A safe and welcoming environment creates a space where genuine interactions are encouraged to thrive. Commencing in 2020, Willamette Dental is committing to an organizational focus on Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) to help ensure that all employees, patients and business clients are respected, valued, listened to and appreciated.
“Through celebrating and learning about one another’s differences we continue to create a home where we are seen in a light that is becoming of our individual character. Demonstrating care and empathy is engrained into the essence of Willamette Dental,” says Dr. Nick Skourtes, Vice President of Willamette Dental.
The company’s multi-disciplinary DEI Committee supports and facilitates formal affinity groups, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, people with varying abilities, and veterans. As a group practice, Willamette Dental strives to be closer as a collective of teams so they can better serve their patients, clients and communities.
As health care professionals, understanding the underlying causes that present as signs and symptoms is key to diagnosing treatment for patients. Similarly, taking time to understand the historical underpinnings of ideologies that create an oppressive environment is vital to be able to embrace the change needed to help guide compassionate, dynamic teams to deliver equitable care.
Kris Holgerson, Vice President of Human Resources, comments, “It is our responsibility as a community to extend a hand and ensure that we work together as a collective whole to better ensure an equitable and inclusive environment at Willamette Dental.”
Employees are invited to involve themselves through affinity groups and events to further move these efforts forward.
For more information about careers at Willamette Dental, please visit willamettedental.com/careers.
