[MUSIC PLAYING] When I smile, it makes everybody smile. And it's amazing.

In 2015, I became pregnant, and we found out she had a neural tube defect. And about 26 weeks pregnant, they went in and did in utero fetal surgery and closed up her back. When she came out, her back was almost fully closed. And she was kicking her legs, so just to see that was amazing.

The team here with Children's and Allina Health stepped up, and they made me feel so calm and relaxed. It was the best experience, and we've seen such great outcome with Clara.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

She's been talking since six months old.

I'm in first grade.

She's the top reader in her school.

I read Peppa Pig, Cat in the Hat. My favorite is Hansel and Gretel. Have you ever heard of that book?

Always laughing--

I'm an emotional person, and I'm a happy person.

She's always constantly waving at people and smiling at people.

[CHATTER]

Today is Twins with TC Bear and all the players.

They were coloring. There was batting. And there was fun stuff.

It's a great day for she could just be with her peers and have fun. She will go home now from this, and she'll talk about it for days.

[CHEERS]

Great. There we go.

[CHATTER]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Courage Kenny has been amazing. We've started at two months old, and they've really helped build up some strength and courage in her so that she can stand independently. And then just being in the sports gives her the courage to be just like others and have fun.

Clara has taught me to be strong.

| would say be proud of yourself and do your best.

If I could go back and reassure myself, I would tell myself, you got this. You're strong. She's strong, and she's going to come out on top.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[BIRDS CHIRPING] [MUSIC PLAYING]

Paddlers get ready. Go!

2, 3, 4, 5.

We are an enthusiastic group of breast cancer survivors--

Up, one!

--who've come together--

3, 4.

--on a dragon boat team.

Now!

Trying to live our best lives post-cancer.

Let it ride.

[CHEERING]

Every diva in this boat is giving everything she's got.

[GRUNTING]

The same determination that they exhibited throughout their cancer treatment, they bring into this boat.

There's a feeling of this camaraderie because we've been through similar experiences.

Nice work.

2014.

January of 2021.

December 2005. It was breast cancer.

Initial diagnosis, consultation with my surgeon.

They acted so quickly.

The rounds of chemo and radiation.

Mastectomy.

I've had such great care at the Allina Health Cancer Institute.

They looked at mind, body, spirit. And I needed all of those things.

Then they graduated me. And I said, oh, no, what's next? I don't know how to do this on my own. And they said, have you heard of the Dragon Divas?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

We're the Dragon Divas of Minnesota. And this is my fancy paddle. And it's got a dragon on it. And it brings me lots of luck.

We continue to be a volunteer organization.

We have people from every walk of life.

Any woman, any age.

It's a different kind of support group.

An attitude of gratitude. Paddles all the way up. Happy to be here.

[CHEERING]

We really do love each other and support each other on the water and off.

When we say paddles up, and we strike the water all together--

Paddles up.

You ready to go to the dog park? Good girl. Taking the dog for a walk, golfing, bird watching. If I'm outside, I'm happy.

But when I was probably 45, I started noticing pain in my left hip. A good friend of mine is a physical therapist that works for Allina, and he noticed me limping around. And he said, you should go see a doctor, Dr. Heller.

I'm Andy Goldman-Gray and I got a total hip replacement at Allina Health Orthopedics. They put me in front of the x-ray machine.

So you can see why it hurts. Obviously, he's bone on bone in through here.

He could see, actually, why the pain was there.

I had no cartilage. I had no joint space left. So they said, at that point, you need a hip replacement. My wife got me to the hospital at 7:00 AM and I was out for 4 hours, and then at 4:00, they were like, all right, you're ready to go home.

It's called the Same-day Total Joint Replacement Program. Here at United Hospital, where a patient can come in, have their joint replaced, and be able to go home just a few short hours later with all the tools they need to be successful.

Dr. Heller does a hybrid surgery that's super cool and they don't have to cut any muscles or ligaments.

I have two small incisions. I have two inches in the front of the hip and an inch and 1/4 in the back and I put the same device in. And I do that without cutting any muscle, and that makes a big difference.

There aren't any restrictions. There's a lot less pain afterwards and the mobility is much, much better right away. These things all lend to the same-day program.

I was in the post-op for probably two hours and then I had to go to the PT office where they made sure I could get in and out of a car, up and down three stairs, and sit down in a chair, and lay down in a bed.

So we want to encourage them as they're recovering from their surgery to use that movement as medicine. And we teach them everything they're going to need to be safe at home that night. And they have access to a nurse navigator for any questions or concerns that they have.

