Diversity & Inclusion
Department Statement on Anti-Racism
We are dedicated to dismantling systemic racism and rebuilding an anti-racist system. It is on us to create space for reparation, healing, and trust. We commit to examine how we, as individuals and as an institution, perpetuate racism within our healthcare community. We are devoted to working with intention to create a safe, anti-racist department that prioritizes equity and justice for all.
This is long overdue. George Floyd’s brutal and senseless murder was one of countless Black lives lost due to searing injustice. As a nation, we need to collectively confront centuries of systemic racism, oppressive healthcare practices, and their consequences. Black Lives Matter.
As healthcare providers in a setting where Black women are three to four more times more likely to experience maternal death, we are not ensuring that Black Lives Matter.
In a global COVID-19 pandemic that is exposing and amplifying glaring disparities in health and deaths among Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), we acknowledge that racism is a public health crisis.
We recognize that our department is located on land stolen from the Dakota people after the largest mass execution in American history.
We join our professional organizations in recognizing the injustices inextricably linked to the advancement of our specialty. Obstetrics and Gynecology and Nurse-Midwifery were founded on a legacy of racism and white supremacy. We recognize the systematic eradication of Black midwives, surgical experimentation of enslaved Black women and coerced sterilization of oppressed Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). We recognize Saartjie Baartman, Anarcha, Betsey, Lucy, Henrietta and countless women whose bodies were abused at the hands of white supremacists. They were the Mothers of Modern Gynecology.
We will confront our history and our continued role in perpetuating trauma and harm to BIPOC communities. We humbly recognize these words are not enough and that transformative action to affect actual change for our community is the only way forward.
The commitment of our department has always been transforming women’s health through our research, education, and our patient care for all we are privileged to serve. We recognize that to truly serve our patients our path forward must be focused on achieving an equitable and welcoming care environment, supporting scholarship and education focused on inclusivity and anti-racist practices, and committing to the recruitment, retainment, and support of a diverse community of healthcare professionals.
Faculty Named Bush Fellow; Driven to Ending Disparities for Women and Girls
Dr. Rahel Nardos was named a 2022 Bush Fellow. We are so proud of her accomplishment and are excited to see her work in ending disparities in the realm of OBGYN. See our recent article for more info.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Co-Vice Chairs
As a part of this year's Pride Month, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) solicited submissions from community members who identify as LGBTQ+ or who stand by the LGBTQ+ community as allies. ACOG received two submissions from residents in our program at the University of Minnesota, who shared deeply moving stories about their journeys and their goals. They sent the following to Dr. Samantha Hoffman, the Head of Education:
We are humbled and grateful to say that we've received two submissions from residents (one of whom is incoming) in your program at the University of Minnesota, who have shared deeply moving stories about their journeys and their goals. Both residents wrote about their pride as LGBTQ+ individuals; their desire to encourage others in their programs and professions to be comfortable being who they are and to learn how to care for LGBTQ+ patients; and their hopes of serving as a source of comprehensive, comfortable, affirming care for LGBTQ+ patients.
That we have received two submissions from your program speaks volumes about the environment that you and your program are fostering for LGBTQ+ individuals. We commend your program, your faculty, and your residents for creating a welcoming and encouraging space for LGBTQ+ people and positioning the upcoming generation of physicians to provide inclusive, respectful care to patients in need.
If you would like to read stories from the community, please visit ACOG's post on pride month
TBA
A multi-year transformational change effort of M Health Fairview to drive more equitable outcomes and inclusive environments and experiences for our patients, employees, and communities.
