How Akron Children’s Marked Hispanic Heritage Month with Staff Stories and the theme “Unidos Somos Más”

# Overview Akron Children's highlighted Hispanic Heritage Month by sharing short profiles of employees who bring Hispanic or Latino heritage into their daily work. The organization framed the month around the theme "Unidos Somos Más," emphasizing unity, diverse perspectives, and collaboration in patient care and workplace culture.

# Who was featured

• Jesus Gutierrez Castilla: Equipment technician in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) who was born in Perú. He focuses on ensuring that medical supplies and equipment are safe and reliable, and he ties values like solidarity, faith, family, persistence, and community support to his work.

• Emily Lanier, MA, CHI: A nationally certified Spanish healthcare interpreter at Akron Children's since 2017. She holds degrees in Latin American studies and translation and supports clinical conversations between Spanish-speaking patients and medical staff.

• Emely Lemus: Associate project manager in Quality Services and vice president of the Unidos and Allies employee resource group (ERG). A first-generation Mexican American, she applies cultural values around family, resilience, and community to quality improvement and inclusion initiatives.

# How the theme guided staff reflections Each profile ties the phrase "Unidos Somos Más" to either personal values or workplace practices. Common threads include: teamwork across disciplines, collaborating to improve patient outcomes, and valuing diverse perspectives when serving families with different languages and backgrounds.

# Concrete ways heritage influences work

• Clinical leadership: Dr. Garcia emphasizes inclusive teamwork and respect to improve care for children and families.
• Technical reliability: Jesus Gutierrez Castilla frames equipment readiness as a form of service rooted in community-centered values.
• Communication access: Emily Lanier's role as a certified interpreter directly addresses language barriers so families can participate fully in care decisions.
• Organizational inclusion: Emely Lemus leverages her role in quality and the ERG to increase representation and support employee engagement across cultural lines.

# What this signals for patients and staff The profiles present Hispanic Heritage Month as an occasion for internal recognition and practical improvements: better communication with Spanish-speaking families, culturally informed teamwork, and employee-led initiatives to foster belonging.

# Closing takeaway Akron Children's used staff stories to make the theme "Unidos Somos Más" concrete—showing how personal history and cultural values translate into roles that affect patient safety, communication, and organizational inclusion.