Bringing Our Community Together

Dear Employees and Physicians,

We are reaching out to you, our Rothman family; because we know many of you are hurting right now.  We are overwhelmed, angered and saddened by the recent series of events that call attention to the racial divisions in our communities.  The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and many other African Americans is deeply disturbing and merits outrage.   

This should not be the reality that any of us have to face in the United States, however, many of our employees and physicians, especially those of color, are personally affected by these events and have too often experienced discrimination, been the subject of bias and racism in their own lives.  Communities throughout the U.S. and countries around the globe have organized to demand justice and express their outrage.  We support their right to a peaceful and lawful protest.  This is a painful moment in history, but also a turning point.  We encourage all to respond with compassion by listening and supporting one another.  

Racism is incompatible with our Rothman core values of Trust, Respect, Integrity and Compassion.  As an organization we will reflect deeply on the ways that we fall short of living out those values in our treatment of each other and of those in our communities.  We will reflect on and challenge our own biases and assumptions on race, and we will create a safer environment for all. We have always aspired to be the national leaders in Orthopaedic care as practitioners, educators and researchers, and as a team have achieved great success towards that vision.  However we cannot truly be a team when so many of our colleagues do not feel equal. 

We have asked our HR and Compliance teams to make additional resources available to encourage discussion and forward-thinking regarding the role each of us play in these matters.  Please watch in the days and weeks ahead for details to be released.  During a time like this many emotions can be felt and we encourage you to reach out to HR or your manager for support as needed. 

We are proud of our diverse Rothman family and are committed to making our team even stronger by focusing on needed change.  Like you, we are deeply concerned, but remain hopeful that we will arise a fairer and more just country from these crises.

Sincerely,

Dr. Alexander R. Vaccaro, President

Mike E. West, CEO