Hartford HealthCare Podcast

The most recent statistics show as many as 400 reported deaths by suicide of physicians in just one year - and that was before the pandemic. In this special episode, Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coates explores the topic of wellness amongst healthcare workers during an extraordinary time. Steve’s guests are:

Dr. John Santopietro, Physician-in-Chief at the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network

Dr. Faiqa Cheema, Director of Transplant Infectious  & Assistant Director of General Infectious Disease at Hartford Hospital

Dr. Listy Thomas, an Emergency Medicine Specialist, at St. Vincent’s Medical Center

 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

If you or someone you know needs someone to reach out to call 800.273.8255, The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800.273.TALK (8255), or 911 immediately.

Hartford HealthCare's Behavioral Health Network is a national leader in the Zero Suicide Initiative. 

Sarah Najamy is a certified nurse midwife with Circle of Life Midwifery in Shelton, Connecticut, and helped to design the one-of-a-kind midwifery birthing program at Hartford HealthCare’s St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Related links:
Read or listen! Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility
Watch! Meet Sarah Najamy and tour the midwifery suites at St. Vincent's Medical Center

Dr. Stirling Craig, a plastic surgeon and micro-vascular surgeon with the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut, explores a recent phenomenon of sorts - post-lockdown cosmetic surgery. What’s behind the Zoom Boom, and what to avoid if you’re considering a surgical procedure for yourself.

Learn more about cosmetic surgery at St. Vincent's Medical Center
StVincents.org/CosmeticSurgery

Watch Dr. Craig on WTNH News 8
Surgeon Explains Why More People May Be Undergoing Plastic Surgery

Dr. Eglis Bogdanovics, a Hartford Healthcare Medical Group  endocrinologist with the Diabetes Center at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, discusses the different paths taken with managing type 1 and type 2 diabetes, some alarming risks of not treating diabetes and the all important access to care.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms discussed in this episode, be sure to schedule an appointment with your primary care physician.

Find a Doctor that's right for you and your family.

Learn more about Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at hartfordhealthcaremedicalgroup.org

It’s World Breastfeeding Week and in this episode features two experts on the topic. Kara Giroux, a Lactation Consultant and Community Education Coordinator with Hartford HealthCare at Backus Hospital in Willimantic, CT,  and Sarah Quadrato a Nurse Educator with Women’s Health Services at Hartford Hospital

World Breastfeeding Week Event at Hartford Hospital
Wednesday, August 4: 11:30am-1pm
Outdoor event | Open to public
More information: [email protected]

Important links:

Hartford HealthCare & Connecticut Children’s Alliance

E-learning and childbirth education

Hartford HealthCare Facebook Breastfeeding Support Group

Article: What’s a Baby-Friendly Hospital? Ask a Breastfeeding Mother

New AHA Study: Breastfeeding in the First Days of Life Is Associated With Lower Blood Pressure at 3 Years of Age

Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coates talks with Dr. David Bendor, Clinical Coordinator of the Young Adult Medical Track at Hartford HealthCare’s Institute of Living.

They discuss the challenges faced by youth with a dual diagnosis of behavioral and physical health conditions, and the most effective strategies to manage this unique situation - for both the patient and their families. 

The Young Adult Medical Track is taking referrals at 860.545.7008. To learn more and to meet the team, go to InstituteOfLiving.org/YoungAdultMedical

Related topic: When Medical Illness Causes Mental Health Problems in Youths

Dr. Anthony Alessi and his daughter, Dr. Stephanie Alessi-LaRosa are both part of the Sports Neurology Program at Hartford HealthCare’s Ayer Neuroscience Institute. This father daughter team share a passion for boxing and MMA  – that is - the fight to make these sports safer and protect the fighters from serious brain injury. They’ll take you ringside and describe what they are looking for in the fighters that might compel them to end the fight. 

Check the links below for more compelling stories about the risk of traumatic brain injury in fighters and what is being done to better protect them.

More links:

Podcast: MMA Guidance from a Black Belt Physician

Article: Boxing Study Shows The Bigger They Are, The Harder It Is On The Brain

Steve Coates welcomes Dr. Joseph Wagner, Chief of Urology and Director of Robotic Surgery at Hartford Hospital. This month marks the 20th anniversary of FDA approval for robotic prostatectomy and Dr. Wagner was one of the first in the nation to perform this groundbreaking procedure. He’ll take us back to what that was like for him and for the patient – and he’ll also describe how this technology has changed over the past two decades.

Learn more about Robotic Surgery at Hartford HealthCare's Tallwood Urology & Kidney Institute

Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coates talks to Dr. Bharat Narapareddy, a neuropsychiatrist at the Institute of Living, part of the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network. He’s also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. 

Dr. Narapareddy is part of a collaborative research team who recently published a study on brain changes in professional fighters based on weight class. He helps us better understand the effect repeated blows to the head have on brain structure and function over time.

Steve Coates talks Hartford HealthCare’s Bone & Joint Institute’s Stefanie Bourassa, Director of Physical Therapy, and Nicole LaVette, a Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery APRN with the Institute’s Women’s Sports Health Program.  

They discuss REDS, or Relative Energy Deficiency Syndrome, which is the result of insufficient caloric intake associated with excessive energy expenditure. 

Consequences of this low-energy condition can have many physical and psychological impacts that affect performance. The BJI women’s sports health program is on the leading edge of identifying and treating REDs with a holistic approach. 

The phone number for musculoskeletal health triage is 860.972.5945. To learn more about Hartford HealthCare’s Bone & Joint Institute, go to HartfordHealthCare.org/BJI.