Meet Grace Abena Birago Totoe, MD, FACP

Grace Abena Birago Totoe, MD, FACP, is an Internal Medicine physician, healthcare executive, entrepreneur, and passionate advocate for health equity. She is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Medical Director of Minneapolis Health Clinic in Golden Valley, Minnesota, and serves as Board Chair of Totoe Health Equity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing equitable access to healthcare, preventive medicine, and community wellness.

With more than 15 years of experience in clinical medicine, Dr. Totoe has built a career centered on clinical excellence, compassionate patient care, healthcare innovation, and community service. Her mission is to meet patients where they are in their health journeys, empower individuals to take ownership of their health, and address the social and structural barriers that contribute to healthcare disparities.

Education and Medical Training

Dr. Totoe completed her Internal Medicine residency through the Yale University-affiliated Internal Medicine Primary Care Program at Saint Mary's Hospital in Waterbury, Connecticut. She subsequently completed fellowship training in Transfusion Medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Recognizing the importance of combining clinical expertise with strategic leadership, Dr. Totoe pursued executive education through Harvard Business School Online, completing studies in healthcare strategy, public leadership, disruptive strategy, health economics, and racial disparities in healthcare.

She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP), a distinction recognizing professional excellence, leadership, and contributions to internal medicine

Clinical Leadership and Hospital Affiliations

Dr. Totoe has extensive experience in hospital medicine, providing care to patients with complex acute and chronic medical conditions across multiple healthcare systems in the Midwest.

She is currently affiliated with M Health Fairview Health System, where she practices as a Nocturnist at St. John's Hospital, a position she has held since 2023. Her current clinical affiliations also include North Memorial Health, where she maintains a casual hospitalist position, Maple Grove Hospital, and the University of Minnesota Medical Center.

Her previous hospital medicine experience includes appointments at Ridgeview Medical Center, where she served as a nocturnist from 2017 to 2023, and Essentia Health, where she practiced hospital medicine in both full-time and casual capacities.

Throughout her clinical career, Dr. Totoe has developed expertise in managing medically complex patients, interdisciplinary collaboration, clinical decision-making, and evidence-based medical care.

In addition to her hospital-based practice, Dr. Totoe is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Medical Director of Minneapolis Health Clinic, which she established in 2017. Under her leadership, the clinic has developed into a multidisciplinary outpatient practice offering primary care, preventive medicine, chronic disease management, obesity medicine, lifestyle interventions, women's health, behavioral health, and telemedicine.

Her philosophy of care emphasizes the importance of disease prevention alongside effective medical management. She believes that sustainable improvements in health require attention not only to disease but also to nutrition, physical activity, emotional well-being, education, and the social determinants of health.

Dr. Totoe is also committed to exploring the responsible integration of artificial intelligence, digital health solutions, and innovative care delivery models to improve healthcare efficiency, access, and patient outcomes.

Health Equity, Advocacy, and Public Service

A defining aspect of Dr. Totoe's professional career is her commitment to advancing health equity and reducing disparities in healthcare access and outcomes.

From 2024 to 2026, Dr. Totoe served as a member of the Minnesota Department of Health's Health Equity Advisory and Leadership (HEAL) Council, contributing her clinical experience and community perspective to statewide discussions and initiatives addressing health inequities.

Through Totoe Health Equity, the nonprofit organization she chairs, she advocates for preventive health education, community empowerment, improved healthcare access, and initiatives supporting underserved and historically marginalized populations.

She believes that achieving meaningful health equity requires collaboration among healthcare professionals, policymakers, community organizations, educators, and the individuals and families they serve.

Her dedication to improving healthcare extends beyond the United States. Through Totoe Medical Services Limited in Ghana, West Africa, Dr. Totoe is developing healthcare services focused on home-based medical care, continuity of care, medication management, and coordinated support for individuals and families.

Entrepreneurship, Healthcare Innovation, and Mentorship

Dr. Totoe combines clinical medicine with entrepreneurial leadership, seeking innovative and sustainable approaches to improving healthcare delivery.

As a healthcare entrepreneur, she has developed services that integrate traditional medical care with prevention, wellness, and technology-enabled healthcare.

She is also passionate about training and mentoring future healthcare professionals. Through Minneapolis Health Clinic Academy, she supports medical students, international medical graduates, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other healthcare trainees through clinical observerships, mentorship, professional development, and exposure to the United States healthcare system.

Her work in medical education emphasizes clinical reasoning, professionalism, patient-centered communication, health equity, and the importance of understanding healthcare systems.

Dr. Totoe's broader professional interests include clinical quality improvement, healthcare operations, medical education, healthcare technology, and organizational leadership.

Professional Affiliations and Community Engagement

Dr. Totoe is actively involved in several professional organizations, including the American College of Physicians, Society of Hospital Medicine, American Medical Association, and Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies, formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks.

She maintains professional and alumni connections with the University of Minnesota, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and Ghana International School.

Her professional and community involvement reflects her belief that physicians have a responsibility not only to provide high-quality clinical care but also to contribute to the improvement of healthcare systems and the communities they serve.

Personal Life

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Dr. Totoe is a devoted wife and mother of two daughters. She values family, education, community service, and the importance of maintaining meaningful relationships.

She enjoys attending her daughters' basketball tournaments and other sporting activities, playing tennis, watching movies, spending time with family, and exploring new destinations through travel.

She speaks English and Twi and has knowledge of French, reflecting her appreciation for cultural diversity and the importance of communication in establishing meaningful connections with patients and communities.

Vision and Legacy

Dr. Totoe's long-term vision is to contribute to a healthcare system in which quality medical services are accessible, compassionate, preventive, and responsive to the needs of individuals across diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

Whether caring for hospitalized patients, leading a multidisciplinary medical practice, mentoring future healthcare professionals, advocating for health equity, or developing healthcare services internationally, she remains guided by a central philosophy:

"Healthcare should not simply treat disease. It should empower individuals, strengthen families, promote dignity, and create healthier communities."

Through her clinical leadership, entrepreneurship, public service, and commitment to health equity, Dr. Grace Totoe continues to work toward a future in which access to quality healthcare is a reality for all.