Opinion | Hennepin County Board members should delay their vote on HCMC governance takeover

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Imagine being told you don’t belong after you’ve done the hard work. After you’ve stepped up when others looked away. After you’ve brought real solutions to a system desperate for change.

That’s exactly what’s happening to me, and to the board I have the honor of chairing at Hennepin Healthcare.

Our board isn’t made up of insiders or political appointees. It’s made up of people who live and work in the communities this hospital serves. Nurses. Doctors. Financial experts. Public servants. People who carry both professional expertise and lived experience. People who understand, firsthand, the challenges facing our health care system, and who show up every day to do something about it.

When the county commissioners asked us to take a hard look at the hospital’s finances, we didn’t hesitate. We got to work. We rolled up our sleeves and delivered urgent, transparent, solution-driven leadership. That’s what accountability looks like.

We created a task force to thoroughly review the budget and recommend real, tangible cost reductions. We examined directed payments, found ways to optimize spending and made tough but necessary decisions. We guided the institution through the difficult transition period after the previous CEO resigned, keeping the hospital stable and focused on its mission.

Let’s be honest: If this were truly about fixing a financial crisis, we’d be working in partnership. Instead, the only board that’s brought clarity, urgency and credibility to this moment is being told to step aside. Why? Because we don’t fit the mold? Because our leadership challenges business as usual? Because we represent communities that are tired of being ignored?

When health care leadership reflects the people it serves, it builds trust. And in a public hospital, trust isn’t optional. It’s everything. It determines whether people show up for appointments, follow medical advice and believe that the system is worth engaging at all.

Replacing this board with political appointees doesn’t just undermine that trust — it erases it. It sends a message that our communities don’t matter. That our experience doesn’t count. That our leadership is disposable.

That’s not how we improve public health. That’s how we reinforce the same broken systems we’ve been working so hard to fix.

I am proud of the board I chair. I’m proud of the questions we’ve asked, the hard conversations we’ve had and the solutions we’ve delivered. We’ve brought both courage and competence to the table. And now, the county wants to remove that leadership behind closed doors.

So, here’s what we are asking: Delay the vote.

The county commissioners must delay their vote until the community has been truly heard. Every day, we hear from people who are only just learning about this issue. People who want to weigh in, who deserve to weigh in, but haven’t had the chance. In a democracy, decisions of this magnitude must reflect public input. Especially when the people most affected are those who have been historically ignored.

If we are to honor our democratic form of government, we must make room for these voices. That means listening. That means slowing down. That means leading with the same accountability and transparency we’ve brought to this board from day one.

This decision doesn’t just impact one board. It impacts every resident who believes health care should be driven by the needs of the people, not the politics of the moment.

Let’s not abandon what’s working. Let’s protect it. Let’s defend it.

Let the community be heard. Not after the fact. But now. Before it’s too late.