Heroes of Healthcare

Without bacteria, there would be no life on earth. Even as human beings, micro-bacterial cells outnumber the conglomerate of human cells 10 to 1, yet we haven’t scratched the surface of understanding the interactions between bacteria and human cells. In today’s episode, Dr. Raphael Kellman, Internal Medicine Specialist/Integrative and Functional Medicine Leader at the Kellman Wellness Center, tell...

Good health is becoming more complex in today’s world and patients are looking for doctors who can treat more than just the immediate ailments they’re experiencing. In today’s episode, we’re joined by Dr. Tollie B. Elliott Sr., Chief Executive Officer of Mary’s Center, to discuss his pivot from school teacher to physician and the dynamics that come into play when delivering passionate care to marg...

How do you provide healthcare to someone who can’t afford it, is unable to travel, or lacks any trust in health practitioners? From mental health to discrimination, COVID-19 exposed the flaws and disparities that exist in healthcare, leaving many to look for solutions to these problems. In today’s episode, Dr. Alexander Salerno, Physician at Salerno Medical Associates LLP, gives a glimpse into his...

Physician retention is quickly becoming the newest facet to join the crisis of healthcare in America. From doctors choosing a career path at a young age only to find out it wasn’t the right path for them to physician burnout all across the nation in the aftermath of covid, turnover among physicians and medical staff is a growing problem. Enter Tammy Hager, Executive Director of Physician Recruitme...

Right before the height of the pandemic, Jeremy Paredes’s eczema, an auto-immune disease, became so severe that he was rushed to the ER in Septic Shock. A chronic skin condition that Jeremy grew up with became so unbearable that he felt as though there was no hope for him to get better. Although Jeremy’s journey with eczema still continues, he is able to manage it better thanks to the help of some...

You’ve probably been treated by a Locum Tenens physician and didn’t even realize it! Locum tenens is a Latin phrase that means temporarily taking the place of another.  While labor shortages can happen throughout professions, this can be catastrophic within hospitals and clinics. This is where an organization like NALTO can step in and assist with staffing.   Jarin Dana, CFO Fusion Healthcare Staf...

To solve some of the thornier problems in healthcare—challenges like providing access, combating misinformation, and ensuring equitable outcomes—we need data. That’s where population health comes into play. It’s a science that combines clinical care with data to improve the care of large swaths of people all at once. Dr. Chirag Patel, Vice President Population Health at Centene, joins the show to...

At 21, Doug Lindsay, Founder of The Lindsay Center, got sick. He got so sick, in fact, that he remained bedbound and homebound for the next 11 years. And seemingly no one in the medical community had answers for him. So, he took matters into his own hands, and because of his unbelievable grit and determination, he diagnosed his own rare condition and came up with a cure. In this episode, he shares...

Staffing shortages are plaguing industries across the country—especially healthcare. Rising rates of burnout and early retirements are only complicating the issue. As Assistant Vice President of Provider Recruitment at LifePoint Health, Christy Bray Ricks confronts this challenge everyday.  In this episode, she shares some strategies to combat it. Plus, we talk about the underlying causes of this...

Humans are capable of incredible things—we’re smart, we’re adaptive, we’re resourceful—but one area where we are limited is our capacity to incorporate new information and modify a decision once one has already been made. Dr. Matthew Cooper, Chief Medical Officer of the Medical Solutions Division & Director, Global Safety for the Health Care Business Group at 3M Health Care, believes that’s where...

Websites like Everyday Health serve a valuable purpose: They empower patients with the information necessary to have richer and more efficient conversations with their doctors. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Arefa Cassoobhoy, Chief Medical Editor and VP of Medical Affairs at Everyday Health, about the world of medical journalism—how topics are chosen, how content is vetted, and how to determin...

After a slew of break-even years, Temple University Health was in dire straits. With no money to reinvest, the hospital’s age of infrastructure—which, for most hospitals, hovers around 8 to 9 years—was closing in on 15 to 18 years. How did they right the ship? Dr. Tony Reed, the EVP and CMO at Temple University Health, joins the show to share the story of their financial turnaround. We discuss: Ho...

