The Health Disparities Podcast

Hispanic panel: The social influences of health, translating “medicalish,” and understanding intersectionality.

People live and work in social communities, where a huge amount of information that drives decision making around health is disseminated person to person by community voices. Our panel of Hispanic health leaders discuss how achieving health equity requires healthcare providers to utilize social influence as a way to improve population health.  
Dr. Adela Valdez describes the concept of community intersectionality, a framework that allows us to better understand the intersecting social and demographic drivers for our communities in order to better meet their needs. Dr. Ramon Jimenez discusses how learning about the intersectionality concept has enabled him to unpack some of his personal experiences and history to better understand his own journey as a Hispanic orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Ilan Shapiro explores the limitations of speaking “medicalish” and the importance of creating culturally appropriate conversations about health within our communities, using tools and language that make health information accessible to everyone, using social and other media. Dr. De Alba Rosales discusses how achieving health equity will require broader approaches that address social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health. This episode is co-hosted by Claudia Zamora, National Hispanic Medical Association, and Dr. Ramon Jimenez, American Association of Latino Orthopedic Surgeons.
All viewpoints are the participants own.
Co-hosts
Claudia H Zamora, MPA
Founder and CEO, Zamora Consulting Group, LLC
Board Member, National Hispanic Medical Association
Washington, DC
 
Ramon Jimenez, MD, FAAOS
Executive Board, Movement is Life
Treasurer, Board of Directors, Movement is Life
Co-Founder and President, American Association of Latino Orthopaedic Surgeons
Salinas, CA
 
Guests
 
Armando De Alba Rosales MD, MPH
Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Student Programs
College of Medicine, Faculty Member of Family Medicine at UNMC
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, Nebraska
 
Adela Valdez, MD, MBA, FAAFP
Associate Dean, Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity
Associate Dean of CME at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Professor, Family Medicine
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
Harlingen, Texas
 
Ilan Shapiro MD, MBA, FAAP, FACHE
Chief Health Correspondent and Medical Affairs Officer
AltaMed Health Services
Los Angeles, California
 
© Copyright Movement is Life 2023.

Integrating clinical excellence with health equity at Walgreens & driving urban innovation at the Lindy Institute. Featuring Dr. Priya Mammen, MD, MPH

Integrating clinical excellence with health equity at Walgreens, & driving urban innovation at the Lindy Institute. Featuring Dr. Priya Mammen, MD, MPH 
Emergency room physician and public health leader Dr. Priya Mammen, MD, MPH, still misses her acute care patients, but building on her clinical experiences has enabled her to find ways to advance both urban innovation and health equity.
In this interview, recorded at the annual Movement is Life caucus, episode host Dr. Charla Johnson invites Dr. Mammen to talk about her work with the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation, her role as Senior Medical Director, Office of Clinical Integrity at Walgreens, and as adjunct faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mammen also discusses some of the themes from her presentation at the caucus, Walgreens: Advancing Health Equity with Community Engagement. 
Featuring:  
Dr. Priya Mammen, MD, MPHSenior Medical Director, Office of Clinical Integrity, Walgreens,Emergency Physician, Public Health Specialist,Adjunct Faculty, University of Pennsylvania, Fellow at Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation
Hosted by:  
Dr. Charla Johnson, DNP, RN-BC, ONCMovement is Life Steering Committee, Immediate Past President, National Association of Orthopedic Nurses, System Director, Nursing InformaticsFranciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System
Production:  Rolf Taylor, Project Advocacy
All opinions expressed are the participants own.
Copyright © Movement is Life 2023. 
Selected Excerpts
“It is not only my profound responsibility, but it is a deep, deep honor to take forward the stories and the voices of patients that have taught me for my entire career.” 
“I miss my patients and I miss touching people. There is that tactile component that I did not realize I would miss. Apparently, I am always checking my husband’s pulse!”
“The populations who are marginalized and disenfranchised often get missed if you look at the health system as a whole.” 
“Cities are engines of innovation, a group of people who have chosen or remain in a finite community. We learn how to coexist. Everything we do is intertwined with the rest of the city. Cities can answer their problems if you bring their leaders, their champions, and the voices of all the cities communities together.” 
“Emergency medicine is the only part of the US health system that is user-triggered, and as Prof. McClellan pointed out, the only truly equitable part of the US health system is EMTALA (The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act). What becomes grueling is to try and help in situations where you need to move people beyond the emergency room.”

