The Compass Program is a yearlong journey where Hennepin Healthcare team members receive the chance to reflect, learn, and connect with other employees, focusing on racial inequities in healthcare systems.
Program Details
Through the Compass Program, Hennepin Healthcare team members will have the unique opportunity to learn more about the history of racism in the US, how different racial groups have faced racism in the US (including Black/African Americans, Latinx/Hispanic Americans, American Indian Alaskan Natives, as well as Asian American Pacific Islanders), and how systemic racism contributes to health disparities.
The program provides the team with professional development opportunities related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to support their personal journey into health equity. Team members will be equipped with historical knowledge, broadened awareness, and skills to navigate systemic forms of racism as well as interpersonal microaggressions. The end goal will be to put learning into practice, working to eliminate health inequities.
138 senior leaders and 25% of the team members at Hennepin Healthcare have completed the program.
As of January 2024, 50 percent of the team members are in the program.
By 2025, all 7,000 team members will have completed the Compass Program.
Team members have the opportunity to receive a Credly badge to share with their network that they’ve completed our health equity training.
Testimonials
"Participating in the Compass program has been a life-changing experience for me. I’m very appreciative of the opportunity and that it will be shared with all team members. As a nurse, bearing witness to someone else’s pain is central to our profession. It is equally as important as aligning ourselves with where our patients are in their journey and meeting them there. These values go hand in hand.” - Megen B.
"I have learned so much already in the few months we've had these trainings. I am starting to recognize my biases and work toward identifying and acknowledging them as inaccurate." - Anonymous
“Hennepin Healthcare’s commitment to educating team members and increasing their knowledge of other cultures within the context of US history helps me understand implicit biases and why disparities persist today. Compass is a differentiator for me and a key reason why I am proud to work at Hennepin Healthcare." - Michelle P.
"Having the support and motivation through this program to sit in discomfort, unpack my biases, and come to a complete understanding of history has been incredible. [The Compass Program] has tremendously impacted me individually and changed how I approach different things in managing my department." -Anonymous
My Compass
When our Hennepin Healthcare team comes to work, they bring their personal stories, the communities that shaped them, and the values they hold close—the “compass” that guides their life at work and outside of it.
In this video series inspired by the Compass Program, a few of our Hennepin Healthcare team members share where their compass points them, both at work and in their lives outside.
Senior Community Health Worker Francesse Estime shows how her compass points her to connection – bringing people together at church, cooking food with her family, and caring for patients.
"I don't mean to sound cliche, but I'm a people person – really and truly. ... I want everyone that I interact with to know that I care for them. That's what I love about my job. I get to help people. We get to help people."
In part two of the video series, Occupational Therapist Eiko Mizushima takes us on a climb to the top of an oak tree and reflects on what it means to work for liberation.
“In my work, I strive for liberation for my patients – liberation from patterns that have weighed them down, liberation from false narratives, liberation from defeat, liberation from colonization.”
