Each year, Sun River Health celebrates Juneteenth: the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery in the United States – and a central day for us, our communities, and the patients we serve.
Over 100 years after that first Juneteenth freedom celebration in 1865, our Founding Mothers fought to bring health care access to Black Americans in the Peekskill community. And because of that determination, we are serving over 250,000 patients across the Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island today.
As we celebrated our first Juneteenth without our beloved Rev. Jeannette J. Phillips this year — and anticipated the upcoming first anniversary of her passing — we were reminded how she taught us that excellent health care is part of what liberation means, and that it is because of Juneteenth that Sun River Health’s mission continues to flourish.
Rev. Phillips chose “Because of Juneteenth” as the permanent Sun River Health Juneteenth tagline, and we are proud to have used it this year in her honor. We will continue to use it, as it is a reminder that Juneteenth is so deeply linked to the mission that is our daily work.
As we do each year, Sun River Health participated in long-established Juneteenth Freedom Celebrations throughout the Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island, including Parades and Festivals in White Plains and Peekskill, a Juneteenth Community Day Festival in Brooklyn, and the Suffolk County Juneteenth Jubilee.
