Across East Toronto Health Partners (ETHP), our member organizations are dedicated to building a healthier and more equitable East Toronto – enabling every person and neighbourhood to thrive.
This involves marking Black History Month by celebrating the achievements of our Black colleagues and communities and offering learning opportunities that help our teams address anti-Black racism. This helps address inequities in our health system and other sectors. Here are some of the ways our partners recognized Black History Month this year.
Access Alliance
Access Alliance hosted events throughout February to honour the achievements and resilience of the Black community throughout history. Events included celebrations of soul food and Caribbean cuisine, screenings of Black-led films, an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, and a Trinidadian steelpan concert.
In addition, Access Alliance is accepting applications for the Nahom Berhane Scholarship for Leadership and Inclusion, which provides deserving youth with financial support to attend a post-secondary institution. The scholarship is awarded to a youth with a proven track record in volunteerism, as well as in community service and leadership.
The scholarship prioritizes students of African descent. The deadline to apply is March 31, 2025. Learn more about, or apply for, the Nahom Berhane Scholarship for Leadership and Inclusion.
Michael Garron Hospital
Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) celebrated Black History Month with a number of activities this year. This included in-person speaker events, which featured changemakers such as Dr. De-Lawrence Lamptey, EMBARK (Empowering Black Academics, Researchers and Knowledge creators) Scientist at the Bloorview Research Institute; Dr. Upton Allen, Division Head of Infectious Diseases and Senior Associate Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids); and Dr. Leke Badmos, OB/GYN at MGH, sharing their work, research and perspectives.
The hospital also highlighted the work of other Black healthcare innovators and promoted various Black History Month events and Black-own or led businesses and initiatives. In addition, it co-hosted a book club with VHA Home HealthCare that offered individuals the chance to connect and learn about the story of Henrietta Lacks – see more information below.
VHA Home HealthCare
VHA Home HealthCare (VHA) is committed to fostering a workplace that values diversity, equity and inclusion where all staff and service providers feel valued, safe and empowered. Throughout Black History Month, the organization shared messages and opportunities for team members to gather and celebrate the occasion.
In addition, VHA and Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) co-hosted a book club for Black History Month focused on The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This book explores the true story of a Black woman whose cells are retrieved without her knowledge and became the source of the first immortalized human cell line, which helped significantly advance cancer and other treatments. The book club was open to team members of both VHA and MGH, offering them an opportunity to connect and discuss the findings in the book and their impact on healthcare.
The third and final session of this book club takes place on March 20, 2025. It is open to all staff, service providers, credentialed clinicians, learners, and volunteers at MGH and VHA. To get involved or for more information, please contact abenn@vha.ca.