Statement on Health Equity
The Kansas City Medical Society Foundation stands with and applauds those who are working to dismantle systemic and structural racism throughout greater Kansas City and across our nation. Centuries of injustice have caused deep and systemic health inequities for people of color. The lived experience of racism, housing and economic discrimination, and barriers related to language access and insurance status result in lower life expectancies and higher incidence of chronic conditions. Today, these health inequities have caused communities of color to suffer a greater burden from the ravages of COVID-19.
We stand with those who are mourning the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others, and those who have lost their lives and their loved ones because of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 among communities of color.
KCMS Foundation is committed to achieving health equity and access; it is the core of each of our programs. In carrying out our commitment, we will work to build systems and policies – both within our organization and in the community – that support health access; reduce barriers to quality health care for all as related to language, culture and race; and build a more diverse health care workforce.
Kansas City Medical Society Foundation Board of Directors
Adopted July 2020
Thank you to our major funders:
Special thanks to the
John W. & Effie E. Speas Memorial Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee
The integrity and transparency of the Foundation’s operations is recognized by
