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On a Saturday in August, a group of BlueCross employees gathered in Northeast Tennessee at the 2022 TriPride Parade and Festival.

TriPride is an event open to everyone that celebrates inclusion, equality, community and self-empowerment across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. This year, 14,000 people registered to attend.

We had a few employees at the event representing different areas of our company:

• Jennifer Serafino, principal recruiter,
• Alisa Johnson, community care partner for BlueCare Tennessee,
• and Todd Baker, training and development supervisor in commercial operations.

They all had the goal of sharing our mission to bring peace of mind through better health with each person they met.

Here are three reasons why we support community-based events like TriPride:

1. We’re working to stay engaged with the communities we serve.

We want our employees and members to feel valued, respected, and heard. So we work hard to understand their unique needs and experiences. 

This support extends into our communities. And one way we achieve this is by forming partnerships with organizations working to advance equity and inclusion.

Our goal for sponsoring and attending events like TriPride is to engage with our communities. This demonstrates that diversity and inclusion is a top priority for our company.

2.  We’re creating a workforce that’s reflective of the people we serve.

We place our members’ interests at the center of all decisions we make. So our employees have to share a set of core values, embrace our mission and understand how they contribute.

“We have employees and members in the Tri-Cities who are part of the LBGTQ+ community, and we want them to know they’re welcome at BlueCross,” said Jennifer Serafino, principal recruiter.

Our members should feel comfortable reaching out for the help they need, when they need it, because they know someone at BlueCross understands and cares.

At events like TriPride, our team can also share their personal stories, like why they joined and stay at BlueCross, with individuals who are interested in applying for a position.

Our goal is to make sure we maintain our status as a great place to work. Because when we’re at our best, we’re better able to serve our members.

3. We’re helping improve the health of the people and communities we serve.

Culturally competent care is about increasing what we know and understand about diverse groups. And creating specific standards and practices that result in better health outcomes for them.

Making sure our members have access to culturally competent care is an essential part of our goal of improving health. 

That’s why when we attend community-based events like TriPride, we bring along a team of professionals that can speak to different member services.

These events help make our company and our communities stronger. And it’s always a great day at work when positive feedback can be shared in person.

As one member said at the last TriPride event, “Thank you for what you and BlueCross have done for me and my family.”