The Rhode to Health: A Podcast from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island

In this episode we'll be exploring three examples of folks fighting to protect healthcare spaces in Rhode Island.  This April, we acknowledge Black Maternal Health Week. We'll hear a recent conversation between Dr. Farah Shafi, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island’s chief medical officer; Ana Sofia de Brito, a certified nurse midwife at Women & Infants, and Stacy Waters, exec...

As Women’s History Month draws to a close, we are joined by two women who are passionate about addressing health equity. Carolyn Belisle is Blue Cross’s Managing Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Carrie Bridges is Vice President of Community Health and Equity for Lifespan Health System. We sat down for a frank discussion about the state of women’s health equity, health equity overall...

We're in the last few days of Black History Month, and during this time, we look back on and celebrate Black leaders from the past. But it's just as important to think about future leaders. Needed change can only happen when representation exists in the rooms where decisions happen. Today, on this episode, we hear from a Rhode Island leader who is building a pipeline of leaders of color...

February is Heart Health Awareness Month, and today, we'll be engaging in conversations, and tackling some difficult topics on how to make your heart healthier. You'll hear from a Blue Cross associate who has learned to turn loss into activism. We'll be joined by Michelle Clark from the American Heart Association. And finally, a Blue Cross & Blue Shield Rhode Island dietitian wi...

Join us as we look back on the 2023 Road to Health podcast season, reliving moments of happiness, connection, and community strength. In this episode, we'll chat with a Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island dietitian for tips on sticking to dietary resolutions. We'll hear from two practitioners using creative play to improve children's mental health. Explore the diverse defin...

For the past eight years Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has been working to create health settings that are transparently inclusive, safe, affirming and welcoming to LGBTIA+ people through the Safe Zone Program. We believe LGBTQIA+ Rhode Islanders deserve to be cared for by providers who show a commitment to LGBTQIA+ inclusion. Safe Zone certification has blossomed to include a wide...

Blue Cross is dedicated to helping Rhode Islanders stay healthy as they age. And for good reason. Rhode Island's population is one of the oldest in the United States. And healthy aging means more than just maintaining physical health as we get older. It means aging with dignity, mental well-being, and secure access to social determinants of health like housing and food. Ensuring healthy aging...

Today we're continuing our celebration of 20 Years of BlueAngel Community Health Grants with a beloved institution; The Rhode Island Community Food Bank. The Food Bank was a recipient of two BlueAngel Community Health Grants, one in 2004-2005 for "Eating Well" and the other in 2009-2010 for "Raising the Bar on Nutrition." I got to sit down with Flannery Sullivan – Communit...

Jenny Bautista-Ravreby, Gerente de Diversidad, Equidad, y Inclusión y voy hacer su presentadora en lo que exploramos la salud de Latinos durante el Mes de la Herencia Hispana. Van a oir las perspectivas de Latino@Link, nuestro grupo de recursos para empleados en el estado de salud. Vamos hablar con Oscar Alexis Mejias, director ejecutivo de la Cámara de Comercio Hispana de RI y vamos a volver a vi...

Jenny Bautista-Ravreby, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager will be your guest host as we explore Latinx health during Hispanic Heritage Month. You'll hear thoughts from our Latin@ Link EBRG on the state of healthcare. We'll talk with Oscar Alexis Mejias, CEO of the Rhode Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and we will revisit a piece featuring Marcela Betancour, Executive Director...

Welcome to the Rhode to Health Back Rhodes. Now that kids are back at school and settling in we’re revisiting a segment from our Rhode to Learning episode from a year ago, where we sat down with Sarah Dinklage, CEO of Rhode Island Student Assistance Services, about how RISAS is working to protect Rhode Island youth from behavioral health and substance use risks. Recently, Blue Cross & Blue Shi...

We're continuing our celebration of 20 years of BlueAngel Community Health Grants with a 2023 grantee, Westbay Community Action, which opened its doors in 1966. Since that time, they have served Kent County with an impressive range of services. One of these services stemmed from a pilot program known as Hoarding Intervention Response and Evaluation, or HIRE. HIRE sits at the crossroads of mul...

Today we're revisiting a segment from July of 2022. As summer rolls to an end there are still a few outdoor barbecues left in the season, so we've got some summer eating tips with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island dietitian Laura Beltz.  Be healthy. Be well. And keep your eyes on the Rhode.

In the month that we celebrate our independence, we’re taking a moment to acknowledge the  folks who protect it. Today we're learning about Rhode Island’s veteran population by sitting down with an organization that protects their health and well-being in so many ways.  Erik Wallen served as a United States Air Force Captain in the Department of the Judge Advocate General. Since 2011 he has s...

The party continues as we celebrate 20 years of BlueAngel Community Health Grants, and in honor of today's guest, we're making it a bit of a Quinceañera. For the last 15 years, Clínica Esperanza has made it their mission to provide culturally attuned and linguistically appropriate medical care and preventive health services to uninsured Rhode Islanders. And in that time Blue Cross &...

We're revisiting an episode from summer of 2022, when we met with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Medical Director and surf enthusiast Dr. Victor Pinkes, who shared with us some great tips on how to stay safe on Rhode Island's beautiful beaches.   Be healthy. Be Well. And keep your eyes on the Rhode.

We’re continuing our celebration of 20 years of the Blue Angel Community Health Grant with a first-time partner: West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation (WEHDC). By providing high quality home buyer education and foreclosure prevention support, WEHDC helps first time homebuyers to transition from tenancy to acquire their first homes and supports long term housing and economic stability.  Hear...

June is Pride month. Unfortunately, in social media, the news, and, scariest of all, in places that affect lives, livelihoods and the future of our underrepresented friends and neighbors, anti-LGBTQIA discourse is on the rise. And so now, more than ever, it's time to show up in ways that go beyond rainbow-washing and can help protect the health and wellness of a community that is so ingrained...

In this BACKRHODES episode, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island's own Aneesah Cameron shares a unique perspective on the intersection of Juneteenth and healthcare in the African American community. Aneesah sheds light on issues of trust and equity, reminding us that in order to look ahead and make progress, we must understand and acknowledge the past. Be healthy. Be well. And keep yo...

We are continuing our year-long celebration of 20 Years of the BlueAngel Community Health grants with a Rhode Island institution that has been awarded the grant three times: Farm Fresh Rhode Island. Farm Fresh is also celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. In the past two decades, the organization has made it their mission to connect eaters with the locally and honestly produced foods and fla...

May is mental health month and today’s episode was chosen by you, our listeners. We reached out on social media and you told us what you wanted to hear. So, we’re going to have an overview of the pediatric behavioral health crisis and how we’re responding. From Rosaly Cuevas, Manager of Behavioral Health Quality, Network and Policy; Sarah Fleury, Director of Behavioral Health; and back from the to...

We’re reflecting upon a segment from last May’s Rhode to Mental Health episode in which we discussed the state of Rhode Island’s behavioral health landscape and how its youth are being affected. In honor of Mental Health Awareness month, we sat down with guest Laurie DeLuca, a Substance Abuse Counselor at the Jim Gillen Teen Center, to talk about the roles both she and the larger organization are...

Today, we're breaking out our palettes and brushes as we paint a picture of creativity and the role it plays in your well-being. We sit down with an actor-turned-public servant, Joe Wilson Jr., Director of the Office of Art, Culture and Tourism for the city of Providence, to look into the future of a more well-creative capital. We talked to Mark Kravatz, interim Executive Director of Habitat...

We’re continuing our celebration of 20 years of the Blue Angel Community Health Grant with a first-time grantee: Adoption RI. Adoption RI is a Providence-based organization whose services range from adoption and family support to counseling and adult services. But they don’t stop there.  We sat down with Darlene Allen, CEO and Executive Director of Adoption RI, and discussed the future of Adoption...