Keeping our eyes on the prize – our children!

I recently rewatched the documentary “Eyes on the Prize.” If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s about the everyday American men and women who put everything on the line to fight for civil rights in the 60s and 70s. Some died. Some had their houses burned to the ground. Some had fire hoses and dogs turned on them. Their resilience and courage to continue fighting for civil rights while all this happened changed our country forever.

I’m glad I rewatched that documentary. It gives me hope. It reminds me that ordinary people who don’t give up can achieve extraordinary things. Even when it looks like the headwinds are blowing hard and change isn’t possible.

All children

We just marked the five-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. There was a lot of hope in the weeks and months after his murder that our country would take another step forward in addressing the barriers established by systemic racism. At that time, so many people and companies came forward to loudly proclaim their commitment to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world.

At Children’s Minnesota, we had already started taking action. We knew then, and we know now that we’re not in it for the short haul. That’s because the health of children is at stake. Our mission isn’t to champion the health needs of some children. We champion the health needs of all children.

What equitable care means

We serve children from every county in Minnesota and every state in the Upper Midwest. That’s a lot of children with a lot of different health care needs. We want to be able to meet the needs of all of them. That’s what it means to provide equitable care. This care is essential for providing an excellent patient and family experience.

About 40% of the children we serve are Native, Black, Latino or Asian American. Research shows children have better health outcomes if they are cared for by doctors and nurses who share similar experiences, so our desire is for Children’s Minnesota staff to reflect the different communities we serve. That’s what it means to provide equitable care. This care is essential for providing an excellent patient and family experience.

And let’s be real. Nobody wants to go to the hospital or the doctor’s office. But when you do go, you want to feel that the people who work there genuinely care about you and will do their best to meet your needs. We want to be that place. We want to treat everyone who walks through our doors with respect and dignity. Listening to and addressing their individual needs is essential for the implementation of our strategic plan and as an added bonus, it’s the right way to treat people. But most importantly, it’s the path to helping kids in our community be as healthy as possible. The Children’s Minnesota experience must be excellent for everyone.

The world we want

Keeping our eyes on the prize is essential for equity and inclusion. The work is not about checking boxes or superficial performative gestures. We embed equity and inclusion work into everything we do at Children’s Minnesota. That’s the only way we can meet our mission of helping every child in our community thrive.

Do we want a world where some children get the health care they need and others don’t? No. We want a world where all children are valued and included, where all children grow up healthy and strong. That’s the prize we have our eyes on.