Our commitment to community health

More than 1,800 team members were trained on “Make it Okay” messaging to reduce stigma around mental health.

We empowered team members to feel comfortable addressing mental health issues with their customers, family, friends, and community members.

In 2021, we purchased 4,200 Deterra Medication Disposal bags, and in 2022, we distributed the bags at many community events.

The Deterra medication disposal pouch makes drugs safe for disposal in household trash. The Deterra bags get unneeded, expired, and unused prescription drugs out of homes and disposed of safely by immediately and permanently deactivating and disposing of unneeded pills, patches, liquids, creams, and films.

The Deterra bags were distributed to customers through the hospital pharmacies and through numerous community events including Lakeview Terrace and Maple Grove Farmers markets, the North Market Health Fair, and events such as North Minneapolis’ Live Your Healthy Lyfe and Brooklyn Park’s Living Well Resource Fair.

Naloxone is a medication used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids. Narcan is the nasal spray form of naloxone that can be sprayed directly into a person’s nose. Our community paramedics provided education on how to use Narcan on people experiencing an overdose and handed out overdose prevention supplies such as Narcan and fentanyl test kits at community events.

We continued to provide virtual support groups for customers, caregivers and community members who are experiencing specific health issues:

• Lung cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Loss support (hospice and perinatal)
• Leukemia
• Lymphoma
• “Coffee and Conversation” for stroke survivors suffering from Aphasia

With support from a range of team members and leaders, our objective is to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone feels that they belong.

Increasing our Intercultural Competency

More than 180 leaders completed the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). We have provided an intercultural development plan, training, and additional resources to move our leadership team from a monocultural mindset to an intercultural mindset where leaders understand their own culture, its influence on world views, their interactions with other cultures, and building a culture of belonging.

Nurturing Future Diverse Leaders

In 2022, we launched an Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) which the first cohort was for team members of color. The curriculum included recognizing and building on dimensions of difference and diversity within a team, demonstrating how systemic racism contributes to creating healthcare disparities, and understanding the importance and benefits of DEI. We developed a learning lab for New Leader Orientation (NLO) to allow participants the opportunity to practice having courageous conversations around race. To increase the number of BIPOC providers and increase access to care providers who represent and reflect our community members, North Memorial Health established an annual $5,000 BIPOC Mental Health Academic Scholarship. The first scholarship was awarded in 2022. Through our sponsorship of UNCF’s MLK Breakfast and scholarships to local colleges, we also supported academic scholarships for Black students. Finally, we partnered with an organization called Mossier to increase our community outreach and recruitment as well as provide team members resources to ensure equitable care to our LGBTQIA+ community.

Investing in Our Community

Between 2020-2022, North Memorial Health committed over $160k to organizations and events that serve or are led by BIPOC individuals to improve health outcomes, increase educational opportunities, and build relationships. Organizations we have supported include Live Your Healthy Lyfe, Northside Achievement Zone, CEAP, Capri Theater, Northside Economic Opportunity Network Minneapolis, and the Annex Teen Clinic. Additionally, North Memorial Health continued its support of TC Pride in 2022 by participating in the Pride March and sponsoring both the Power to the People of Color (P2P) Stage” and “Handwashing Stations.”

We hosted two events at Maple Grove Farmer’s Market as part of Senior September that provided health information on falls prevention and choking interventions, two injuries prevalent in our older populations. We also promoted Healthy Aging at the Living Well Resource Fair in Brooklyn Center—promoting safe, well-lit environments, Stepping On exercise classes, and falls prevention education.

As part of our Community Health Needs Assessment work, we engaged directly with local community members and organizations to identify and understand significant health needs in the region. In 2022, we enlisted Susan DeSimone Inc. to conduct 50 key informant interviews and gather community feedback through communitychat.com. We also partnered with Cultural Wellness Center as we gathered input on community health from more than 580 community residents through community engagement events, such as dinners and dialogues and in-person surveys.