COLUMBUS, Ohio — A group of nearly 20 nurses at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center have teamed up to form a new diversity committee.
Beth Mengstu is an ICU nurse who worked to form this committee.
Mengtsu said she has been working on the front lines of the pandemic for more than a year and has also been deeply impacted by national events of social injustice.
She said the events of the last year and a half weigh heavy and she was motivated to create the diversity committee to channel feelings of burnout and hurt into a positive force.
"Being a Black nurse, being a Black woman, being in a COVID ICU, being in a grad program, it was just a lot,” Mengstu said.
The goal of the committee is to educate others on diversity and inclusion and offer a space for talking about social injustice.
“We touch on topics of implicit bias, health disparities, social injustice, religion, inclusion, diversity of our coworkers, [and] matters of the LGBTQ+ community,” Mengtsu said.
The committee is beginning to plan outreach efforts in Columbus and in communities beyond the city.
The first event involves members volunteering at the United Methodist Free Store in September.
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