Category: COVID-19

COVID-19, Leadership, Mental health and wellness

Episode 28: An Open Empathetic Approach to Managing Mental Fatigue in Healthcare

Episode 28: An Open Empathetic Approach to Managing Mental Fatigue in Healthcare

Dr. Hany Y. Atallah, Chief Medical Officer at Jackson Memorial Hospital, never wanted to go into administration. The last thing he wanted to do was wear a suit every day.

But over time, he recognized the transformational power of being in a position to identify a problem and to bring together the people who can fix it.

In his administrative career, he has confronted many problems from massive water leaks inside Grady Hospital that shut down a third of inpatient beds to COVID and the mental fatigue that accompanied civil unrest.

Through it all, he has kept one priority in focus: Providing exceptional patient care.

We discuss:

  • Making operational adjustments during an internal flood at Grady Hospital
  • How leadership at his hospital managed rising mental fatigue
  • Transitioning from departmental head to a healthcare system head at Jackson Memorial
  • Inherent frustrations that come with healthcare administration

To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe to Heroes of Healthcare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Heroes of Healthcare in your favorite podcast player.

COVID-19, Mental health and wellness, Women's health/gender

Episode 25: Mental Health in Healthcare: Burnout, Anxiety, Depression & Suicide

Episode 25: Mental Health in Healthcare: Burnout, Anxiety, Depression & Suicide

Because they are worried about the stigma associated with seeking help, health care professionals with mental health issues often refuse to seek treatment.

The concern isn’t without merit. Certain states have wording in their license applications that allow them to discriminate against individuals who access mental health resources.

Needless to say, leaving mental health issues untreated can be very dangerous, which is why there needs to be a cultural shift around how we view mental health in healthcare.

Our first returning guest, Dr. Kellie Stecher , OB/GYN and Chief Medical Officer at Linked Inclusion, joins the show to share news from the frontlines of her continuing fight to bring awareness to this vitally important cause. Hear from Dr. Stecher about her new book, Delivering, and how she is creating a movement around Physician Mental Health issues one bite at a time.

Topics covered:

  • Policy updates around mental health and physician licensing
  • COVID from the perspective of the OB/GYN community
  • Why Dr. Stecher decided to write her book titled, Delivering
  • How, as CMO, Linked Inclusion is working to fix healthcare

To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe to Heroes of Healthcare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Heroes of Healthcare in your favorite podcast player.

COVID-19, Panel interviews, Pediatrics, Vaccines

Episode 23 part 2: Cycle of Patient Care During a COVID Surge

Episode 23 part 2: Cycle of Patient Care During a COVID Surge

COVID causes tremendous downstream impact within a healthcare system.

It means that healthcare professionals are working 24/7 to care for all the patients who come in. It means that treatment of other patients — for example, those who are chronically ill or who need to get a CT scan — gets pushed back so that COVID patients can be treated.

In short, the effects of the COVID pandemic go way beyond COVID-infected patients.

In part 2 of this 2-part series, we continue our panel discussion with six distinguished physicians from Memorial Healthcare System.

Our panel includes:

We discuss:

  • The delta variant
  • Whether FDA approval will improve vaccination rates
  • How to protect unvaccinated children

To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe to Heroes of Healthcare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Heroes of Healthcare in your favorite podcast player.

COVID-19, Panel interviews, Vaccines

Episode 23 part 1: Cycle of Patient Care During a COVID Surge

Episode 23 part 1: Cycle of Patient Care During a COVID Surge

On an average day, there are usually 1,400 beds in operation across the Memorial Healthcare System in Hollywood, Florida. During the first wave of COVID last summer, the hospital exceeded that capacity with 1,600 patients.

Florida is now in the midst of another COVID wave. This time patients are younger, and they are almost entirely unvaccinated — and at the peak of the wave, there were 1,700 patients in the hospital system.

In part 1 of this 2-part series, we’re joined by six distinguished physicians from Memorial Healthcare System to discuss what the treatment cycle of a COVID patient looks like today.

Our panel includes:

We discuss:

  • How the current COVID wave is different from the first wave
  • The different phases of treatment
  • The importance of getting the vaccine

To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe to Heroes of Healthcare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

COVID-19, Recruiting and staffing, Vaccines

Episode 22: Focusing on Positivity & Optimism in Challenging Times

Episode 22: Focusing on Positivity & Optimism in Challenging Times

Medical staff have been put through the ringer over the last year. Hospital systems have experienced economic challenges, a reduction in workforce, and of course, the continuing challenges related to COVID.

With all that is going on, keeping morale high might seem like a gargantuan task.

In this episode, Jordan Voigt, President, Genesis Medical Center – Davenport, talks about how his team instituted an initiative around positivity and optimism, and how it resulted in improved levels of happiness, despite these challenging times.

