Gideons International, the Christian organization known for distributing Bibles to hospitals across the country, is being blocked out by a large hospital system in rural Georgia because of new diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Gideons, which distributes its free Bibles to not only hospitals, but also various other locations like hotels, and jails, is now blocked from servicing the Phoebe Putney Health System, which serves hundreds of thousands of people in over 40 Georgia counties and is one of the state’s largest healthcare providers.
Gideons hasn’t had its Bibles in the system’s hospitals for months after maintaining a working relationship for several years, according to sources who spoke with The Daily Wire.
The policy raises questions about why inclusion policies would be used to exclude Christians from sharing Bibles with those who are sick or on their deathbed. It also raises questions how such a policy could be in place in a place referred to by locals as the “belt buckle” of the Bible belt.
Gideons was founded in 1899 and has distributed over 2 billion Bibles in more than 95 languages to 200 countries and territories. It is most well known for placing Bibles in night stands in hotels across America with about a million being distributed every year to hotels and motels.
A source familiar with intimate knowledge of the situation said that Gideons was first restricted during the response to the coronavirus pandemic from entering Phoebe.
The organization wasn’t let back in after COVID restrictions were relaxed and they attempted to resume their work last year. At the time, the Gideons were told their work was “a violation of the DEI policy and they would no longer be allowed” into the Phoebe facilities, according to the source.
Meanhile, the hospital system in Georgia is pushing back against these claims.
Ben Smith, who serves as Phoebe’s director of public relations and communications, claimed in a statement to The Christian Post that “any accusation that Phoebe is anti-Christian is objectively false and offensive.”
Smith referred CP to a video statement posted Monday afternoon to Phoebe’s social media pages in which Steiner likewise refuted the story’s allegations of anti-Christian discrimination and disparaged The Daily Wire as an outlet “known for sensational headlines designed to rile people up, stoke controversy and get web clicks.”
Steiner characterized the story as “irresponsible, untrue and based solely on the uniformed opinion of a disgruntled anonymous source,” and claimed that the system has “a large supply of Bibles donated by the Gideons that we give to any patient, visitor or employee who requests one.”
The CEO went on to maintain that a local Gideons chapter requested “unfettered access” to hospital halls and patient rooms, which he noted is not permitted to any outside group.
“The local Gideons group has requested that access and has expressed frustration that we cannot grant it,” he said. “That decision has nothing to do with any of our DEI initiatives. We must ensure the privacy of our patients and the safety of our patients, visitors and employees.”
Steiner also noted that items such as books that “cannot be sanitized” are not allowed to be left in patient rooms to prevent infection.
Gideons International did not respond to CP’s request for comment by time of publication. This article will be updated if a response is received.
“We all know Phoebe is not anti-Christian,” Steiner continued, adding that they “begin every day with a brief devotional and prayer over our PA system throughout our hospital led by our chaplain.”
“We begin every event with an invocation, and we host and promote a prayer line that patients, visitors and employees can call at any time,” he said. “These are certainly not the actions of an organization that could reasonably be called ‘anti-Christian.'”
Steiner, a self-described “middle-aged, Christian white man,” went on to express the importance of diversity and hearing differing voices.
“Can you imagine what Phoebe would be if everyone here looked and thought like I do? What if every doctor and nurse, every executive, every transporter and front desk worker who greets our patients was just like me,” he said.
“There’s no way that kind of Phoebe could effectively serve our community. Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths and it is absolutely necessary for us to meet the needs of our diverse region.”
