Fight Back

In this Library episode of Fight Back, we talk about the holiday blues. Feeling a bit "blue" or downcast during the holidays is common. This year, many people will continue to feel added stress and anxiety of dealing with the effects of COVID, RSV, and a more severe flu season on family gatherings.

Our special guest is Dr. Richard Sherman, a licensed psychologist in private practice. He has been active in organizations that serve both the profession of psychology and the consumer. Dr. Sherman served as President of the CA Psychological Association and the Los Angeles County Psychological Association. He was also a gubernatorial appointee to the CA Board of Psychology, where he served for five years. He earned his doctorate in psychology from the University of Georgia.
 
Dr. Sherman explains the holiday blues and offers tips regarding coping with COVID challenges, staying mentally healthy through it all, and much more.

In this Fight Back minicast, join us as we welcome back Ken Barnes to explore the opportunities that persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities have in the workforce. Mr. Barnes is President and Chief Executive Officer of Options for All, an organization that serves, supports, and educates adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

Ken also discusses some of the impacts that COVID had on employment for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In this Library Release of Fight Back!, we talk with Peter Lee, Executive Director for California’s health insurance marketplace, Covered California. Here in California, the open enrollment period ends at the end of the year. Join us as we talk about the key things you need to know about enrolling in healthcare. 

In our conversation, Peter provides valuable insight into the many facets of the Covered California program, including what options consumers have for obtaining affordable health insurance even if they lose their employment, how middle and low-income families can access subsidies for premiums and co-pays, how the open and special enrollment windows operate, the value of shopping around for the best possible plan, the status of the COVID-19 vaccination program, and much more.

Millions of people suffer from autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disabilities. In this minicast, Ken Barnes talks about growing up with his developmentally disabled twin brother, and the issues that he and his family went through caring for him. Former Options for All CEO Ken Barns shares about how to work through these issues and the resources that are available. He then provides some helpful tips about what people and families facing similar problems can do.

In this Library Release of Fight Back, we get an insider’s look at Intensive Care Units. Dr. Wes Ely, author of Every Deep-Drawn Breath: A Critical Care Doctor on Healing, Recovery, and Transforming Medicine in the ICU joins us to shed light on what patients and their loved one(s) experience when entering an ICU, how mental health plays such a significant role for an ICU patient’s mind and body, the potential long-term effects from a stay in an ICU (known as Post Intensive Care Syndrome), the ways that COVID has led to changes in how ICU medical teams treat their patients, and so much more.

Dr. Ely is an internist, pulmonologist, and critical care physician and serves as the Grant W. Liddle endowed chair in medicine and is a physician-scientist and tenured professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is also the associate director of aging research for the Tennessee Valley Veteran’s Affairs Geriatric Research Education Clinical Center (GRECC). He is the founder and co-director of the Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship (CIBS) Center, an organization devoted to research and ongoing care for people affected by critical illness. 

Dr. Richard Sherman, a licensed psychologist in private practice, joins us to talk about the holiday blues. Feeling a bit “blue” or downcast during the holidays is common. Dr. Sherman explains the holiday blues and offers tips on how to meet the challenges of spending extra time with family and staying mentally healthy through it all, and much more.

In this Fight Back Minicast, we welcome Dr. Howard Zucker, former New York State Public Health Commissioner who led New York through the initial impact of COVID-19. 

Dr. Zucker shares New York’s experience as the first hot spot for COVID-19, dealing with shutdowns, masks, vaccines, and overrun emergency rooms. Join us as we take a quick look back at the start of COVID-19 in New York. Listen to the full episode, The NY COVID Health Experience, here.

Join us on this Library Release of Fight Back, as we discuss medical marijuana. Many states in recent years have legalized the use of cannabis as a treatment for various medical conditions. We welcome our special guest, Sally Brammell, Senior Corporate Counsel at PAX Labs, a cannabis vaporizer company. She is also a parent of a young adult son who is developmentally disabled by a rare pediatric epilepsy syndrome. Although his seizures are resistant to most medications, they have been well-controlled for the past seven years with medical cannabis. 

We discuss with Ms. Brammell the science behind medical marijuana, insurance and legal issues, different cannabis delivery methods, and more.

America is living through a time of unprecedented demographic change. In the last twenty years, the segment of our population over 65 has increased from 6% to 9%. According to estimates, those over 65 will comprise 17% of the population by 2050. At 65, individuals can join the Medicare healthcare system. But Medicare is complicated, and many who are about to or have recently turned 65 face many choices and daunting questions.

In this episode, we talk with Medicare Expert Karen Johnson of Wellcare to learn the details about how to enroll successfully in Medicare.

Join us on this Library Release of Fight Back, as we talk with special guest Dr. Alan Sanders, a specialist in infectious diseases. Dr. Sanders previously served as Chief of Medicine at St Peter’s Hospital in Albany, NY, and currently is the Chief Medical Officer of St. Peter’s Health Partners. He will soon be assuming the role of Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Albany Medical Center Hospital. Among many other responsibilities, he will spearhead establishing a telemedicine program to deliver clinical care—including the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases—to underserved areas.

Dr. Sanders gives us a behind-the-scenes look at telemedicine, from the implementation and use of the technology to what consumers should do to educate themselves on how telemedicine can work for them, and more. We will also discuss the current state of the pandemic and the significant role the vaccines are playing in defeating the virus.