Richmond Clinic’s Health Equity Community Organizer Speaks Out
— Don’t miss the important call to action at the bottom of this guest post. —
My name is Hilary Nichols. I’ve worked at the OHSU Richmond Clinic for almost two years as the health equity community organizer. I first want to say how much I really care about my work at Richmond. I love my job — I get to work with patients and staff to organize campaigns for health equity and social justice by using the practices of community organizing and civic engagement. I love so many of the people I work with — Richmond is made up of many incredibly dedicated people who recognize that everyone should have good health care regardless of their ability to pay and that overall health and wellness is more than just health care and exam visits.
Richmond is a leader in incorporating programs — like our medical legal partnership — that help meet patients’ social needs, and for dedicating resources — like hiring me as a clinic-based community organizer — to be a part of systemic change for health equity. Richmond does, in so many ways, take amazing care of its patients.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t translate to how Richmond treats its staff. Since I joined the Richmond Clinic in August 2020, I have heard at least a dozen heartbreaking stories from BIPOC and gender-diverse staff who feel marginalized, harmed and oppressed at work. Even more concerning is the fact that many of these staff have felt marginalized, harmed and oppressed by their own supervisors and by clinic leadership.
Over and over again, whenever myself or fellow staff have brought up the racism and oppression within management, we have been silenced, ignored and talked over. I have spent hours anxiously awake in the middle of the night ruminating about the harm that I know staff are enduring on a regular basis, with nothing being done about it.
We all learned about consultant Pia Bloom’s report in 2021 (but not until seven months after the investigation took place). The Pia Bloom report found that Richmond has a “clinic environment that is unhealthy, unpredictable and toxic.” It named nine issues with management specifically, including but not limited to racial/ethnic concerns and microaggressions, employees not feeling supported, retaliation, fear of losing employment and lack of transparency.
I really believe in this clinic, but I have been so disappointed with how OHSU HR and Richmond leadership have failed to take accountability for the harm that the report names as THEIR responsibility. Since the Pia Bloom report, clinic leadership has only proposed actions that do NOTHING to address the management issues. Security cameras, de-escalation training for all staff, security windows and unconscious-bias training for all staff are not appropriate responses to address issues with management. I have been really disappointed to witness clinic leadership deny responsibility and avoid action even when directly asked: “What are you doing to address the management issues named in the Pia Bloom report?” Today, we still don’t have an answer.
On Wednesday, March 9, AFSCME Local 328 held a solidarity rally at the clinic to take a stand against the workplace racism, bigotry and silencing we’ve been experiencing. We heard heartbreaking stories from staff, and we grew our power by showing up and realizing we are not alone.
We deserve a clinic culture that is relational, transparent, loving and accountable. BIPOC and LGBTQ staff deserve a workplace where they aren’t harmed or traumatized by their supervisors. Real change does not happen without friction, and the status quo cannot be broken without SOMETHING breaking.
You can help our coworkers at the Richmond clinic by emailing OHSU Labor Relations and telling them that it’s well past time to address the clinic leadership’s issues with racism, retaliation and inaction. Thank you for your support!