Advancing health equity takes courage, humility and resolve

As we work to become an anti-racist organization that makes real progress on advancing health equity, we know that along with incremental successes we will also encounter new learnings, pain points, and challenges to overcome. We also know that these discoveries may create even more pain for our team members and our community, who are already trying to heal from racism. These events, hard as they are, also provide an opportunity to realize our mission of high quality healthcare for our community and enable us to reach our full potential as an organization.

We are aware of the existence of Blackface photos, but due to an ongoing review, we are not able to comment on the specifics. Let us be clear that we take this very seriously and our next steps will be determined by any findings. We acknowledge the harm and apologize for the impact on our community and our teams. We regret our role in causing further pain for those we serve and for those who serve.

As a learning organization, we will continue to use education to change perceptions and actions, evaluate our policies and processes through an anti-racism lens, and create a culture of accountability. We are responsible for both learning and for change so that as a community and as an organization, we advance together. Our innovative Health Equity Team has set us on a course for success in this journey – but it is a process and together we’ll unravel past and present weaknesses and emerge even stronger as a result.

Hennepin Healthcare employees are committed to caring for our patients and communities and will stand strong together against racism or any acts that produce harm. This is everyone’s work, everyone’s responsibility, and everyone’s commitment.