Leadership Commitment to Conversation About the Baltimore Community

Dear Colleagues, 

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to begin talking together about the events of the past week in Baltimore. We would like to take a moment to highlight a few key messages from that session.  

The events of this week strike at the core of our Johns Hopkins community. Although we will think about the implications of these events for our own internal programs, we would like to focus now on ways that we can engage with the Baltimore community, consistent with our standing and responsibility as the leading institution in the city.

We ask that next week, each of you create opportunities for faculty, staff, trainees and students in your departments and divisions to come together in a safe place to talk about their thoughts and concerns. We need to listen to each other. We heard the example of the Department of Radiology's series of mini town meetings, and we ask that you make it a priority next week to provide a similar forum in your own area.  

In addition, we ask that you seek from your teams their thoughts about ways in which your department, the School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine and/or the University can work with the community to address major challenges in Baltimore. We do many things now, but we are looking for ways in which we can truly make a difference. 

We will compile ideas from across the institution and then, with your help, identify those that we think are the most compelling. As James Page suggested yesterday, we plan to then reach out to trusted community leaders to discuss their thoughts and ours as to how we can have a positive impact on the local community, and choose a limited number of action items that we will prioritize and execute.  

Beyond these initial steps, we will also begin to think together about how the events of the past week will affect Johns Hopkins Medicine so that we can develop plans to respond to challenges.

Thank you for your commitment. There is much to be done, but together we are capable of great things.

Sincerely,

Paul B. Rothman, M.D.
Dean of the Medical Faculty
CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Ronald R. Peterson
President
The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System
EVP, Johns Hopkins Medicine