Shortly after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Andrea Walsh, the president and CEO of HealthPartners, made the statement that HealthPartners is an anti-racist organization. Two years after taking this daring stance with the support of the organization’s 26,000+ employees, Andrea talks with the Off the Charts podcast team about why the stance needed to be made, the progress made since and the hopeful road ahead. Hearken to the episode or read the transcript.
Why “anti-racist”?
The term itself could be jarring, however the words were chosen purposefully to underline the urgency of the situation. As Andrea put it, “as an organization with a mission around health and well-being, there isn’t a query that racism impacts health.” And to be an organization where everyone seems to be welcomed, included and valued, the people and patients of HealthPartners have to live and work in a spot where everyone seems to be capable of achieve their absolute best health – which might’t occur with any degree of racism.
The stance of being anti-racist is significant because there may be a lot work to be done. Stating that HealthPartners is an anti-racist organization draws a transparent line that the current state of gaps, exclusion and bias in health care is removed from OK. And, to deal with those disparities and foster higher relationships, it’s crucial to face the underlying issues that end in people being excluded.
Two years later: Lessons learned and progress made
The primary key step was forming the HealthPartners health equity, inclusion and anti-racism cabinet, made up of diverse leaders from areas and departments across the organization. While HealthPartners was already making smaller efforts to deal with inequities and increase diversity, they urgently needed to be scaled up. The cupboard actively looks at current opportunities, draws connections between departments and sets aggressive goals to attain short- and long-term success that is obvious and measurable.
From there, and with the focused efforts of colleagues across HealthPartners, the proof of progress is obvious. Lessons learned within the early stages of COVID-19 vaccine distribution proved the effectiveness of outreach and using different communication channels like texting to succeed in communities of color. Providing easier ways to access preventive screenings can be significantly reducing disparity gaps, as seen with same-day mammography screenings and at-home FIT tests to screen for colorectal cancer. By trying recent practices, seeing the progress through data and translating the teachings to other departments, the people of HealthPartners are realizing the anti-racist philosophy into meaningful motion.
The long and hopeful road ahead
Despite the present green shoots of progress, the road ahead will likely be long. Andrea hears the impatience, recognizing that all of us need to do more and move faster. Nevertheless, we will only do it together. As Andrea reflects, making progress requires everyone to do their level best as individuals, broadening to groups, the organization and the community. Unless everyone seems to be in, progress can’t be made – which could be frustrating.
Nevertheless, by creating human connections with communities each inside and outdoors the partitions of HealthPartners, and by being honest and holding ourselves and others accountable for progress, we will be certain that we’re in a spot that lives our values and strives to be at our greatest. And Andrea sees that in motion each day. From the outreach of diverse affinity and resource groups to impactful stories of colleagues supporting one another when faced with racist actions in clinical settings, Andrea sees hope for the longer term in people. Through teamwork and commitment to the organization’s mission and values, the people of HealthPartners are making a safer and more inclusive environment for people to heal and be healed.
For more about Andrea’s background at HealthPartners, the history behind the organization’s anti-racist ethos and the map for the road ahead, hearken to this episode of Off the Charts.