Cooper Board of Trustees’ Diversity Statement

Dear Cooper Team:

The Board of Trustees would like to directly express to the entire Cooper team our commitment to creating a diverse, open, and inclusive culture where all patients, visitors, and team members feel they belong. The Board is completely committed to the effort to build more formal structures at Cooper to encourage thoughtful discussions, create strategies, and take effective actions that will ensure all people, whether they are patients or team members, know they are valued and respected.

For many of you drawn to health care, who have dedicated your lives to serving others, the continuing discord and division over race in our nation has been particularly disheartening. We agree. As a Board, we want to deliver a clear message: racism, hatred, and discrimination have no place at Cooper University Health Care, and it will not be tolerated. After all, as has been stated before, our mission to serve, to heal, to educate is rooted upon the principle that all people are deserving of respect, goodwill, and care.

The Board is fully supportive of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work being done to develop a strategic plan for our health system. Our goal is to be more inclusive in combination with a strong commitment to ending racism and discrimination as well as eliminating disparities in health care.

Cooper’s diversity is one of the strengths that makes us such a great health system. We know, however, there is more work to do to eliminate blind spots that may keep us from fully delivering on the promise of our mission and ensuring everyone feels they belong when they come to Cooper. This is extremely important work, and we know our Cooper team will show leadership in this effort, just as it has in so many other endeavors, and will do so in a spirit of respect, goodwill, and humility.

Thank you,

Chairman, George E. Norcross, III

Trustees

Trustee Emeritus