Coleman Associates Innovation Podcast

What if improving dental care started with simply asking, “What if we tried this?” In this episode, Amanda sits down with Dr. Ramona English , Chief Dental Officer at Petaluma Health Centers , to talk about how dental teams can use small tests of change to tackle big challenges. Dr. English shares how her team uses PDSA cycles—Plan, Do, Study, Act—to experiment, learn quickly, and continuously imp...

What happens when an organization grows faster than its leadership structure? Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers CEO Terri Lacey joins Amanda to talk candidly about growing from two sites to 22—and recognizing that roles, reporting relationships, and decision-making needed to evolve along with the organization. Terri shares what it took to rethink the org chart, get leaders focused on their “...

Following the Midterm Elections, policy changes are scheduled to go into effect—and for community health centers, preparing for Medicaid coverage changes can’t wait until December. In this episode of the Coleman Associates Innovation Podcast , COO Allison Dubois and CEO Gralyn Jacques join Amanda to talk about what health centers can do now to help eligible patients stay covered while preparing fo...

The Human Factors Episode In this episode, Amanda talks with Laura Barg-Walkow, PhD , a Human Factors Engineer on the Patient Safety Team at Children’s Hospital Colorado, about designing healthcare systems around how people actually work—not how we wish they would work. Laura shares why errors and workarounds are often signs of system design problems, not individual failure. Together, she and Aman...

What if the biggest indicator of quality care isn't just what happens in the exam room—but how quickly patients can get there? In this episode of the Coleman Podcast entitled Quality-Flavored Kool-Aid   (you'll find out why!) Megan DeMaagd-Rodriguez, Nurse Practitioner, draws from her experience at a Michigan Federally Qualified Health Center. Megan explains why meeting patients where th...

If You're Always Putting Out Fires, You May Be An Arsonist... Why do some leaders spend every day reacting to crises while others seem to create calm, capable teams? In this episode, Amanda sits down with Coleman Associates CEO Melissa Stratman to unpack the provocative idea behind the title: many of the fires leaders are constantly extinguishing are unintentionally of their own making. Drawi...

What happens when leaders stop leading from silos and start leading as a true first team? The First Team is defined by Patrick Lencioni in his book  The Five Dysfunctions of a Team   as the team you prioritize over the team you manage.  In this episode, Amanda sits down with the leadership team from Catherine's Health Center to explore how intentionally investing in trust, vulnerability, and...

What does it take to grow an organization by more than 25% during one of the most challenging periods in healthcare? In this episode of the Coleman Associates Innovation Podcast , Amanda Laramie talks with Eloisa Perard, CEO of Gracelight Community Health, about the leadership journey behind Gracelight's remarkable growth. Rather than focusing on expansion alone, Eloisa shares how investing i...

In this episode of the Coleman Associates Innovation Podcast, Amanda Laramie sits down with four leaders from Cherry Health in Michigan to discuss their organization's journey toward truly integrated, whole-person care. What started as an effort to better connect medical and behavioral health services evolved into a broader transformation of workflows, culture, patient access, and team-based...

What happens when nurses are empowered to practice at the top of their license?  In this episode, Amanda sits down with Maria Durazo, RN and Isabelle Lunsford, RN, PHN, MSN, of Open Door Community Health Centers in CA, to discuss how they transformed the nursing role to improve access, support providers, and strengthen patient care in a highly rural environment.  Learn how Open Door built a Tactic...

In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, Amanda Laramie sits down with leadership researcher and author Zach Mercurio, PhD , to explore how leaders can create workplaces where people truly feel seen, valued, and connected. Zach shares practical, everyday ways leaders can apply the principles of mattering — not through grand gestures, but through intentional interactions that build trust, belonging...

What makes people feel valued at work? Why do some teams thrive even under pressure, while others struggle with burnout, disengagement, and turnover? In Part 1 of this episode of the Coleman Associates Innovation Podcast, Amanda sits down with author, researcher, and speaker Zach Mercurio to explore one of the most important — and often overlooked — drivers of workplace performance and wellbeing:...

