Board of Managers Shared Commitments

Central Health Board of Managers Shared Commitments Agreed adopted on June 30, 2021

Whereas, the Board of Managers of Central Health has come together as a governing body to ensure the Vision of Central Health: Central Texas is a model health Community;

Whereas, the Board of Managers of Central Health bring this vision into reality by enacting the mission of caring for those who need it most and thereby improving the health of our community;

Whereas, the Board of Managers of Central Health achieves excellence toward this vision and mission through the stated values of Stewardship, Innovation, Respect, and Collaboration;

Whereas, the Board of Managers of Central Health further known as we in this document understand that systemic racism is the root of health inequities that emerge from a history of racism in Texas including Travis County that contributes to the social determinants of health that play a primary role in producing inequitable health outcomes;

Whereas, as an organization, Central Health is anti-racist and committed to a diverse and inclusive culture that seeks equity and social justice in the pursuit of its mission:

1. We Commit to informing all of our actions as Board Managers with the understanding that we are accountable to recognizing and to interrupting systems of oppression. This includes understanding the power structure in the United States, and Texas, and Travis County, that advantages certain community members and has historically disadvantaged other community members based on the color of their skin, race, ethnicity, language, and/or other characteristics. We further understand that to disrupt this power structure and the health inequities it produces, we must collaborate to collectively respond to the lived realities of all ethnicities, races, and identities disadvantaged within this system and all historically oppressed identities and communities disadvantaged within this system. We Commit to understanding that when disadvantaged communities compete against each other, we all lose in this system, and the only way forward is to work together for the benefit of all oppressed communities collectively.
2. We Commit to a model of Generative Leadership which requires us to understand and practice collaboration and accountability demonstrated by following our agreed upon meeting procedures and ensuring all members have the opportunity for comparable speaking time. We further Commit to intentionality prior to speaking including: considering: what is the goal of what I 5 want to share; is this the right time to share it; and is this in keeping with our collective goal for this particular moment within this particular meeting?
3. We Commit to Generative Conflict which includes engaging in disagreements and differences in perspective in a way that deepens relationships and trust by expanding knowledge and understanding of each other, including expecting our ideas to be expanded and enriched by learning and engaging with other Board Manager ideas, choosing curiosity over competition of ideas, and anchoring our conversations in our common purpose.
4. We Commit to practicing emotional intelligence as leaders which includes being aware of our own emotions and reactions and managing them, as well as being aware of our impact on others and managing this impact for the collective good when we are in our role as Board Managers.
5. We Commit to being aware of our own privileges and advantages in the sociopolitical and economic structure of the United States, Texas, and Travis County to use these for the benefit of interrupting inequities across historically disadvantaged identities.
6. We Commit to preventing the commission of microaggressions through the awareness of the history and oppression of diverse identities and communities. To this end, we Commit to strive to learn the historical context informing the lived realities of all historically oppressed identities and communities, and to use this to prevent use of language and commission of actions that can be harmful given these histories.
7. If we inadvertently commit a microaggression, we strive to immediately become aware on our own of the harm we have caused. If another Board Manager generously helps us become aware of a microaggression we have committed we welcome the support in our learning and growing process as a leader and immediately express appreciation for having made us aware, own the mistake we have made, acknowledge the impact of the harm we have caused, and engage repair through apology and the articulation of what we will do to avoid the repetition of such harm in the future.
8. If we observe one of our fellow Board Managers commit a microaggression, we Commit to calling them in by letting them know in a respectful and kind manner of the mistake that has been made.
9. We understand that many of us, as survivors of historically oppressed identities and communities, carry internalized narratives of oppression, and we can inadvertently express these oppressions against others in ways that cause harm and we Commit to the same process identified in 7 and 8 to engage repair and return to generative collaborative processes.
10. We understand that even without the history of oppression potentiating the weight of harm, expressions of prejudice and rudeness can also cause harm to our shared aims, and we Commit to the same process identified in 7 and 8 to engage repair and return to generative collaborative processes. 6
11. We Commit to using our Racial and Social Justice Framework (next page) for decision-making as we work together for the collective good of our communities as we eradicate health inequities and create a model healthy community.
12. We understand that we are entrusted with a vital responsibility for our communities and are accountable stewards for the time and resources available to our Board of Managers. We understand that these commitments are entered into to ensure responsible stewardship of this time and resources through generative collaborative processes to reach our vision and mission and we agree that if we do not follow any one of these commitments we welcome our Board Manager colleagues to bring this to our attention through the agreed upon process reflected here and when this occurs, we commit to immediately acknowledging the mistake and engaging in a repair and correction process as indicated in these commitments so that our work to dismantle systemic racism and resulting barriers and achieve health equity can move forward.