The JEDI council would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you. Not only for working on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but for coming in to work every day and serving our community.
In late 2023, the JEDI council discussed the 2024 holiday schedule. Two holidays were going to be added and we considered many options, one of which was Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
If you’re not familiar with the specifics of the holiday, it was advocated for shortly after his death in 1968. It did not see fulfillment until 1983 when it was added to the list of Federal Holidays. However, in 1994 it was changed to the “Martin Luther King, Jr., National Day of Service.” According to Rev. Frederick Haynes, a current civil rights leader, Coretta Scott King, John Lewis, and others were “determined that it not become the typical, commercialized American holiday where we take a day off, go shopping, and while shopping, we get discounts in honor of Dr. King.” Instead, it has become known as “a day on, not a day off.”
To try and align with the spirit of the holiday and its focus on service, the JEDI council was intentional about choosing to remain open. With children off of school and a lot of parents off of work, it is a day that may be more accessible for some families to receive medical care. In light of that, we saw it as the best way to show our commitment to serving our communities, practicing the JEDI principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and of honoring the legacy of a man who defended those principles with his life. One of Dr. King’s more prominent quotes says, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?”.
Here at NOAH we see the answer, in action, every day. Thank you for all that you do for our patients, coworkers, and communities.