We discuss:

  • Investing in the personal happiness of medical center staff
  • How a focus on optimism influenced the center during COVID
  • Strategies for recruitment and retention
  • The challenges of vaccine mandates

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe to Heroes of Healthcare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Heroes of Healthcare in your favorite podcast player.

COVID-19, Pharmaceuticals/Pharmacology, Socioeconomics/health equity, Telehealth/digital care

Episode 21: Pharmacology, COVID & the Future of Medical Treatment

Episode 21: Pharmacology, COVID & the Future of Medical Treatment

Medication regimens can at times be extremely complex and scary for patients. It can be helpful to have a guide — someone who can explain what they are taking, why they are taking it, and what side effects might occur. That’s where the pharmacologist comes in to save the day.

In this episode, Dr. Becky Bean, Senior Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Novant Health, explains the important role pharmacologists play in a patient’s treatment.

Topics covered:

  • The deeper dives of a doctorate pharmacology program
  • The pharmacist’s role in COVID treatment
  • Precision medicine, digital care technology, and the future of medical treatment
  • Health equity

To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe to Heroes of Healthcare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Heroes of Healthcare in your favorite podcast player.

COVID-19, Healthcare financing and investments, Mental health and wellness, Vaccines

Episode 20: From COVID to Loa Loa: The Fight Against Infectious Diseases

Episode 20: From COVID to Loa Loa: The Fight Against Infectious Diseases

Infectious disease is a broad category. There are a lot of tropical diseases out there, and any part of the body can become infected. But according to today’s healthcare hero, that’s also what makes it the most interesting field of medicine.

Co-host Olivia D’Angelo has a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. David Priest, SVP Safety, Quality, and Epidemiology at Novant Health, about the COVID pandemic and the world of infectious diseases.

They discuss:

  • Strategies to alleviate burnout
  • The prevalence and treatment for different infectious diseases
  • Bringing a personal touch to vaccine management
  • Continued investment in public health programs

To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe to Heroes of Healthcare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Heroes of Healthcare in your favorite podcast player.

COVID-19, Leadership, Vaccines

Episode 18: Servant Leadership: A System’s Approach to Crisis

Episode 18: Servant Leadership: A System's Approach to Crisis

Some of the most successful healthcare leaders embrace servant leadership. In a crisis, there’s no better approach for rallying your team behind a cause.

In today’s episode, Dr. Jeremy Blanchard, System Chief Medical Officer at North Mississippi Health Services, explains why vulnerability, humility, and a willingness to follow are vital to effective leadership.

Topics covered:

  • How hardships in childhood informed his leadership approach
  • Using a personal vision statement as a career guide
  • Bringing compassion and care to rural communities
  • Leveraging data and modeling during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • The vaccine push in Mississippi

Heroes of Healthcare is hosted by Ted Weyn.

To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe to Heroes of Healthcare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Heroes of Healthcare in your favorite podcast player.

COVID-19

Episode 17: Ingenuity & Dedication During Challenging Times

Episode 17: Ingenuity & Dedication During Challenging Times

Misinformation continues to crop up around the world regarding COVID-19.

To set the record straight, we talk with two heroic experts who have dedicated their lives to the study and treatment of infectious diseases: Dr. Supriya Mannepalli, Medical Director for Infectious Diseases, and Sandy Bozarth, MSN, RN, CIC, both with Northeast Georgia Health System.

Topics covered:

  • Proactive steps taken in the early days of the pandemic
  • What makes COVID highly contagious
  • The ingenuity involved in sourcing PPE
  • COVID variants and the future of treatment
  • Why the vaccine is a marvel of modern science

Heroes of Healthcare is hosted by Ted Weyn.

To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe to Heroes of Healthcare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Heroes of Healthcare in your favorite podcast player.

COVID-19, Mental health and wellness

Episode 15: Mental Health: Treating Trauma and PTSD in Veterans

Episode 15: Mental Health: Treating Trauma and PTSD in Veterans

Psychiatry is about as damning a pathology as you can imagine. You’re dealing with patients suffering from depression, anxiety, and PTSD brought on by unthinkable trauma.

But for Dr. Michael Massa, it’s a calling that brings immense fulfillment. Dr. Massa has treated veterans and the underserved around the world enabling them to live their lives to the fullest. In this episode, I talk with him about:

  • Finding fulfillment and purpose in medicine
  • Getting knighted by the Vatican and working in a Catholic convent in Jordan
  • Treating veterans with the Wounded Warrior Project
  • Approaching treatments for patients with PTSD
  • The psychological trauma of COVID-19

Heroes of Healthcare is hosted by Ted Weyn.

To hear this interview and more like it, subscribe to Heroes of Healthcare on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Heroes of Healthcare in your favorite podcast player.