EthnoMed is Harborview Medical Center’s ethnic medicine website, developed for clinicians and healthcare providers working with immigrant and refugee populations in the greater Seattle area. The site offers culturally relevant information on immigration, health beliefs, clinical care, and translated materials for patients. Their recently launched podcast features a segment called “Provider Pulse” where they hold candid conversations with frontline clinicians and medical residents. Episode 17 offers insight beyond clinical roles and takes you on a journey from the lens of the mailroom.
Kenn Arning, Harborview’s longtime mail clerk and self-described ‘postal detective’ has sorted 5,000 pieces of mail a day, tracked down misdirected packages, and built connections across every department in the hospital for more than four decades.
Kenn shares how his Quaker education, global travels, and passion for learning about people and the places they are from shaped his work—and why Harborview’s mission keeps him coming back year after year. This is a conversation about service, curiosity, and the unseen networks that hold a hospital community together.
Listen now at the below link:
Provider Pulse Ep. 17: Kenn Arning – 47 years as Harborview’s Postal Detective and Community Builder
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do by Studs Terkel
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59649.Working
FIUTS: Foundation for International Understanding Through Students.
