Posted on June 7, 2021

Mary Free Bed celebrates Pride Month and its commitment to inclusion

Pride Month is an opportunity for the world to celebrate and honor the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQIA+) community. Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation is a place for healing, and that’s why we’re committed to supporting important causes for equality and condemning discrimination.

This month, we’re proud to fly a rainbow flag on campus to show our patients, visitors, employees, vendors and the community that Mary Free Bed is a safe place for everyone – every day of the year. Employees joined CEO Kent Riddle and a representative from the Grand Rapids Pride Center for a flag-raising ceremony and a few words from both leaders.

“Being a hospital that serves our community, it’s important to be as inclusive as we can possibly be to better our patients’ care and better our community,” Riddle said during the gathering.

Our celebration of Pride Month continues with sponsorship of the 33rd annual Grand Rapids Pride  Festival. The June 20 event, organized by the Grand Rapids Pride Center, will be held virtually this year.

Additionally, Mary Free Bed is implementing the voluntary use of gender-identify pronouns on email signatures and ID badges, and hundreds of employees are participating in the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion initiative. The pledge is a simple way to demonstrate a desire to take action and make changes in everyday behavior to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

To learn more, visit Mary Free Bed’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion web page here.

You can watch the flag-raising event here.