This message is being shared with all Mass General Brigham Employees
On the evening of April 14th, MGB broadcasted an email to all post-docs and doctors, researchers and admin, and everyone in-between, including myself. It began:
“Mass General Brigham remains deeply committed to all four parts of our mission: outstanding patient care; serving everyone in need across our communities through our vast and impactful community health programs; educating tomorrow’s health leaders; and conducting world-class medical research.”
I’ve been working as a post-doctoral researcher at MGB for more than two years, and I’ve been consistently impressed with my colleagues. There have been some issues with MGB as an employer, but by and large I’ve been happy being part of MGB. Given that, and the auspicious beginning to this message, I was expecting something affirming. Instead, a few paragraphs later, the message took a turn:
“We believe that the government’s requests of Harvard University are not applicable to our separately incorporated and independently operated medical and research hospitals. We have a separate governance structure, including our Board and Management teams. We do not set Harvard University’s policies with respect to its students, faculty and other employees, or conduct on its campus.”
The timing of the message (as billions in funding are being withheld from Harvard in response to its refusal to bow to unconstitutional demands), and the framing of MGB as a separate entity, felt like a physical blow. The statement is technically correct. But the spirit of the statement, abandoning a close partner organization in a time of need, hit me hard.
It continues:
“We do control our own non-discriminatory policies with respect to our patients and our employees. We have and always will stand firmly behind our policies.”
Notably, it specifically avoids saying MGB stands behind their DEI initiatives, or that it will continue policies related to non-discrimination. Further, what does it mean to stand behind your “policies” when in the previous sentence you affirm that such policies are under your control? This is akin to saying “I will obey the rules I make for myself.” A weak statement that, in my opinion, creates an opening for those rules to be changed.
I realize I’m reading deeply into the words of an email. But I’m not just being pedantic: words matter. Now is the time to support each other, and words are the beginning—or perhaps the end—of that. MGB’s words fail to reassure anyone that it remains committed to supporting its community or employees.
Further, what messages are truly conveyed here? Why was the message written? The email posits:
“I am writing this evening because many of you have asked what impact the federal government’s investigation of Harvard University and freezing of funds could have on Mass General Brigham’s hospitals. The impact of the federal investigation to Mass General Brigham and all Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals remains unknown.”
But the email didn’t really seem to be about conveying the uncertainty of the moment . While the message was addressed “Dear Colleagues,” its intended audience is much broader and more political. They may as well have written “Dear President.” This message is a plea to be left alone, a hope that failing to stand by Harvard will save them from the retribution Harvard and others face. This message is bowing to the bully in the hopes that he will pass them by.
As a queer woman with many friends and loved ones in marginalized groups, I am profoundly afraid of what is happening in the country. But I have never felt so deeply unseen and disrespected by my employer. MGB is an obvious target for the administration, given the care it provides (including trans-affirming care) and the research it performs. On a personal level, I am worried that MGB’s acceptance of LGBTQIA+ family planning will ultimately be a casualty, and I feel deeply for those in the trans community who rely on MGB for gender-affirming care, as that is a likely early target if they continue in their efforts to pacify the administration. Trying to postpone the inevitable here is disheartening, disappointing, and ultimately doomed to fail.
And so I ask: MGB, how long do you think you can fulfill your mission if you bow down to this tyrant? How long can you serve “everyone in need across [your] communities” when those communities include groups being targeted by the administration? How long can you “[conduct] world-class medical research” when that research is being increasingly controlled by the administration?
How long before they come for the communities you serve? For us employees in the crosshairs? For you, despite your white flag?
Pacifying a bully is a futile gesture, and I hope MGB takes a stand before it’s too late.
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