Dear Colleagues,
 

To say 2020 has been a year we'll all remember is probably a huge understatement, and we're only halfway through it. What will be most important is not that we remember, but what we remember and how we move forward with what we've learned.
 

One step I have taken, as president of SSVMS, is to appoint a Health Equity Advisory Committee whose first task will be to listen. They will then discuss what they learn and make recommendations to the Board of Directors on ways the medical community can do more to address systemic racism. Our goal is to find ways we can contribute, both as a medical society and as individuals, to confront disparities in health care and improve outcomes in minority communities.
 

SSVMS and I are committed to working toward eliminating racial inequities in our profession and society as a whole. The equality all Americans deserve may not come quickly, but with compassion and awareness it will come. If we fail to make a commitment in our personal and professional lives to ensure good health and opportunity for all Americans, if we are passive, more lives and futures will be lost. We take an oath to do no harm; doing nothing will lead to exactly the opposite result.
 

SSVMS and I are committed to working toward eliminating racial inequities in our profession and society as a whole. The equality all Americans deserve may not come quickly, but with compassion and awareness it will come. If we fail to make a commitment in our personal and professional lives to ensure good health and opportunity for all Americans, if we are passive, more lives and futures will be lost. We take an oath to do no harm; doing nothing will lead to exactly the opposite result.
 

Please don't hesitate to contact me at drjohn@winfirst.com with any comments or questions. I welcome your thoughts on this important issue.
 

John Wiesenfarth, MD
 

President, Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society