Hispanic Heritage Month Message
Sep 28, 2023Desert Care Network is proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month. Each year, from September 15 to October 15 we have an opportunity to honor Hispanic and Latino history and culture. Today, more than 60 million Americans have Hispanic heritage—and their contributions have had a profound impact on our nation and in the Coachella Valley, where more than 146,000 adults identify as Hispanic or Latino.
At Desert Care Network, more than 1,000 of our colleagues are Hispanic or Latino, and we witness their contributions every day, supporting and providing lifesaving care for our patients. We take immense pride in fostering an inclusive workplace, one that thrives on diversity and encourages, nurtures, and embraces everyone.
Hispanic Heritage Month was established as a week-long celebration in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson and was later extended to a month-long celebration by President Ronald Reagan.
The timing pays special tribute to September 15 the day that five Central American countries declared their Independence —with Mexican Independence Day on September 16.
Latinos have made countless contributions to America and continue to this day. From trailblazing activists like Cesar Chavez to Nobel Prize winning physicists like Luis Álvarez, and the first migrant farm worker to become an American astronaut, Jose Hernandez. Our own Desert Care Network history includes the work of Dr. Reynaldo Carreón, who co-founded Indio Community Hospital in 1966. That hospital was the predecessor to JFK Memorial Hospital, which became the first Trauma Center and Primary Stroke Center to serve the eastern Coachella Valley.
We hope that you will join us in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and the legacy of Hispanic and Latinos in so many areas of our history, food, music, and culture. And, more directly, the continued contributions from so many of own our employees, physicians, and volunteers who share this heritage.
Thank you,
Michele Finney, Group CEO, Desert Care Network
Karen Faulis, CEO, JFK Memorial Hospital & Hi-Desert Medical Center