At the Core of Care

Vaccine Hesitancy: Is Healthcare Listening? is the second episode in a six-part At the Core of Care podcast series about building confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines. During this series, the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium hopes to support nurses and our communities participate in conversations to promote vaccine confidence and support public health. We’ll hear from nurses across the country sh...

Vaccine Confidence: Nurses Turn Skepticism Into Action is the first episode in a six-part At the Core of Care podcast series about building confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines. During this series, the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium hopes to support nurses and our communities participate in conversations to promote vaccine confidence and support public health.   During this series, we’ll hear f...

The National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC) is leading a two-year patient-centered initiative to cultivate a community of nursing stakeholders around substance use disorder care. The goal is to better understand optimal care delivery for individuals experiencing challenges related to substance use and persistent pain who have a heightened risk for infectious disease. In this episode, we speak wi...

Last year, nurses joined with other advocates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to successfully advocate for a new law that protects children from lead poisoning. In this episode, we speak with Erin Blair, a home visiting nurse of the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium, who shared a testimony with City Council on her firsthand experience working with families affected by lead exposure. We also hear fr...

During Part 2 of our series highlighting community health centers' response during the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue our journey outside of Pennsylvania to speak with Jeannie McIntosh, a family nurse practitioner at Community Health Center Inc. (CHC) in Connecticut. Jeannie provides primary health care to seasonal agricultural workers through a partnership with the Connecticut River Valley Farmwo...

This is the first of two episodes highlighting community health centers response during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this first episode, we venture outside of Pennsylvania to speak to two members of the nursing team at Callen-Lorde, a New York City community health organization that specializes in LGBTQIA healthcare. Nursing team members, Lara Comstock and Sime Phillips, discuss the specialized care...

In this episode, we learn how nurses play a key role in helping families develop safe sleep practices for their babies to prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and SUID (Sudden Unexpected Infant Death). We speak to Devon George, who has a nursing background and is the Director of Education Outreach at Cribs for Kids. This Pittsburgh based organization has been a national leader in the effort...

In this special episode, we speak to Ana Pichardo, a recent BSN graduate from LaSalle University and a full-time certified Spanish-speaking medical interpreter at Temple University Hospital in North Philadelphia. Ana shares with us the impact the pandemic has had on her family, nursing education, her work as an interpreter and the way it has shifted her approach to health care. Specifically, that...

This story is the second of two episodes that focus on refugee healthcare and how nurses are improving their healthcare experience. In this episode, we travel to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to get a first-hand look at the city’s system for delivering care to refugees and how community stakeholders collaborate to address public health issues among refugees. We also learn about the challenges and reward...

In this special episode, we speak to Jillian Bird the RN training manager for the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium. Jillian emphasizes wellness and self-care as part of her role as the RN training manager, and she’s bringing a high level of compassion to how nursing can respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also shares how nurses across the country are coping during these times and how they are...

It is an unprecedented time to be entering the field of nursing, as our country grapples with George Floyd's murder, widespread protests, and the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this special episode, we hear from Andre' Bennett, a graduate from Lincoln University, who shares his outlook on what's happening in our country, the need for social justice, and how that relates to his interest in men...

In this special episode, we hear how school nurses are supporting their students and each other during this pandemic. First, we speak to Lori Kelley, a school nurse in southwestern Pennsylvania and the current president of the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners (PASNAP). In response to the pandemic, the organization has been supporting its members around the state with reg...

In this episode, we travel to Erie, Pennsylvania to spend time at the Multicultural Health Evaluation Delivery System (MHEDS). MHEDS is the primary care provider for incoming newly resettled refugees and immigrants, and effectively provides culturally competent care because of their unique staff. We meet refugees working as medical assistants, patient coordinators, and interpreters and hear from t...

In this special episode we speak to Jennifer Gil, an emergency trauma nurse in Philadelphia. She contracted and recovered from COVID-19, and is now returning to work. Hear what her experience was like and how the pandemic has furthered her commitment to health leadership and public health. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re devoting some episodes on At the Core of Care to hear from nurses...

More than ever, we’re hearing stories about nurses at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re currently working on new At the Core of Care episodes to share some of those experiences with you. And for all of you out there who are nurses, we hope you’ll consider sharing your story with us. You can do so by recording a voice memo on your smartphone about your experience or observation. For...

This episode features stories of migrant farmworkers in Kennett Square, Chester County, Pennsylvania, and the unique challenges of delivering quality, culturally competent care to the men and women who do this work. We speak with José Maciel and Antonio Renteria, winners of the University of Pennsylvania's 2019 President’s Engagement Prize and founders of Cultivando Juntos.

Listen to our interview with Adrian Shanker, Founder & Executive Director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, PA and editor of Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health. Adrian and Sarah talk about LGBT health, how healthcare providers can provide culturally competent care, and Adrian's new book.

This episode takes a look at Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners in Pennsylvania. Few healthcare providers are trained to do this work, which requires a timely and skilled healthcare response that addresses physical and mental health. Examiners must also be trained on the forensic and legal component so they can collect evidence that can hold up in court. An innovative program out of Penn State Univers...

Nurse practitioners are educated and trained to provide primary care services, but state law creates barriers for them to care for patients. Pennsylvania has some of the best nursing schools in the country. Why doesn't the state allow graduates to practice to the full extent of their education? Nurse practitioners across Pennsylvania have fought for years to modernize the state's nursing law. In t...

This episode focuses on the unique challenges of pediatric home care for medically complex children. The work can be complex, and retaining nurses in this field can be difficult. This episode takes us to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and features one of the most interesting interviews of the series with a nurse who was inspired to pursue pediatric care because she is also the mother of a child wh...

The Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership is an evidence-based home visiting program that serves new mothers and families. They offer support for new mothers who are struggling with breastfeeding. In this episode we hear from nurses and the moms who were in this program about their challenges, and how their nurse helped them.

Nurses have a bigger impact in our lives than most people realize. At the Core of Care shares the stories of nurses across Pennsylvania and the people they support. Our first season highlights the work of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, public health nurses in Philadelphia, nurses working with medically complex children across the states, and nurses advocating for better healthcare in Harrisburg....