What’s possible in the first few weeks of true transformation work? This episode answers that question with clarity—and proof. In this episode of the Coleman Associates Innovation Podcast, Amanda sits down with a powerhouse frontline team from a rural clinic in North Carolina that is already seeing remarkable results through the DPI™ (Dramatic Performance Improvement) Collaborative . In just two m...

What does it really take to turn empty appointment slots into a high-performing, fully utilized schedule —and keep it that way? In this episode, Amanda sits down with three leaders from MLK Community Healthcare, a hospital-based primary care system in South Los Angeles. Five months after they graduated from the DPI™ Collaborative, they share how they didn’t just improve access—they fundamentally t...

In this special redux episode , we’re revisiting one of the most impactful episodes of the Coleman Associates Innovation Podcast: Change is a Game Changer #7 . Featuring Dr. Tim Spurrell, this conversation has surpassed 1,000 downloads—and continues to be the episode we recommend when health centers, especially providers, want a clear picture of how this work comes to life day-to-day. In a time wh...

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Sarah Smith —family physician, charting coach, and host of the Sustainable Clinician Podcast —for a crossover conversation on how clinicians can get their charting and in-basket work done today , not tonight. After years of taking work home and feeling the strain of burnout, Sarah rethought how clinical work gets done. Now, she helps clinicians break free from...

What happens when an organization decides to be bold — not just in vision, but in execution? In this episode, we sit down with a Chicago-based healthcare organization that completed the DPI™ journey and came out stronger, sharper, and more aligned than ever. They share candid lessons learned, the challenges they faced, and the mindset shifts that made the biggest difference. Most importantly, we e...

America’s population is aging rapidly — and in rural communities, the challenges of caring for older adults are even more complex. Workforce shortages, transportation barriers, chronic disease management, and limited access to specialty services all converge at a time when demand for coordinated, high-quality care has never been higher. In this episode, host Kristi Wick , an NP, helps us explore w...

Part Two is here. Dr. Tim Spurrell is back—and this time, we’re talking more about what it really takes to lead change in healthcare without losing your people in the process. In this episode, Tim breaks down how great clinical leaders communicate through uncertainty, build alignment across teams, and keep standards high even when everything is shifting. If you’ve ever felt like you’re pushing cha...

Dr. Timothy Spurrell— a fan favorite from Episode 7 —is back for a powerful conversation on what truly sets great clinical leaders apart. In this episode, he shares practical insights, real-world lessons, and leadership perspectives that resonate with clinicians and executives alike. If you’re looking for grounded wisdom, candor, and inspiration you can actually use in your healthcare environment,...

Adrienne Mann and Melissa Stratman dig into a timely question for health centers: how should we be talking about productivity right now? With federal funding on shaky ground, they reframe productivity as a mission-protecting tool—not a punitive metric—and share practical ways leaders can discuss capacity, schedules, and expectations with clarity, fairness, and trust, building on the ADKAR model fo...

Ready for some rural healthcare magic? In this Coleman Associates Innovation Podcast episode, we spotlight the creative team from Axis Health Systems in Colorado. They took access to behavioral health services to new heights with out-of-the-box ideas—including unique voicemail scripts that got patients from “I’ll think about it” to “Absolutely, I’ll be there!” Discover how these innovators improve...

In podcast episode #60, "Making Over Behavioral Health and Substance Use Care," Kaitlin Boger, a seasoned Director of Counseling and Behavioral Health Services and Director of Integrated Care, teams up with Amanda Laramie to explore the exciting possibilities for clinics to expand their mental health and substance use services. They dive into the hot topics of today's mental health...

In this illuminating episode of "One Doctor's Mission to Eliminate Pajama Time with AI," host Adrienne sits down with Dr. Joshua Reischer, the visionary CEO of Health Note, to delve into the transformative impact of AI technology on healthcare workflows. Dr. Reischer shares his personal journey from the frontline of medicine to pioneering innovative solutions as he discusses the gen...

In this episode,  Adrienne dives into a conversation with Dr. Seth Rinderknecht, bookended by Seth's prescient pillow with the quote from Kendrick Lamar's song "Be Humble. Sit Down."  Seth is a patient-centered, everything kind of doctor from Eskenazi Health Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. He shares his initial skepticism when his organization embarked on a major change proces...