death, and many countless others before and after, must serve as a powerful reminder that we must move beyond the aspirational to action.
In the years since, our actions have deepened our work to address health inequities, and we've made impactful progress. Nationally and globally, IHI has partnered with the health care ecosystem, community-based organizations, public health agencies, and leaders to:
- Support organizational leaders in applying the IHI Framework for Health Equity, guiding them to identify root causes of inequities and take action to address them within their care systems and communities.
- Collaborate with health systems to build their capacity, skills, and knowledge to embed equity into quality improvement efforts, ensuring that strategies to improve care also work to close equity gaps.
- Lead national and global learning collaboratives focused on advancing equity in maternal health, behavioral and child health, and other critical clinical and health outcomes disproportionately affecting populations and communities.
- Facilitate partnerships between health systems and community-based organizations to strengthen trust, align resources, and co-design solutions that reflect the lived experiences of patients and families.
- Develop resources and tools that help health care leaders and providers operationalize equity as part of everyday improvement work — moving it from a concept to actionable change.
Through this work, we’ve witnessed the power of collaboration, the possibility of progress, and the opportunity to continue the momentum toward closing gaps in health outcomes for everyone.
The anniversary of George Floyd’s death reminds us that the call to action is ongoing — it is not a one and done, and progress requires intention, persistence, and our sustained collective action. At IHI, we remain committed to working alongside all of you, our partners, colleagues, and friends, to create a future where everyone has the opportunity to achieve their highest level of health and to thrive.
Let this anniversary serve not only as a time of remembrance, but as a renewed commitment to building health care systems — and healthier communities — that are fairer, more responsive, and more just.
Camille Burnett, PhD, MPA, APHN-BC, BScN, RN, DSW, FAAN, CGNC, is IHI’s Vice President of Health Equity.
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