HJ26 Field Trips
This year, not only are we offering dozens of sessions on a wide variety of health care topics but also two field trips for journalists registered for the conference that are sure to inspire story ideas.
Below are the sites we plan to visit. The list is subject to change.
Rules and reminders
Field trip 1
Children’s Minnesota: Advancing care for kids with critical illnesses and injuries
Children’s Minnesota is one of the largest pediatric health systems in the U.S., providing primary and specialized care to children from every county in Minnesota and every state in the Upper Midwest. This visit offers a closer look at how care teams approach complex pediatric conditions, from rehabilitation to emergency response.
Field trip highlights include:
- A tour of pediatric cancer rehab gyms embedded inside the cancer clinic and inpatient unit. The internationally recognized program is designed to provide children with physical, occupational and speech therapy alongside cancer treatment. The program’s creator will explain how research proves integrated rehab during treatment can improve long-term function and quality of life for pediatric survivors and how the program is educating other health systems around the world.
- Experience firsthand a live, one-hour trauma team simulation of emergency care of a child involved in an ATV crash. The trauma team activation includes 15-20 interdisciplinary health care professionals including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and others. See how the team trains to strengthen teamwork and communication and practice clinical skills to treat critically injured children in a supportive environment.
- Hear from some of the leaders of the emergency department and trauma program on how the team provided care for the children injured in the mass shooting at Annunciation Church and School last August.
- Meet Eriq “The Dude” Nelson from Star Studio, the donor-supported TV station in the hospitals of Children’s Minnesota. Star Studio’s goal is to give patients and families facing illness a reason to smile and laugh by producing live, interactive entertainment shows and games. Patients can watch live programming from the Studio or call in from their rooms to participate.
- See technology that improves outcomes for the most complex neurosurgical patients. Children’s Minnesota is home to North America’s first pediatric hybrid iMRI surgery suite. This technology allows surgical teams to perform both brain and spine scans mid-procedure to treat brain tumors, epilepsy and traumatic injuries. In addition, you’ll see a pediatric neurointerventional angiography suite that brings advanced treatment options for children impacted by stroke or other cerebrovascular conditions.
Start time: 10:30 a.m.
End time/departure time: 4:30 p.m.
Field trip 2
When ICE came to town: How Minneapolis residents built a safety net almost overnight
Last December, Minnesota became the staging ground of the administration’s biggest DHS effort ever. An estimated 3,000 federal agents descended on the state, prompted in part by false right-wing media reports of Somali immigrants using federal funds to support terrorism. Residents of the Twin Cities were suddenly witness to brutal acts of violence against their neighbors, co-workers, family and friends.
Businesses closed, schools shut their doors and families were suddenly isolated in their homes, afraid to venture out to get food, infant supplies, vaccinations and basic health care. Children were particularly affected by what was happening, wondering if a parent would make it home safely from work. When three people were shot by federal agents — Alex Pretti and Renee Good died in those shootings — fear became terror and outrage. An estimated 4,000 people were arrested, but the long-term health and economic consequences of the assault on personal safety remain unknown.
On the national news, people outside Minnesota saw hundreds of thousands of people on the streets, protesting the actions of the federal government. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, a network of health care professionals was organized to meet the needs of the communities most affected: Somali, Hispanic and Indigenous people.
This half-day field trip, created in consultation with AHCJ members who live in Minneapolis and covered the events, will strive to deepen participants’ understanding of how individuals and communities were affected — and continue to be impacted — by Operation Metro Surge.
We’ll visit:
- The memorials to George Floyd, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, where you’ll have an opportunity for a moment of reflection.
- The Midtown Global Market, which houses more than 45 businesses representing 22 cultures. You’ll hear about the history of the market, its role in the community and how it was impacted by the surge.
- The Inspire Change Clinic, where you’ll learn from people who had a significant role in the extensive effort to create an emergency health care network to serve immigrant and indigenous communities in the Twin Cities. Led by Inspire Change Clinic’s Founder and CEO Munira Maalimisaq, the visit will also explore the clinic’s role in helping to train next generations of health care workers in culturally appropriate care. We’ll conclude with a discussion about how the health care community has been altered by events and how long-term health impacts are being tracked.
Start time: 12:30 p.m.
End time/departure time: 4:45 p.m.