Playing “The Race Cards” from 904WARD can create safe spaces for building understanding and advancing equity. Featuring Dr. Kimberly Allen.

“The Race Cards” is an interactive resource kit and activity designed for small groups. Working to end racism so that everyone thrives requires some uncomfortable conversations to be facilitated, because too often discussions about race either stay at the surface level or happen only among audiences steeped in knowledge about sociology, history, systemic racism, and privilege. The Race Cards create a safe space for an honest, authentic discussion in a way that is accessible to everyone.
Dr. Kimberly Allen is the inaugural CEO of 904WARD. Her organization evolved the Jacksonville 904 dialing code into a new nonprofit whose mission is to create racial healing and equity through deep conversations and learning, trusting relationships, and collective action. Episode host Sarah Hohman invites Dr. Kimberly Allen and 904 resident Sharon LaSure-Roy to reflect on the practical application of The Race Cards and report on their use in a workshop at the Movement is Life annual caucus.
Link to 904WARD resource page: https://904ward.org/racecards/ 
Copyright © Movement is Life 2023. All opinions expressed are the participants own. 

COVID connections: How resiliency training and social contact in the era of COVID-19 support mental health, behavioral change and addiction recovery.

COVID-19 impacted mental health in fundamental ways, forcing isolation and insecurity on individuals, families, and communities. Dr. Reginald Richardson explores ways we can rebuild resilience as we transition from pandemic to endemic, with particular emphasis on social support. Dr. Richardson also discusses how isolation has had a particularly damaging influence on alcohol and drug addiction rates and overdoses, with limited access to emergency mental health services contributing to poor outcomes. Episode host Dr. Yashika Watkins and Dr. Richardson also unpack some of the features of the stages of behavioral change, noting commonalities between the processes of increasing physical activity and reducing alcohol and food consumption, and how these changes can be facilitated through social contact in a group setting, as demonstrated by the Movement is Life program Operation Change.
Copyright © Movement is Life 2023. All opinions expressed are the participants own. 

Round Table: Personal experiences of how affirmative action has increased Hispanic & African American healthcare workforce diversity.

Diversity as a goal has been considered a compelling reason (and legal precedent) for higher education institutions to apply policies which attempt to correct the effects of intentional and structural discrimination impacting gender, race, and ethnicity.
Our esteemed panel of healthcare stakeholders and health equity advocates share personal experiences of how affirmative action has benefitted them, and the Hispanic and African American healthcare workforces in general. The discussion also explores affirmative action policy milestones, the positive impact these policies have had on overall workforce diversity and STEM education programs, and other knock-on effects such as increasing diverse participation in clinical trials.
Featuring Mary O’Connor, MD, Oly, Chair of Movement is Life, Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer, Vori Health (host); Prof. Frank McLellan, Esq., Professor Emeritus, Beasley School of Law, Temple University; Elena V. Rios, MD, MSPH, MACP, President & CEO, National Hispanic Medical Association; Bonnie Mason Simpson, MD, FAAOS, Medical Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, American College of Surgeons; Ramon L. Jimenez, MD, Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon, Treasurer of Movement is Life. Copyright © Movement is Life 2022.

Affirmative Action: As severe under-representation of minorities in the healthcare workforce persists, affirmative action now faces a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.

Featuring Cara McClellan, JD, MEd, and Mary I. O’Connor, MD.
Addressing the under-representation of racial minorities in the health professions is considered central to reducing overall health disparities and inequalities. Multiple “race-conscious” laws and policies have been introduced that seek to help marginalized communities, ranging from affirmative action to voting rights, reproductive rights, and environmental protections. Legal action now brought before the Supreme Court by conservative activist Edward Blum calling for all higher education admission applications to be effectively “color-blind” could end affirmative action as we know it, with wider ramifications for race-conscious legislation.
In this episode of the Health Disparities Podcast, Cara McClellan, JD from the Advocacy for Racial and Civil (ARC) Justice Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law in Philadelphia unpacks the origins of affirmative action with Dr. Mary O’Connor, Chair of Movement is Life. Together they discuss the foundational impact of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the role of the Freedmen’s Bureau, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Higher Education Act of 1965, and current judicial deliberations. Depending on how SCOTUS rules on overturning affirmative action, the long battle to desegregate higher education in the United States could take a backwards step. But are there alternative approaches?
Copyright: Movement is Life 2022 

