In the News

“It’s no easy task,” said Darla Groshens, a registered nurse with Hennepin Healthcare who helped launch the home vaccine program. “When you go into people’s homes, you can encounter all kinds of problems — lack of food or people not taking care of themselves — that require immediate attention. The reality is it’s really labor-intensive.”

While the work is challenging, Groshens described vaccinating seniors in their homes as “one of the most fulfilling experiences” of her 28-year career as a nurse. Some of the homebound seniors she sees have been living with anxiety for the past year and have broken out in tears of joy and relief after getting their shots.

Lacey insists she had no doubts she was in safe hands. “She came to the rescue,” she said, speaking of Officer Owen’s steady presence. “The whole time I kept looking at her eyes. All I could see was courage and I knew everything was going to be OK.”

“She came to the rescue and the whole time I kept looking at her eyes and all I could see was courage,” said Gonzalez of Owen’s poise. “And I knew everything was going to be OK.”

“One of the most amazing moments of my life,” Officer Owen said.

Owen’s performance impressed the staff at HCMC. Kathryn Leggitt, a certified nurse-midwife at HCMC, said Owen did a great job delivering the baby.

“I think she drew on her training, drew on her personal experience and drew on her professionalism to stay calm in an unusual situation,” Leggitt said. “Pulling all those things together, she made a really safe experience for Lacey and for the baby.”

A critical component of moving towards racial equity in vaccination rates is amplifying the voices  of Black doctors. Dr. Nneka Sederstrom, Ph.D., MPH, MA, FCCP, FCCM, is the chief health equity officer at Hennepin Healthcare and a nationally recognized author and speaker on topics related to racism, racial disparities, bias, crisis, standards of care and treatment. She feels that it is not only important, but essential to have Black doctors as spokespeople when communicating information about COVID-19 in Black communities.

In Nneka Sederstrom’s first month as chief health equity officer at Hennepin Healthcare, her team has worked to vaccinate thousands of members of underserved communities and are serious about closing holes in access to healthcare, she told Becker’s. Here are six ways a hospital determined to achieve equity can follow Dr. Sederstrom’s lead and improve healthcare access.

“We worked with a lot of religious leaders. So, we’re hoping between the partnerships across all of us that we’ll be able to hit home with how every important this vaccine is,” explained clinic manager Brenda Kennelly.

Dr. Winkelman from Hennepin Healthcare explains the new Minnesota Electronic Health Record Consortium.

Israel Pliego was on a heart-lung bypass machine at HCMC for 50 days last spring after catching COVID-19.

Officials on Friday offered up some data on vaccinations broken down by race and ethnicity.

“This important, intentional work to inform the equitable distribution of health care resources for Minnesotans is a true collaboration,” said Tyler Winkelman, MD, MSc at Hennepin Healthcare who is leading the MN EHR Consortium COVID-19 Vaccine Project. “The ongoing partnership will not only guide decision-making processes related to COVID-19 vaccination distribution, but also provides the infrastructure needed for future public health crises.”

The results capture about 89% of the nearly 1.5 million first and second doses administered in the state, said Hennepin Healthcare’s Dr. Tyler Winkelman, who is leading the effort.

It’s hard to process,” Jon Cole, MD. “I remember intubating a patient and having to transfer that patient outside the metro area. And I remember thinking, ‘are we really going to run out of equipment?’”

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine was 72 percent effective in U.S. trials, falling short of some of the other two-dose vaccines. Despite the focus on the efficacy rates, Dr. David Hilden, of Hennepin Healthcare, said it’s the best shot Minnesota has.

People with addictions are truly vulnerable, and are hit hard by natural disasters, including pandemics. – Dr. Charlie Reznikoff

As Dr. Veronica Svetaz, a family medicine physician at Hennepin Healthcare and co-founder of the Minnesota Immigrant Health Alliance recently told us, public health messaging works best when it comes directly “from people who belong to the same community.”

“If you are making the decision to travel, you are also making the decision to put the people in your bubble at risk,” said Dr. Stacene Maroushek, an infectious disease pediatrician for Hennepin Healthcare.

Dr. Andrew Laudenbach works in the Emergency Department of HCMC/Hennepin Healthcare. “I have seen patients, even today, that have come in after injuries from slipping on the ice,” he said.

Nneka Sederstrom, PhD, was named chief health equity officer of Minneapolis-based Hennepin Healthcare.