On this week’s episode, we discuss the substantial effect COVID-19 has had on the aging
population, and in particular, on our seniors in residential facility care. We provide insights on how holistically structuring our environments and engaging our communities determines if residents of any age thrive, but particularly the vulnerable such as the elderly. We then further analyze the way we as a society treat our senior populations and explore the extent to which our culture truly values the elderly.

Finally, we discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted these glaring cultural inequities and offer insight into what we can do moving forward.

Speaker Bios:
Risa Wilkerson is the Executive Director of Healthy Places by Design, a consulting group serving philanthropy, nonprofit, and community-based organizations across the United States. She provides overarching guidance and strategic vision to fulfill the organization’s mission of advancing community-led action and proven, place-based strategies to ensure health and well- being for all. Risa has nearly 20 years of proven leadership in the healthy communities’ field, with a focus on equity, integrity, and collaboration. She has extensive experience coaching and providing technical assistance to multidisciplinary community-based partnerships across the country. Risa is an action-driven optimist, abundance thinker, and simplicity seeker.

Josh Hodges is the Chief Customer Officer at the National Coalition on Aging (NCOA). In this role, Josh serves as consumer advocate for the coalition, and works to align NCOA’s programmatic portfolios and network activation strategy to enable NCOA to reach millions of individuals and empower them to enroll in benefits programs, prevent falls, and manage their health. Prior to joining NCOA, Josh served as the Acting Deputy Administrator for Integrated Programs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living (ACL).

On this week’s episode, we take a look at grieving and how we cope during these unique
and trying times. We’ll hear from two thought provokers about what it means to confront our humanity, and how we cope in the face of loss of loved ones, and even the lives we once lived. A final focus is placed on the impact that mental health policy plays in meeting our needs, and what must change so that we can all thrive regardless of the challenges we face.

On this week’s episode, we’ll be speaking to you as the leaders of the Coalition to End Social Isolation and Loneliness, and we’ll be joined by two national leaders on eradicating social isolation and loneliness: Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, the premiere academic voice on the prevalence and impacts that the epidemic has had in burdening all ages of Americans, and Andrew Parker the CEO and Founder of Papa Pals, a dynamic start-up which facilitates a real-world solution for both young and old.

On this week’s episode, the Healthsperien team is joined by two veteran policy experts and thought leaders, from two sides of the political spectrum, but who share the same goal: ‘How do we prepare for a thriving America post-pandemic?’ We explore the need for expanded health coverage to meet new demand, and we dive into the long term economic implications of the pandemic, how we avoid a recession and the likely health system response to these pressures.

In this episode, the Healthsperien team, national thought leaders, and advocates dive head-on into the often politically sensitive but very valid issue of health and financial disparities in how the COVID-19 pandemic presents itself among the vulnerable and communities of color. We’ll explore the causes, public responses, and policy solutions to address these inequities with a special focus on how we quantify and qualify the issue through accurate data and human stories.

March 23: On today’s episode, the Healthsperien team along with other guests, will continue to dive into the evolving COVID-19 national emergency and public health crisis. This week we will explore the deluge of legislative and regulatory activities, including the recent CMS telehealth expansions, and the effects of necessary social distancing on social isolation and loneliness. We offer insight and analysis into the current state of play and the larger implications that affect stakeholders across the spectrum. For more information and further analysis please visit https://www.healthsperien.com/

 April 13: On today's episode, the Healthsperien team and special guests, focus on the behavioral health impacts we face as a nation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information and further analysis please visit https://www.healthsperien.com/

On today's episode, Healthsperien team members along with two expert guests, delve into COVID-19, offering analysis on the current state of play and providing further insight into the larger implications the pandemic will have on all stakeholders across the health care spectrum.