Health Zones & Healthy 2030 Goals: CVS & Aetna commitment to community health equity with Jennifer Truscott

Jennifer Truscott is Senior Vice President, Cross-Enterprise Strategic Innovation, with Aetna, whose parent company is CVS. Jennifer shares some of the ways in which CVS is centering and investing in health equity, particularly at the local level, by leveraging the strong engagement that CVS has with many underserved communities. Initiatives discussed include investments in specific “Health Zones,” and also in affordable housing. Jennifer also shares her thoughts on the importance of acting locally, and a great health equity read called Take us to a Better Place, RWJFs first book of fiction. With host Dr. Jonathan Silver, Chief Orthopedic Physician Associate, Department of Orthopedics, Kings County Hospital Center, New York, and President, Academy of Doctoral Physician Associates.
Resources and initiatives mentioned in this episode:
CVS Healthy 2030 Goals: https://www.cvshealth.com/social-responsibility/corporate-social-responsibility/healthy-2030-goals
About CVS Health Zones: https://www.cvshealth.com/social-responsibility/health-zones  
Take us to a Better Place, RWJFs first book of fiction:  https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2019/11/take-us-to-a-better-place-stories-coming-january-2020.html
Excerpt:
“At CVS we are concerned about the health disparities in our communities. There are disproportionate rates of illness and death and limited cultural competency among providers and resources. We see ongoing and deep-rooted discrimination and racism…it’s those -isms that we just have to uncover and address. And until we have those honest conversations, we are never going to be able to solve them.”  ~ Jennifer Truscott, CVS & Aetna
Copyright © Movement is Life 2022 
 

Town Hall Meeting 2: Operation Change has a Ripple Effect in San Diego

We visit San Diego’s Salvation Army Kroc Center for an Operation Change Town Hall welcoming the local Hispanic community. For the first time since lockdown, Operation Change convenes its program in San Diego. There is a joyful and grateful atmosphere, although some participants have sad news to share about loved ones lost to the pandemic. Our interviews reveal how Operation Change is much more than a wellness program, it is a true community intervention. 
We learn how information shared during the Operation Change sessions ripples out into the wider community through family connections, via participants who are community health workers, and passed on by San Diego’s famous Kitchenistas. Featuring participants from the Operation Change San Diego community, Program Coordinator Sonia Cervantes, Dr. Ramon Jimenez, and Prof. Christina Jimenez. Produced and narrated by Rolf Taylor. 

Movement is Life Caucus November 2022 Preview 3: “Movement” Workshops

In Part 2 of our Caucus Workshops Preview, Dr. Millicent Gorham, Dr. Mary O’Connor and podcast host Rolf Taylor discuss the “Movement” workshop series from the Movement is Life Caucus which convenes on November 10-11, 2022.
Workshop 5: Social Influences of Health – Opening Doors, Opening Minds, impacting lives, Strategies to Improve Well Being.
Workshop 6: Shared Decision Making - Beyond the Hype.
Workshop 7: Move Your Mind, Move Your Body.
Workshop 8: Engaging the Body and Brain Through an African Drumming & Dance Experience.
Caucus & Registration information: www.movementislifecaucus.com

Movement is Life Caucus November 2022 Preview 2: “Activism” Workshops

In Part 1 of our Caucus Workshops Preview, Dr. Millicent Gorham, Dr. Mary O’Connor and podcast host Rolf Taylor discuss the “Activism” workshop series from the Movement is Life Caucus which convenes on November 10-11, 2022.
Workshop 1: Is Health Equity the New Startup?
Workshop 2: Playing the Race Cards, Conversations on Racial Healing and Equity.
Workshop 3: The Art of Storytelling – Changing the World One story at a time. 
Workshop 4: The JEDI Journey – This is the way.
To learn about our 4 “Movement” workshops, tune in to part 2 of this discussion which is episode 127. 
Caucus & Registration information: www.movementislifecaucus.com