In the News

Karen Strauman, DNP, Chief Nursing Officer of Hennepin Healthcare (Minneapolis): In an era where the nursing workforce is under significant strain, we cannot stress enough what an integral part they are to the healthcare team. Our nurses are highly skilled, compassionate professionals who demonstrate an unyielding determination to excellence — even when facing challenging circumstances. Whether providing direct or virtual patient care, supervising or managing, they perform their jobs with integrity and professionalism, making a difference not only in the lives of their patients, but also their team members who have the privilege of working alongside them.

During National Nurses Week and the other 51 weeks of the year, we appreciate our nursing colleagues and thank them for improving the health and lives of our patients.

The rates of breast cancer have risen over the past 40 years, but for some groups of women, that rate is much higher than others. Dr. Myriam Roby, the director of equity clinical outcomes from Hennepin Healthcare, talks about the importance of breast cancer screening.

“Working here reminds me of my training up north in rural health – which sounds funny on the surface. We think of Hennepin Healthcare as this big institution that sees lots of patients, and we do, but in comparison to other health systems around the city, we’re small. I see patients on the light rail and chat with them. They’re my neighbors. I might see them at a local restaurant. We have a valuable connection to the community that you won’t get elsewhere. You get that small-town feeling if you’ve been here for a while, especially if you live in the city like I do.”

Dr. Tyler Winkelman, Hennepin Healthcare’s division director of general internal medicine, helped set up the jail’s opioid use disorder treatment program in 2019 with grant dollars. He said about 6,000 people received treatment there last year.

“Most states have either legalized or decriminalized or at least have a cultural environment where cannabis is no longer heavily stigmatized,” explained Charles Reznikoff, MD, FACP, an internal medicine physician and addiction specialist at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. “For most states and environments, the clinician need only ask in a nonjudgmental way and to have an open-minded conversation with the patient. … I think they will find that patients are ready to talk about this.”

“We use (EMR) technology to send electronic referrals to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) outreach for families who are food insecure. The families are contacted within usually 48 hours and screened for their eligibility for assistance programs. They’re also given resources for the food shelves and feeding programs that are relevant to their geographic location.”

– Diana Cutts, MD, Chair of Pediatrics at Hennepin Healthcare

Hennepin Healthcare has made a point to introduce and usher in the next generation of historically-excluded youth to careers in health care, thanks to its multidimensional Talent Garden program. Since late 2021, the health care giant has held 10 youth summits for young people ages 12 to 18, a series of events where youth have the opportunity to participate in panel discussions with health care professionals and engage in simulated activities using stethoscopes and real medical equipment for blood draws, baby delivery, dermatology, and more. “Four youth summits were held during 2023, attended by 300 youth, and in February, we held our first Asian Youth with Stethoscopes summit with 106 youth attendees,” says Dr. Nneka Sederstrom, chief health equity officer. Hennepin Healthcare is on pace to do four youth summits per school year.

“The current level of concern for drinking pasteurized milk is really zero,” said Dr. Stacene Maroushek, pediatric infectious disease physician at Hennepin Healthcare. “The virus in milk has been tiny little particles of virus, not whole virus that are contagious.”

Neonatal nurse practitioner Kolleen Amon stops by the chairs huddled next to the baby’s Isolette. She’s spent hours talking to them about feeding and diapering and the special lights that help prevent complications from jaundice. Now she points to a book that’s propped up on a shelf next to a tiny hat: !Te amo, te abrazo, leo contigo! Love You, Hug You, Read to You! 

Accessing health care is something that can be difficult for various communities for reasons that range from language barriers to distrust.

That’s where cultural health navigators like Sidney Johnson and Ashley Toledano-Solis come in. Both work in Hennepin Health’s Health Equity Department and help Minneapolis’s Black and Latino populations interact more successfully with providers.

Christea Montgomery, a medical assistant who works in pediatrics, said assistants typically ask families if they are having trouble getting meals. If they say yes, they offer the food bags as one small solution.

“I think that healthcare is holistic,” Montgomery said. “We are treating not only physical ailments, but also socioeconomic and emotional, and things like that.”

Organizers said 23 tribes from Minnesota and Wisconsin were represented. Such inclusion is crucial to Dr. Thomas Wyatt, Hennepin Healthcare’s senior medical director and a member of the Shawnee and Quapaw tribes. Wyatt said many of the young people had never seen an American Indian like him in the medical profession. They are not alone.

“There’s between five and six million doctors in the U.S., and 4,000 of them are indigenous,” said Wyatt.

Aida Strom, Hennepin Healthcare’s health equity community engagement program manager and a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Nation, said such disparities result in worse health outcomes for American Indians. Strom said Hennepin Healthcare serves the most Indigenous hospital patients in Minnesota, but more work could be done.

“Emergency medical services professionals know that when it comes to administering medications – whether in the back of an ambulance, the side of the road, in someone’s home, or in the many settings in between – there are several unique challenges that demand creativity and confidence in the prehospital setting.” – Holly Drone, clinical pharmacist in emergency medicine.

“I call it the perinatal perfect storm of hormonal change,” said Dr. Helen Kim, a reproductive psychiatrist and director of the Hennepin Healthcare Mother-Baby Program.

“The coordinators at HCMC were amazing. The process leading to the actual transplant was comprehensive and thorough. My husband accompanied me to all of my appointments,” Cherida said with a smile.

“All you see is young, previously healthy people in pain and suffering and scared,” Dr. Jim Miner said.

“There’s not one kid that doesn’t make it that doesn’t impact you,” Dr. Ashley Bjorklund said.

“It can be devastating and heartbreaking,” Dr. Kofi Fosu said.

“I feel like the general public doesn’t have any idea how bad it is,” nurse Daniela Morales said.

“I have never seen a patient say no to food bags,” said Nimo Ahmed, a nurse midwife with Hennepin Healthcare “They’re always happy to accept it, and many of our families actually need it.”

Dr. Tony Severt, Assistant Chief of Radiology with Hennepin Healthcare said any score higher than 20% likelihood should warrant further testing. Olivia Munn’s score was 37%. That led to an MRI, then an ultrasound, and lastly a biopsy which revealed her cancer.

Felicia Ikebude, a nurse practitioner at Hennepin Healthcare‘s Brooklyn Park location, says they often see an increase in emergency visits after a heavy snowfall.

“The brainstem has two linked nuclei that generate the protective paralysis of REM sleep, and when one of them, or their connecting pathway, becomes damaged, that releases muscle tone,” said Carlos Schenck, a psychiatrist at the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center. “People can then act out their dreams.”