ReSurge International is an international global health organization driven to address surgical inequities around the world. Our mission is to inspire, train, fund, and scale reconstructive surgical teams in lower-income countries to provide life-changing care to patients with the greatest need. Being intentional about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is at the core of the work that we do, both domestically and internationally – whether it’s supporting women surgeons or neglected patients in need. We believe diverse and inclusive organizations create diverse and inclusive communities both at home and abroad.
In 2020, the ReSurge International leadership team began a journey towards a deeper understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). We partnered with an external consultant for support with DEI strategy and staff training, and also formed an internal DEI Committee.
This allowed us to redefine and expand our values. At ReSurge International:
- We respect the diversity and dignity of all our patients, partners, staff, volunteers, and leaders no matter their race, identity, gender, religion, ability, culture, beliefs, education, citizenship or sexual orientation.
- We value equity and justice for the most vulnerable and oppressed because everyone deserves access to life-changing care to lead healthy, happy, and productive lives.
- We strive for inclusivity in our culture.We believe we do our best work when everyone feels welcomed, respected, and safe to bring their full selves to our community.
ReSurge International has continued to focus efforts to increase inclusiveness in all aspects of our organization. We want to educate our US-based and international staff members on DEI, attract and retain new leaders to our organization, and create a culture where everyone is welcomed and accepted. As an organization, we are taking multiple steps to advance DEI in our worldwide network. We are examining our policies around internal hiring, onboarding, and growth to ensure they are equitable and inclusive at all levels of the organization. We are working to create systems both in our internal policies and external practices that help us identify and confront both unintended and intended bias. We are continuing to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of our programmatic work, and will communicate our learnings with the global health sector. While we are proud of how far we have come, and what we have accomplished so far in this journey, we know that there isn’t a finish line to achieving DEI in an organization. There is always work to be done, and we are fully committed.
“At ReSurge, we know that a diverse team frequently leads to better quality decisions,” President and CEO Jeff Whisenant said. “And as an organization working to provide surgical care to underserved people, our mission includes equity and inclusion. Our DEI statement documents our commitment to these values.”
