Johnson & Johnson's Pro Bono for Health Equity Program Highlights

Last month, Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) Global Community Impact team in partnership with the Taproot Foundation (TAPFOUND INC), hosted the closing event for the 2022 Pro Bono for Health Equity (PBHE) program. This 12-week program took place from May until August, and J&J employees dedicated 20% of their time to their respective projects. Twenty-two employees worked with 4 Community Health Centers (CHCs) located across the United States in California, New York, Alabama, and Washington, D.C. (San Benito Health Foundation, Mobile County Health Department, Bread for the City and Latino Commission on AIDS).

Saadia Malik, J&J Manager, Global Community Impact, kicked off the event by congratulating the employee participants, employee managers, and community partners (CHCs) for participating in this year's program. This program aligns with J&J’s Our Race to Health Equity (ORTHE) commitment announced in 2020.

She says, “We’re joining the race by focusing on the racial health gap and embedding health equity across our business processes and practices. Our initial US Investment of $100M over five years focuses on three areas where our opportunity for catalytic change is greatest by focusing on people first culture, healthier communities, and enduring alliances”.

J&J declared that racial and social injustice is a major public health threat. These teams committed to help eradicate this public health threat by working with CHCs across the country. Saadia says, “I can easily say all of you have contributed. We recognize all of you”. Each team was on the ground, working daily to eliminate health inequities in communities serving people of color.

Additionally, Frank Rodriguez, Global Leader, Our Race to Health Equity, elaborated on J&J’s goals. Frank has been with J&J for 20 years and has worked across numerous roles in Marketing and Human Resources before coming to Global Community Impact. He has a high level of expertise in this space and more importantly is passionate about eliminating health inequities. He explained ORTHE’s focus and how it is important to embed racial health equity strategies across our business processes and practices and make sure we invest in health equity solutions.

Afterward, the J&J teams began their presentations with their assigned CHCs. One of the teams, Bread for the City located in Washington D.C., started their project by introducing the six J&J team members and the 13 team members from Bread for the City for the City. They then went on to discuss the CHC’s mission, and the challenges they have faced over the years. The goal of this project was to help Bread for the City strategically translate the importance of its medical services to the population it supports in Southeast Washington D.C. They also want to increase the medical patient population to 3,000 active patients in the area. The four key deliverable components they established were “return to school physical examinations, community outreach events, a patient-centric social media campaign, and new BFC brochures”. The impact this team was able to create will benefit Bread for the City immensely going forward.

The Senior Community Organizer, Terri Acker, said “I feel the work we did with Johnson & Johnson was inspirational because it gave me hope that more interactions between industry and nonprofits can be so uplifting to the community we support”.

In closing, the J&J employees, managers, and CHC leaders were asked to reflect upon their experience within the 2022 Pro Bono for Health Equity program.

With  J&J's ORTHE  commitment in mind, this program has utilized the skills and talents of J&J employees   to   build   the   capacity   for   U.S.-based Community  Health  Centers  (CHCs)  that  support communities of color.

About the Johnson & Johnson Employee Engagement Strategy ‘Talent for Good’

J&J's Talent for Good aims to activate J&J employees to grow personally and professionally by applying their time and expertise to build healthier communities around the world. From donations to fully immersive assignments with partner organizations, Talent for Good offers over customizable programs for employees at all stages of their careers to create meaningful change and a healthier, more equitable world.