EleVATE will take steps to address the serious racial inequities experienced by mothers, infants, birthing people and families fueled by systemic and institutional racism within the healthcare setting. EleVATE is responsible and accountable for implementing a racial equity lens to address institutional policy, practices and culture that allows for and validates oppressive systems and privilege to operate. EleVATE will specifically focus on identifying race related barriers to care, acknowledging history and historical trauma, equitable decision-making and encouragement of personal and professional identity development.

EleVATE: Elevating Voices, Addressing Depression, Toxic Stress and Equity

• Over the next five years, EleVATE is committed and accountable to advance racial equity:

Personal Experiences: Our patients, family, friends, co-workers and members of EleVATE have felt traumatized, harmed, threatened and silenced at healthcare systems:

• Together, we are committed and accountable to being as open as possible to what our medical system could look like, listening to understand, lifting the voices of birthing people and their families most impacted by racial inequities, and redefining what comfortable and safe mean in healthcare 

Learn from Each Other: We benefit from our collaborative learnings, knowledge exchanges and willingness to work across institutions, disciplines and in collaboration with community:

• Together, we are committed and accountable to educating ourselves daily, embracing new ways of working, continuing to feel the emotions of the work, and envisioning a medical system that is responsive and respectful to patients and health care team members have opportunities to work on their bias and dismantle systemic racism

System Change: We envision that health care can change for our children, patients, and the people we care about:

• Together, we are committed and accountable to disrupting embedded racism and sexism in perinatal health care, sharing power and resources, and translating what we know and learn across the United States