Jun 12, 2024

Addressing systemic racism in healthcare

The tragic death of George Floyd has deeply affected our communities and has affected us tremendously at ICSI. We share condolences with all those who mourn his loss. The senseless loss of Mr. Floyd’s life has once again pointed out the deadliness of systemic racism, specifically as it shows up in our police systems. As we know, however, racism exists in many different levels within many different systems. As part of the healthcare system, our responsibility right now is to take a good hard look at ourselves.

There are long-standing, harmful health inequities in Minnesota. COVID-19 has had a much higher impact on the health of the African-American community and other communities of color. The higher level of underlying disease among people who are Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color is a factor – and that itself results from systemic problems, rooted in racism.

What changes do we truly need to make to address systemic racism in healthcare and achieve racial equity? We take ownership for what we can and must do to change, ourselves – and commit to helping healthcare in Minnesota keep asking hard questions, listening carefully to the communities we serve, and most of all, taking action that moves us rapidly toward a better solution.