Last week, the Hennepin Healthcare Health Equity Department held its first two-day Health Equity Summit: Learning through Vulnerability and Perseverance. The summit showcased the transformative power of embracing challenges and learning from setbacks and highlighted how individuals, teams, and organizations turned obstacles into opportunities for growth in health equity and DEI. The two days featured renowned speakers leading work in health equity and DEI, breakout sessions to hear from presenters and their work in health equity, panel discussions, and networking opportunities. The summit also celebrated the first Health Equity Perseverance Award with a dinner with all attendees and award winners. The breakout sessions featured presentations on:
- Employee Experience: Initiatives aimed at improving workplace experience, especially those that address challenges in creating an inclusive and equitable environment.
- Community Engagement: Efforts to engage with and support communities, particularly those that have been historically marginalized.
- Clinical Outcomes: Case studies or examples where perseverance through failure has led to improved clinical outcomes or measurable health equity progress.
- Education/Training: Experiences developing and implementing education and training programs focused on health equity and DEI.
- Future Workforce Development: Strategies and programs to prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals to tackle health equity challenges, including lessons learned from setbacks.
- Culturally Appropriate Care: Stories of developing and implementing culturally appropriate care practices, and the challenges faced in making healthcare more inclusive.
Health Equity Perseverance Awards The first-ever Health Equity Perseverance Awards recognized and honored the achievements and dedication of individuals, teams, leaders, and organizations in health equity. Congratulations to the winners: Organizational Award for Sustained Commitment to Health Equity
Team Award for Collective Resilience and Impact
- Hennepin Healthcare Welcome Services Team
- Uché Blackstock, MD and the Advancing Equity Team
Individual Award for Perseverance through Adversity
- Kimberly Seals Allers, Executive Director of Narrative Nation
- Sean Tolefree, Senior Director of Employee and Labor Relations at Hennepin Healthcare
Diverse Leader Award for Fortitude and Advocacy
- Nathan Tseboh Chomilo, MD, FAAP, FACP, Medicaid Medical Director at the Minnesota Department of Human Services
- Thomas Wyatt, M.D., FACEP, Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Hennepin Healthcare
The Health Equity Summit adjourned Friday afternoon, but the work continues. A reminder from Nneka Sederstrom, Ph.D., Chief Health Equity Officer, in her opening remarks: "As healthcare professionals, advocates, and leaders, our mission is to create a world where equity is not just an idea but a reality. A world where access to care is not determined by race, income, or geography. A world where communities thrive, families are safe, and every person can live a full and healthy life. But this vision cannot be achieved without first acknowledging the roots of the problems we seek to solve and committing to pulling them up. Our theme this year— "Perseverance and Learning from Failure"—is not just a concept; it's a lived experience for so many of us in this room. The work of advancing health equity and DEIB is complex, often filled with resistance, and sometimes feels thankless. But, as the great Angela Davis reminds us, "I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept."
We gather to share stories of failure—not to lament them, but to learn from them. To explore how those moments of struggle and challenge have shaped who we are as leaders, as advocates, and as change-makers. Every setback is a lesson. Every failure is a step closer to the world we envision: a world where equity is not an aspiration but a lived reality for all."
