Cedars-Sinai is Proud of Supporting 2019 Pride Festival and Parade
From Co-Sponsoring the Health and Wellness Village to Inviting Hundreds of Employees to Walk in the Annual Parade, Cedars-Sinai Celebrated the Diversity of Employees and Patients
Cedars-Sinai has a long tradition of celebrating different ethnicities, religions, gender identities and sexual orientations among its employees, patients and community members. This year, Cedars-Sinai demonstrated that support by co-sponsoring the new Health and Wellness Village during the June 8-9 Pride on the Boulevard festival and—for the first time—organizing a large group of employees to march in the 49th annual Pride Parade on Sunday, June 9.
“Each of our employees and patients brings something different to our work, and we use those differences to make us better caregivers, researchers and support staff,” said Andy Ortiz, senior vice president of Human Resources at Cedars-Sinai. “The one thing we all share is a passion for improving the health of our community, so we are extremely proud to support LA Pride by co-sponsoring the Health and Wellness Village.”
The first-ever Pride on the Boulevard festival on Saturday and Sunday, June 8 and 9, was a free community event that included musical performances, rides and the new Health and Wellness Village, co-sponsored by Cedars-Sinai and located on Santa Monica Boulevard between San Vicente and Robertson boulevards.
The Cedars-Sinai booth in the Health and Wellness Village included representatives and information from departments across the health system. Cedars-Sinai's Community Health and Education Department provided information about meningitis and hepatitis A (vaccines were administered by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health). Representatives from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Network, Human Resources Department, the Transgender Surgery and Health Program and the Research Center for Health Equity were on hand to answer questions about specialty care and to provide HIV education.
On Sunday, June 9, about 300 Cedars-Sinai employees and their family members and friends marched in the Pride Parade, wearing T-shirts specially designed for the event, which attracted more than 170,000 spectators.
“Having so many Cedars-Sinai employees volunteering on the parade route signifies the value our employees place on the community we serve," Ortiz said.
Follow Cedars-Sinai's Pride festival participation on social media during LA Pride week using #CedarsPride.