Raise the Line

Deploying community-based health workers has been a popular tactic to boost vaccination rates during COVID, but when the crisis ends, how can they stay engaged to help achieve other public health goals? That’s the kind of question Maria Thacker-Goethe grapples with as CEO of the Atlanta-based Center for Global Health Innovation. “You have to have the respect to keep paying people and not leave them high and dry because that will just break down trust,” says Thacker-Goethe, who is also the President and CEO of Georgia Bio.  A key link in public health efforts in Georgia and beyond, she takes a ground-up approach to fostering collaboration among stakeholders in order to develop and share innovations, particularly those focused on health equity. A good example is a new “innovation district” the Center is building that will, in a unique twist, co-locate high tech health companies with public health organizations.  As she tells host Dr. Rishi Desai, Thacker-Goethe believes an underlying issue connecting all of this work is building trust through better communications, including more effective use of popular social media platforms, a tactic not yet fully embraced by the public health establishment. Don’t miss this fascinating exploration of innovation in public health, and stay tuned to learn about a special project that shares the wisdom of public health pioneers.Mentioned in this episode:https://cghi.orghttps://www.9lessons.org If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

The first thing you see when you walk into the medical school building at the University of Texas at Tyler is a teaching kitchen, and the director of the nutrition curriculum is a dietician from the East Texas Food Bank. That should give you some idea of how differently the school’s founding Dean, Dr. Brigham Willis, sees its mission. “What we're trying to do is create a very unique program focused on how we can serve the particular needs of East Texas,” he tells host Shiv Gaglani.  And in a region that has some of the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, and smoking in the country, that means focusing on lifestyle medicine. “Our students are actually going to have the opportunity to become nutrition coaches and personal trainers which I think is really foundational to what we're trying to do. Instead of just saying, “eat better," they're going to have actual strategies and be a connection to resources to be able to help patients do that.” It also means being deeply embedded in the community in everything they do, and recruiting students from the region to increase the chances that they will eventually practice there and help reduce a physician shortage. From limiting lectures in favor of active learning, to requiring students to become certified EMTs in the first six weeks, to pushing to make education tuition free for all students, Dr. Willis and his team are taking full advantage of the opportunity to build a medical education from the ground up, as you’ll learn in this fascinating episode.  Mentioned in this episode: https://medicine.uttyler.edu  If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

Ninety percent of the body's serotonin is produced in the gut, says Jeff Glueck. So, if you are like the many millions of Americans with a digestive disorder, happiness and calm may not come easily. Enter Salvo, a “medical clinic in an app” that provides specialty care for people suffering from chronic GI conditions. In this episode of Raise the Line with host Michael Carrese, hear how the loss of a child and the illness of two others, combined with Glueck's love of entrepreneurship and data-based solutions, motivated him to start the company. Tune in to find out about Salvo's “Whole Self Science” approach that incorporates diet, mind, movement, sleep, labs, and more; the company's continually expanding data set; and the program's promising results. Glueck also talks about his role as an integrator at work and why he believes this type of better-care, lower-cost medicine is the future.  And stay tuned to hear why he thinks students should be giving serious thought to the type of work environment they want for their future careers.Mentioned in this episode: https://www.salvohealth.com/  If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

Heather Fullmer will never forget seeing her nursing license for the first time and realizing the date of issuance was the same as her son Michael’s birthday.  She had spent the week since delivering him in the NICU as Michael’s struggle with the rare, life-limiting skin disorder Epidermolysis Bullosa began. “It was a surreal moment. I became a nurse professionally, and in my personal life on the exact same day,” she tells host Shiv Gaglani.  EB is a pernicious disease which causes skin to tear at the slightest touch, with resulting wounds that don't heal. “If I had to sum up Michael's day,” says her husband, Ryan Fullmer, “it's probably fear and pain. We still haven't been desensitized to his screams, or the disappointment on his face from not being able to enjoy the day-to-day things that he sees his friends do.” In this inspiring episode of Raise the Line, you’ll learn how the Fullmers rose above their all-consuming struggles to care for Michael to forge a new approach to rare disease research with the support of Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder and his wife, Jill. The resulting EB Research Partnership raises millions of dollars a year to fuel promising efforts to find a cure for EB and, ultimately, other rare diseases. Tune in to learn how the “venture philanthropy” model they use differs from typical investing, and hear about important fundraising events for EB including Venture Into Cures hosted by Spiderman actor Tom Holland. And be sure to stay tuned to hear their advice to medical providers on the importance of building rapport with patient families, and taking an interdisciplinary approach to treating rare disorders. Mentioned in this episode:https://www.ebresearch.org/founders.htmlhttps://www.ebresearch.org/our-mission.htmlhttps://www.ebresearch.org/venture-into-cures.htmlMikey's World video If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

Although many countries are facing a shortage of physicians, Israel is being hit particularly hard by this problem, especially in rural areas. But as we’ll learn in this episode of Raise the Line, Dr. Peter Gilbey and Dr. Yair Blumberg of The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine at Bar-Ilan University are doing their part to reverse that trend by developing new approaches to medical education. “If you take the best local people and train them, they will stay in the area,” says Dr. Gilbey, chair of the Department of Research and Innovation in Medical Education. For Yair Blumberg, the school’s Physiology Coordinator, doing more to embed technologies such as ultrasound in the educational journey is a key focus.  “Point-of-care ultrasound may be one of the major tools future physicians are going to use, so we decided as a strategic teaching method to teach the students to use ultrasound from basically the first day of medical school.” Tune in to this discussion with host Shiv Gaglani in which Drs. Gilbey and Blumberg shed light on the biggest challenges they’re facing as medical educators, how medical education is impacting health outcomes in Israel, and the innovative solutions they’re implementing in their curriculum. They also share their best advice for medical students on overcoming burnout and meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic while progressing in their medical careers.Mentioned in this episode: https://medicine.biu.ac.il/en  If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