It's an open line that they can call 24/7.

Clover, come here. Oh, good girl.

What surprised me most was just the recovery time was so much shorter than I expected. It took about probably two weeks to get back to where I would say I was normal-ish. Just getting back to the things that I love to do, especially outdoors, when that pain is lifted, you're like, oh, it's a whole new day. I was happy again.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Hi Mr. Goldstein, how are you doing?

How are you?

Good.

Medicine is a unique privilege.

We'll just give you a quick exam here. I want to see how this thing--

To help people--

Does any of that hurt?

No.

And to me, that's the most rewarding thing. I don't know what I would do if I was not a doctor.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I'm Badrinath Konety. I am the president of the Allina Health Cancer Institute, and I'm also the chief academic officer for Allina Health. Caring for people who are sick is a team sport. We do it together.

Lots of great trials, and some of the new ones that you're doing--

So regarding the Cancer Institute, my job is more like a team coach. We know that we have to focus and provide the best care in the best possible way, in the quickest possible way, to our cancer patients. And my job is to figure out how to do that.

Our nursing director, who signed on--

In my role as the chief academic officer, my job was two-fold. One is to focus on research, and the other aspect is to focus on building the educational pipeline-- the doctors and nurses, APPs, pharmacists, et cetera-- to meet our needs.

And being at the cutting edge requires you to be engaged in a clinical practice, so I do clinical work here. I have clinic patients every week, and then I operate one day a week. It allows you to understand what it is like to work here and also make sure that I'm making a constant contribution. That's why I went into this.

And the other thing I also do-- I do a lot of teaching and community work outside, especially internationally. And working in a limited-resource environment really teaches you to be very resourceful. And the most rewarding thing is you get to teach people because that's what builds the health of the local community.

There are many other colleagues of mine here who similarly have careers, which are driven by purpose. And they give of their time and their knowledge and their experience. I think that's the Allina way.

And the reason that I chose to come to Allina and stay at Allina is because I see it as a place where that sort of attitude is valued. That ethos is sort of baked in to the work ethic at Allina. It's about, what is your contribution that you're going to leave behind? It's a purely altruistic contribution to the community.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[ANIMATED MUSIC PLAYING] Thank you for calling Allina Health.

This is the Allina Health customer Experience Center, an amazing enterprise that supports the entire organization. We are creating a moment that matters.

How can I help you?

24/7, 365. I am Minda Garcia, the Vice President of this amazing department. This is the football field. We love to call it the football field because it is a team environment. We take 8.3 million calls a year.

I can check that location for you.

And so, our team members there not just the answering service, there not just the scheduler, or the message taker. They are part of the care team. And so, even though we are not there putting our hands on our patients, we can convey with our voices, support for these patients.

I can help you schedule that.

I think Allina has always been at the forefront of making sure that our diverse communities really feel welcome. I've been with Allina Health for 22 years, proudly been with Allina Health for 22 years. I love it. We get to speak up, our voices get to be heard and we get to set the culture of our organization.

Allina makes me feel like I can do that. Everyone can do that. We decorate, I put up pictures of my spouse, put up pictures of my nephews. I love seeing that people bring their whole selves. You be you. When we leverage the energies of this team, it's amazing what can be accomplished. It makes me smile.

[ANIMATED MUSIC PLAYING]

I grew up on the White Earth Reservation. I'm a descendant of the Ojibwe tribe. With a family that loved the outdoors, we fished, there was a lot of hunting, a very charmed upbringing. I was very lucky. But I never met a Native American physician so the idea of being a physician was not really on my radar.

Listen to your heart.

Not until the University of Minnesota contacted me before my senior year of high school, and had said, you know what? I think you should think about being a doctor. I mean, that was-- that was huge. I'm Christine Athman, I'm a family physician.

And we'll let you know as soon as we get that result back.

I went to undergrad at the university of Minnesota, Morris, and then I finished up at University of Minnesota, medical school in 2007. And the mentors that they connected us with were Native physicians who had already walked that path. I would not be the physician that I am today without those programs and without those people.

So in 2013 I became assistant director at the Native American Center for Health Professions, and I was no longer the mentee. I had turned into the mentor. And it was a joy to be working with students.

You're kind of going in and out.

And it's been wonderful to watch them be successful in their careers. Now that I am a doctor and I'm busy practicing medicine, mentorship is still extremely important to me. Engaging and motivating and cheering on and being a source of support for our students. It's a joy to be working with students and have the privilege to pay it forward.