At the heart of Johnson & Johnson’s commitment to health equity is our desire to create a world where the color of your skin does not determine access to care, quality of care or health outcomes. Launched in 2020, Our Race to Health Equity (ORTHE) is our multiyear initiative focused on closing the racial health gap in the U.S.
ORTHE focuses on eliminating health inequities for people of color in the U.S. At the end of 2023, our investments totaled $80 million to community-led organizations and programs. Together these efforts have provided vital health services and information to 4.5 million people of color and trained and supported 600,000 HCPs.
The key areas of impact we advanced in 2023 include:
- A call to action with My Health Can’t Wait: This community wellness initiative expanded access to vital health information and support for patients and caregivers in communities of color, reaching more than 100,000 people. Outreach included supporting grass roots community organizations to provide preventive health screenings and educational resources on heart health, stroke, cancer and vision care at 25 events in 19 cities.
- Increasing diversity in the healthcare workforce: J&J invested in programs to increase diversity among surgeons, doctors and nurses because a diverse healthcare workforce improves quality of care and patient outcomes for all populations. In 2023, J&J supported 113 scholarships for Black, indigenous and people of color nursing students through the Foundation of the National Student Nurses Association. With the National Medical Fellowships, J&J initiated the Alliance for Inclusion in Medicine scholarship program to support 160 diverse HCPs enter medical school with 40 in place by the end of 2023. With the Society of Black Academic Surgeons, J&J supports the Diverse Surgeons Initiative and provided training to 28 diverse surgical residents from 14 key teaching institutions in 2023.
- Catalyzing health equity efforts with the Business Matching Fund: With an investment of almost $38 million by the end of 2023, the Business Matching Fund has supported more than 50 programs to date. J&J matches the dollar amount each J&J business unit invests in grass roots community organizations to advance health equity in the U.S. For examples, one program helps to address peripheral artery disease (PAD) in Black communities: SAVE LEGS. CHANGE LIVES is a multiyear initiative that aims to create urgency and action to address the hidden threat of PAD-related amputation.
- Ensuring “Research Includes Me”: Our initiative to boost diverse representation in clinical trials, which has helped to ensure more than 80% of J&J clinical trials with diversity enrollment goals achieved their targets (see section: Research for healthier outcomes).
ORTHE has given me and my colleagues the unique opportunity to improve health, advance science and foster the careers of surgical residents from underrepresented groups in key academic health systems.”