As the rate of new medical knowledge continues to accelerate, how can medical students and practitioners keep up with it all and make sure they are providing the most up-to-date care to their patients? One answer is being provided by AMBOSS, a German medical technology company whose platform has greatly improved the way medical knowledge is acquired and utilized at the point of care. In this episode of Raise the Line, AMBOSS Co-founder Dr. Sievert Weiss joins host Shiv Gaglani to explore ways to increase adoption of new technologies in medicine, reminding us that even the thermometer was rejected when first introduced. He also shares his thoughts on the direction healthcare should head in order to enhance the doctor-patient relationship. “I think it's super important to get away from this patriarchal model to a model that is more on eye level”. Don’t miss this thought-provoking conversation on these and many other critical issues in healthcare. If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

Imagine 60% of your skin having open wounds every day. That's the grim reality of those with Epidermolysis Bullosa, or EB, a rare genetic connective tissue disorder which results in blisters and tears to the skin being created from even minor contact or friction. The range of complications this causes for almost every normal activity – from eating to bathing to sleeping – is daunting, leading our guest today, Brett Kopelan, to call EB “the worst disease you’ve never heard of.”  He should know. Brett and his wife have the equivalent of fulltime jobs just managing daily care for their daughter Rafi, who suffers from a severe form of EB.  Advocating for Rafi led to Brett becoming Executive Director of debra of America, the only national not-for-profit providing all-inclusive support for patients battling the disease.  In this revealing discussion with host Shiv Gaglani, Brett opens up about his frustrations with the health insurance system, the challenges of raising money for rare diseases, and why he feels there is a need for more doctors to specialize in rare disorders for patients over twenty-three.  Brett shares some positive news as well about several promising gene therapies on the horizon. “I can say that the past two years has really been the first time that I've felt I'm working for my child's life, not for beyond her. So that's an exciting thing.”Mentioned in this episode: https://www.debra.org If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

Just a few weeks ago we shared the story of John Crowley’s family and their battle with Pompe disease on Raise the Line, and in this episode, we’re honored to share another remarkable story of a rare disease parent and the contributions they've made beyond their efforts to help their own loved ones.  Nick Sireau is the CEO and Chair of Trustees of the AKU Society, an award-winning patient group that helps people with Alkaptonuria (AKU), sometimes referred to as black bone disease, a rare disorder affecting both of his children. In AKU patients, a build-up of acid in the body leads to a painful breakdown of bones and joints, and serious heart complications. Nick’s tireless efforts have led to some extraordinary results, including making the very first treatment for AKU available.  Nick is also Founder and Chair of Orchard, a medical charity that works to develop new and better treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a misunderstood mental illness that Nick has battled for many years. Join host Shiv Gaglani for a fascinating look at the impact one parent has had on the welfare of so many, and for advice for those weighing career options in the healthcare field.  “There are hundreds, if not thousands of these ultra-rare diseases that just nobody is touching.”Mentioned in this episode:https://akusociety.org/https://www.orchardocd.org/ If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

As Dr. Katie Kay reflects on what adjustments need to be made to nursing curricula in light of the pandemic, she is not focused mainly on academic content. “We have to address some gaps in curriculums across the board that really prepare individuals for what they're going to encounter in the healthcare setting.” Assessing grit, making sure students seek out resources when they are struggling and adding resilience and wellness training to the mix are top-of-mind examples. As University Dean for West Coast University College of Nursing, Kay is able to impact learning for thousands of students in the largest states in the country where the pandemic has left demand for nurses at an all-time high. In this wide-ranging conversation with host Shiv Gaglani, Kay touches on ways the nursing field can reduce burnout, and gives her opinion on how to successfully implement new technology in the healthcare system.  She also speaks about ways the pandemic caused a shift in student expectations around education,the need for faculty to center themselves to best serve students and why hospitals should view nursing as an operational expense versus a billable service.  Don’t miss this chance to learn about current and future challenges and opportunities in nursing education.  Mentioned in this episode: https://westcoastuniversity.edu If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast

The increasing integration of oral healthcare with medical care could lead to a reconsideration of roles and responsibilities on care teams in both fields. That’s just one of the emerging trends in oral healthcare we explore on this episode of Raise the Line with guests Laura Skarnulis, CEO of the Dental Assisting National Board and the DALE Foundation, and Ann Battrell, CEO of the American Dental Hygienists Association. Both agree this trend, among others, is making oral healthcare an increasingly dynamic field of employment. “There are so many opportunities, pathways, jobs, and environments in which to work,” says Skarnulis. “People can make all different kinds of choices today that never had been there before,” Battrell adds. There is also an ongoing need for both dental assistants and dental hygienists, with the supply in both roles declining during the pandemic due to retirements and other factors. In their informative conversation with host Shiv Gaglani, these industry experts also dive into issues surrounding scope of practice, the benefits of having diversified experiences throughout one’s career and why it’s important to “get comfortable with being uncomfortable” to maximize professional and personal growth. If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast