Elevate Health

Data collection and monitoring are essential to understanding a community’s health needs and health trends. Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department Data Analyst Stephanie Wood , also a consultant to the county’s Opioid Task Force, explains how numbers significantly influence important health policy decisions. https://www.tpchd.org/healthy-people/opioid-treatment-services #thekeyproject2endoverdose

This episode features a conversation with Stephanie Sacks, Clinical Director for Rebuilding Hope, the Sexual Assault Center for Pierce County, Washington, which offers support toward healing through advocacy and therapy for those affected by sexual assault. Link: https://sexualassaultcenter.com/

The chasm between haves and have nots is only increasing in many communities, including Pierce County, Washington. Michelle Douglas of the Emergency Food Network explains the growing demands on local food pantries throughout the South Puget Sound region.

In this episode, substance use counselor Shundra King discusses how the effectiveness of drug treatment for people of color can often hinge on the cultural competencies of therapists who serve them. Link: https://www.ftccounselingsvcs.org

Nearly 800,000 people in Washington state residents are food insecure, according to Feeding America, and more than one-third of those residents are children. Yuni Medlin, a food security and safety activist based in Tacoma, Wash., explains the adverse and unanticipated effects that poor nutrition can have on an entire community, not just individuals.

In Pierce County, Wash., a co-responders’ program is meeting community needs by providing appropriate, supportive and accountable behavioral health services to clients who might otherwise end up in emergency rooms or jails. Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Darren Moss, Jr. and Chantel Quintero, a behavioral health crisis intervention supervisor for MultiCare, explain how the program changes liv...

March is National Social Workers Month. With that in mind, Elevate Health’s Clinical Director of Integration and Transformation Kim Bjorn, herself a licensed clinical social worker and therapist, helps explain the many roles and responsibilities of social workers in today’s society. Links: https://www.socialworkers.org/ https://www.wsscsw.org/

This episode explores integrated care needs in Pierce County, Washington that aim to support children and families in times of crisis. Links: https://ccsww.org/get-help/pierce-county/ https://elevatehealth.org/ https://onepierce.org/

The use of opioids, particularly among survivors and abusers in intimate partner violence (IPV) relationships, is prevalent. These situations create unique risks for recovery.  In this Elevate Health Community Care Conversation, guests Abi McLane, Assistant Director of the Crystal Judson Family Foundation , and Robert Hamilton, Manager of Multicare’s Substance Use Disorder Program in Pierce C...

For more than three decades, the Tahoma Urban Native Alliance (TUNA) has strived to sustain and support the dignity of urban Native Americans living in Pierce County, Washington. This Elevate Health Community Care Conversation features TUNA Executive Director Colette August and Assistant Director Sauncha Romey. "Indigenous methodologies could save the world if people listened to us,” Romey says du...

“Dementia.” Just mentioning the word can induce anxiety and fear. In this episode, Wendy Morris, Dementia Services Program Manager for Lutheran Community Services Northwest in Tacoma, Washington, discusses strategies for spotting dementia, programs for those coping with it, and resources for caregivers.  Links:  https://lcsnw.org/program/dementia-services/ https://elevatehealth.org/ http...

In this Radical Shift podcast episode, Lauren Fulton, Executive Director of the OnePierce Community Resiliency Fund, explains how this subsidiary of Elevate Health works to strengthen Pierce County, Washington, by leveraging, pooling and investing financial resources in deserving entities and activities that serve to create a healthier and more sustainable economic environment. Links:  https:...

Across the U.S., communities large and small are suffering from crisis levels of mental health and substance abuse issues. In this Community Care Conversation podcast, host Kim Bjorn interviews local government officials Heather Moss and Richard Van Cleave about efforts to compassionately, but effectively, address behavioral health problems in Pierce County, Washington. Links:  https://www.pi...

Health does not mean just going to the doctor. In this inaugural episode of the 80/20 Project, Elevate Health Chief Operations Officer and licensed clinical social worker Jodi Castle explains that a multitude of factors combine to influence “whole-person” health in a community. Links:  https://elevatehealth.org/ https://onepierce.org/ Elevate Health's Pathways Program | Elevate Health Care Co...

It’s no secret. Health care in the U.S. is generally complex, confusing and expensive. Enter Accountable Communities of Health, aka “ACHs.” These community-based organizations, which operate in more than two dozen states, seek to transform health care delivery by: focusing on individuals, ensuring health equity, reducing costs, and improving health outcomes for entire communities. Jodi Castle, a L...

Podcast host and licensed clinical social worker Kim Bjorn explores the challenges kids and their families face in the current U.S. mental health system. Kim’s guest is Joe LeRoy, CEO of HopeSparks, a Tacoma, Washington-based social services organization that is helping to transform pediatric care. Links: HopeSparks - Family Services Elevate Health

With the population aging, first responders across the country are exposed to demanding and tense situations on a regular basis. But in Pierce County Washington, mental health workers Traci Krieg and Jennifer Sorensen explain to host Kim Bjorn that a community partnership forged a few years ago is reducing the strain on first responders, emergency rooms and jails. Links:  https://www.comprehe...

Many U.S. communities, including Tacoma and other cities in Western Washington, are facing an explosion in homelessness. But Gerrit Nyland, a social services supervisor tasked with ending homelessness in Pierce County, says what many don’t realize is that roughly one-third of the unsheltered in the South Puget Sound are children, while many others are “working poor” families whose lives have been...

Physical violence is often just the tip of the iceberg in abusive relationships. In this episode of Elevate Health Podcast, two domestic violence experts in Washington state’s South Puget Sound Region explain that for many survivors, finding a “way out” can take time, patience and planning. Links:  Family Justice Center Our Sister's House Catherine Place Tacoma Pro Bono Rebuilding Hope Washin...

More than one out of every six children in the U.S. between the ages of 3 and 17 is diagnosed each year with one or more disabilities. Doreen VanderVort, a Washington state-based advocate for families with special needs kids, says finding resources and services for such children can be overwhelming, especially for those who don’t know how and where to look for help. Links: https://wapave.org/ http...

Health practitioners across disciplines are beginning to recognize that service integration can be effective in saving time, money and stress for patients and the providers that serve them. Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, a veteran community care dentist in Tacoma, Washington, explains the benefits and the challenges. Links:  https://www.commhealth.org/ https://elevatehealth.org/ 

Today’s children encounter stressors dramatically unlike those experienced by their parents and grandparents. In this podcast, Pierce County Washington-based pediatric social worker Ashley Mangum describes how “asking the question” can help avert crises. Links:  https://kidsmentalhealthpiercecounty.org/ https://elevatehealth.org/

Host & Guest: Kim Bjorn, MSW, LICSW and Chelsea Amato, BSW, Tacoma Pierce County Opioid Task Force Coordinator  Topic: Opioid misuse, including the stigma it carries as well as possible solutions