We can’t talk our way to equity. We must act.

Structural racism exists across all areas of society including health care, resulting in deep mistrust among Black, Indigenous, Latino and Asian people.

James C. Burroughs II is working to rebuild that trust. Burroughs was the first chief equity and inclusion officer to serve the state of Minnesota. He is now senior vice president, government and community relations, chief equity and inclusion officer at Children’s Minnesota, the only health system in the state dedicated exclusively to the comprehensive health needs of kids.

Burroughs sees progress since he joined Children’s Minnesota five years ago. He has spearheaded the creation of the Collective for Community Health, increased the number of diverse leaders across the organization and tripled its spend with diverse businesses among other accomplishments. Even so, he knows there’s still much to accomplish. Burroughs’ chief priority is addressing health disparities, inside and outside of Children’s Minnesota hospitals and clinics, so more children can live healthy, happy lives.

What motivated you to work toward equity in health care?

JB: My daughter, Teresa, was my main motivation. She was born with sickle cell disease and is a patient at Children’s Minnesota. I want to ensure that she and other children of color receive equitable care. That means seeing herself in the team that takes care of her. It means care teams need to know how to address and understand her health needs from a culturally aware and competent viewpoint. I also believe that we can better address the numerous racial disparities in Minnesota if we address the health and wellness of kids.

What does diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) mean at Children’s Minnesota?

JB: Children’s Minnesota is one of the largest pediatric health systems in the country. Nearly half of our patients and families are people of color. They deserve to feel valued, respected and supported. That means having a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture that reflects the rich backgrounds of the communities we serve.

Diversity is simply how we are different and how we are alike. Equity is providing each individual employee, patient, family, vendor and community member with what they need to be successful. Inclusion is how we make sure people can be their full selves at work.

Children’s Minnesota DEI efforts began in 2016 when we became the first health system in the state to explicitly name structural racism as a priority health issue.

After that, our President and CEO Dr. Marc Gorelick signed the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion pledge and hired me as the system’s first chief equity and inclusion officer. Children’s Minnesota became a founding member of the Minnesota Business Coalition for Racial Equity.

Two years ago, we launched the Collective for Community Health, which is accelerating the work we do with community partners and other organizations. The Collective received a generous $3 million grant from United Health Foundation which we’re using to engage with community partners to increase access to mental health support, address disparities in vaccination rates and much more.

How else is Children’s Minnesota engaging in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts?

JB: Our vision is to be every family’s essential partner in raising healthier children. To fulfill that vision, DEI needs to be at the heart of everything our kid experts do.

To increase diversity among our staff, we’ve established relationships with local nonprofits and universities to offer internships that create a pipeline for racially and LGBTQ+ diverse employees.

We’re investing in the communities we serve by increasing our supplier diversity. That means working with more businesses owned by people who are Black, Latino, Native, Asian, women, veterans, LGBTQ+ or who have disabilities.

We now offer our patients culturally sensitive and inclusive clothing when they’re at our hospitals and clinics. This includes head caps, hijabs and modesty gowns that meet medical standards. We offer hair care products made for kids with varied hair textures, so all our patients feel welcome and included.

Our kid experts were also involved in efforts to increase the acceptance of donor breast milk in the Muslim community. They worked with Islamic scholars who issued a first-of-its-kind fatwa, or religious clarification, encouraging the use of pasteurized donor milk for babies when a mother’s milk is not available.

Are you tracking the results of your DEI work?

JB: Our efforts to diversify our workforce at all levels of the organization to reflect the rich diversity of our patients has yielded significant results. From 2020 to the end of 2023, the diversity of our workforce jumped from 23% to 26%. The diversity of Children’s Minnesota leadership jumped from 11% to almost 19%. We’ve also seen growth in our supplier diversity. In 2022, Children’s Minnesota spent almost $900,000 with diverse businesses. By 2023, that number jumped to more than $3 million.

Diversity, equity and inclusion metrics are embedded within our Children’s Minnesota strategic plan because we know what gets measured gets done.  This will serve as the foundation for any strategic plans for the future of Children’s Minnesota.

What’s on the horizon for DEI at Children’s Minnesota?

JB: We need to continue to find ways to invest money in communities of color, in the people and businesses located in the same neighborhoods as our hospitals and clinics. We need to continue to attract and retain staff who reflect the communities we serve.

The best advice I ever received was, “what gets measured, gets done.” That is why we will continue to track our progress and hold ourselves accountable.  Our children deserve nothing less.

James C. Burroughs II is senior vice president, government and community relations and chief equity and inclusion officer at Children’s Minnesota.

Visit childrensMN.org/TheKidExperts to learn more about the mission, vision and values at Children’s Minnesota.