As physicians and healthcare providers, we at The Oregon Clinic dedicate our lives to taking care of our community. As caregivers, the horrifying video of George Floyd’s killing, as well as the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, have profoundly affected all in our organization. Actions, such as this brutal one in Minneapolis and the reactions of protest that we’ve witnessed, are symptoms of the longstanding struggles of social and economic injustice and racism. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified these inequalities in America, and throughout the world.
As an organization, I feel that we are genuinely in line with the thoughts of the Rev Martin Luther King, Jr., who stated that “riots are socially destructive and self-defeating…that nonviolence is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and justice. But at the same time…a riot is the language of the unheard.”
At The Oregon Clinic, our responsibility is to hear the concerns of all of our patients, and to unconditionally heal without prejudice or preconception. We are committed to the wellbeing of our community, supporting equality, equity, human rights and social justice. We stand with our staff members and patients of all backgrounds, and value the diverse team who help to make The Oregon Clinic who we are.
I thank the physicians and team at The Oregon Clinic for continuing to care for our patients and each other.
With a heavy heart,
Richard Jamison, MD
President
The Oregon Clinic