The big challenge in public health is finding a way to connect all the disparate services and resources scattered throughout the country to the people who need them most. The best tool in that fight is data. That’s why unifying data sources is the main focus of Dr. Sandra Ford, the Special Assistant to the President for Public Health and Science at The White House. In this episode, she talks about...

It’s been an eventful year in healthcare and at the Heroes of Healthcare podcast. In this episode, the hosts of the show, Ted Weyn, Executive Vice President of Systems Innovation, Marketing & Strategy, and Olivia D’Angelo , Division Vice President of Neurology, both with Jackson & Coker, take a look back at the year that was. They discuss: Their favorite episodes from 2021 The themes that continue...

The number of older adults is expected to double over the next 30 years. That’s why it’s critical that the healthcare system undertakes measures to ensure that care becomes more age-friendly. In this episode, Dr. Ugochi Ohuabunwa, Professor of Medicine at Emory University, shares insights into how geriatric care works and how it continues to evolve as the elderly population grows.  We discuss: Why...

Dr. Hany Y. Atallah, Chief Medical Officer at Jackson Memorial Hospital , never wanted to go into administration. The last thing he wanted to do was wear a suit every day. But over time, he recognized the transformational power of being in a position to identify a problem and to bring together the people who can fix it. In his administrative career, he has confronted many problems from massive wat...

Parents have a lot on their plate when it comes to the health of their children.   With misinformation at an all-time high, it’s left up to them to do the research and sort through all the information to find trusted resources and advice. It can be scary and oftentimes overwhelming.  What if there was a better way?  Dr. Josh Honaker, CEO & Founder of ParentMD and Honaker Health, sought to find it...

Being a leader in healthcare is not for the faint of heart. It requires grit and determination, and unlike many jobs, it doesn’t stop at 5 o’clock. That’s why today’s guest, John Couris , President and CEO of Tampa General Hospital , believes that healthcare leadership is not just a job or a career—it’s a vocation. In this episode, John talks about his journey in becoming a healthcare leader, and...

Because they are worried about the stigma associated with seeking help, health care professionals with mental health issues often refuse to seek treatment. The concern isn’t without merit. Certain states have wording in their license applications that allow them to discriminate against individuals who access mental health resources. Needless to say, leaving mental health issues untreated can be ve...

One of the best ways for healthcare leaders to gain knowledge and learn best practices is through conversations with their peers. However, it’s often difficult to arrange these types of conversations. Hays Waldrop , Founder and President of the Institute of Healthcare Executives and Suppliers , has made it his life’s mission to act as a facilitator for these conversations.  His company connects he...

COVID causes tremendous downstream impact within a healthcare system.  It means that healthcare professionals are working 24/7 to care for all the patients who come in. It means that treatment of other patients — for example, those who are chronically ill or who need to get a CT scan — gets pushed back so that COVID patients can be treated. In short, the effects of the COVID pandemic go way beyond...

On an average day, there are usually 1,400 beds in operation across the Memorial Healthcare System in Hollywood, Florida. During the first wave of COVID last summer, the hospital exceeded that capacity with 1,600 patients. Florida is now in the midst of another COVID wave. This time patients are younger, and they are almost entirely unvaccinated — and at the peak of the wave, there were 1,700 pati...

Medical staff have been put through the ringer over the last year. Hospital systems have experienced economic challenges, a reduction in workforce, and of course, the continuing challenges related to COVID. With all that is going on, keeping morale high might seem like a gargantuan task. In this episode, Jordan Voigt , President, Genesis Medical Center - Davenport, talks about how his team institu...

Medication regimens can at times be extremely complex and scary for patients. It can be helpful to have a guide — someone who can explain what they are taking, why they are taking it, and what side effects might occur. That’s where the pharmacologist comes in to save the day. In this episode, Dr. Becky Bean, Senior Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Novant Health, explains the important...

Infectious disease is a broad category. There are a lot of tropical diseases out there, and any part of the body can become infected. But according to today’s healthcare hero, that’s also what makes it the most interesting field of medicine. Guest host Olivia D’Angelo has a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. David Priest, SVP Safety, Quality, and Epidemiology at Novant Health, about the COVID pand...