YWCA Rock County is thrilled to announce the selection committee chose HealthNet of Rock County as the 2022 Dorothy Height Diversity in the Workplace award recipient. This award recognizes a business or organization within Rock County that has demonstrated recognition of the strengths provided by racial diversity. The business or organization must also exhibit a sustained commitment in the pursuit of cultural diversity, inclusion and retention in the workplace. Leading by example, nominees are transforming our increasingly diverse community into a truly inclusive environment where employees are valued for their talent and are able to reach their full potential.
“We are honored to receive the Dorothy Height Diversity in the Workplace Award because it reinforces our philosophy that we cannot provide healing and inclusive care without an inclusive workplace. Our staff are proud of this achievement because it reflects their hard work over the last five years to make this clinic better for the community” said Ian Hedges, Chief Executive Officer of HealthNet of Rock County. Dorothy Harrell shared a reason for her nomination of HealthNet of Rock County. “Ian Hedges positioned HealthNet to be the primary provider of COVID vaccines to the minority community and the uninsured or underinsured people of Rock County. HealthNet set up a clinic in a church in Beloit on a Sunday and invited the community in for round one and then round two vaccines” said Harrell.
“I feel that HealthNet is committed to diversity and inclusion, including innovative interpreter services, bilingual therapists, in our recruitment and retention practices, and partnerships with groups that serve the local Latinx, African American and Hmong communities, as well as additional communities” said Kristin Austin, who was one of the nominators for this award. Austin also commented “I have never worked anywhere that has been this passionate and put such an emphasis on diversity and inclusion. I feel it is so important, and I feel humbled to work for an agency that truly strives to ensure that this is done. I also feel the diversity within our staff has been instrumental in helping the community feel welcomed, and at ease when they come for services, including with the LGBTQIA+ community. It has truly been amazing.”
HealthNet of Rock County, Inc. is dedicated to excellence and innovation in the provision of primary health and dental care and health education, delivered free or at low cost, to enhance the quality of life for the underserved residents of Rock County, Wisconsin. HealthNet of Rock County, Inc. is a free and charitable clinic that opened in 1994 as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization through the result of a needs assessment completed by the Salvation Army in 1993. This assessment identified a lack of affordable health care as one of the major problems of Rock County.
HealthNet of Rock County’s staff from the dental clinic will accept the award on behalf of the organization at the 8th Annual Racial Justice Conference which will be held virtually on November 10th. For more information about the conference, please visit https://www.ywcarockcounty.org/blog/event/racial-justice-conference-2022/.
