HCMC’s new leader is the first Somali American to lead a Minnesota hospital board

Mohamed Omar is the new board chair of Hennepin Healthcare System, the organization that runs HCMC, making him Minnesota’s first Somali American hospital board leader.

The health care system board permanently appointed Omar to the position Wednesday at their regular meeting. He had served as interim chair since Babette Apland stepped down in September.

Omar has been on the volunteer board for three years, working on the finance, investment, audit and compliance committees. He is the chief administrative officer at the Washburn Center for Children and previously was chief financial officer at the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund.

In a statement, Omar said he was excited to lead a hospital board in the state with the largest Somali American population in the U.S. He said he shared the health system’s dedication to providing “equitable, high-quality care.”

“My commitment is to deepen our community engagement, build more authentic connections between patients and team members, and build a confident future together,” Omar’s statement said.

CEO Jennifer DeCubellis and Nneka Sederstrom, chief health equity officer, praised Omar’s selection as chair. They said more inclusive leadership with a commitment to ending health disparities are key to HCMC’s success.

Hennepin County Board Chair Irene Fernando, who is also on the health system board, said she was excited to work with Omar. She said county leaders are dedicated to good stewardship of the “state’s last public safety-net hospital.”

“As the first Hennepin County Board chair of color, I know how impactful it is for our communities to see themselves represented in public leadership,” Fernando said.

The County Board recently passed a resolution calling on the health system to add more diversity to its oversight board, including members of its workforce and patients, to better represent the community it serves.

Omar is the health system’s second board chair in less than a year.

Apland resigned in September after three county commissioners admonished her for what they felt were racially charged comments she made in a closed meeting about the impact Somali immigrants were having on the hospital’s costs for uncompensated care. Apland apologized, saying her comments were misconstrued and she was only drawing attention to the growing needs of the community.

In December 2023, the chair and another board member quit after the County Board imposed new oversight on the hospital system’s budget. Those added guardrails came after nurses and other unionized workers raised concerns about changes to their health care benefits, staffing and safety. Nurses have called for the County Board to take back control of the hospital, a move commissioners have not supported.