\n<\/p>\n
The Christian organization \u201cGideons International,\u201d known for distributing Bibles to hospitals and hotels across the country, has been banned from a large hospital system in Georgia due to \u201cdiversity, equity, and inclusion policies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gideons is now blocked from servicing the Phoebe Putney Health, a hospital that serves over 40 counties in the state of Georgia. <\/p>\n
According to the Daily Wire, the organization was first banned from the hospital during COVID due to restrictions, but wasn\u2019t allowed back in once they were relaxed. <\/p>\n
The Gideons reported they were told their work was a \u201cviolation of the DEI policy and they would no longer be allowed\u201d into the facilities. <\/p>\n
Report from the Daily Wire<\/a>:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Neither Phoebe\u2019s communications team nor its chief DEI officer responded to multiple requests for comments. Scott\u00a0Steiner,<\/a>\u00a0the CEO of Phoebe, is aware of the exclusion of the Gideons from Phoebe facilities, as are several members of the board of the health system, according to a source familiar with the situation.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The source said that hospital policies started to take a leftward drift when Phoebe brought on Steiner as CEO back in 2019, which is evidenced by the fact that he has\u00a0pushed DEI principles throughout the health system since taking the helm of Phoebe. Steiner is a\u00a0member<\/a>\u00a0of the Georgia Diversity Council, which\u00a0describes<\/a>\u00a0itself as the \u201cpremier resource for diversity best practices and leadership development in the state of Georgia.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In previous comments, Steiner has said that his staff managers are not diverse enough and that he would take the lead on changing that.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe have an incredibly vibrant and diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve,\u201d he\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0at the health system\u2019s diversity council\u2019s first meeting in January 2022. \u201cIn some areas of our organization \u2014 like on our management team \u2014 that diversity has been less evident, and we are committed to looking at ways to making meaningful change.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n He added that looking at the diversity situation at Phoebe \u201cmight make me a little uncomfortable, but if we\u2019re not dealing with discomfort head-on, then we\u2019re not diving in deeply and honestly enough.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n