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The second hour begins with a focus on two community leaders’ perspectives on the local impact of the federal policy changes: Allen Hinkley, the Supervisor for the town of Roxbury that includes the hamlets of Roxbury and Grand Gorge, as well as the Denver-Vega Valley, Hardscrabble, West Settlement; and Glen Faulkner, the Town Supervisor for Middletown that includes Margaretville, Arkville, Fleischmanns, New Kingston and Halcottsville. Assemblyman Brian Maher (R, NYA-101) then discusses how the state is responding to these changes. The special ends with a discussion of the impact of the federal policy changes on social services that are so crucial to health, such as access to healthy food, affordable housing, and more, with the Delaware County Commissioner of Social Services Keith Weaver,  Executive Director of Delaware Opportunities Shelly Bartow, and Founder and manager of Margaretville’s The Hubb Robin Williams.

To listen to the first hour, please go to this link.

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On November 19, 2025, HealthCetera in the Catskills host  Diana Mason, PhD, RN, produced and hosted a 2-hour special on the impact of federal policy changes on the health and wellbeing of the people living in the Catskills region of New York State. Co-hosted by Richard Siegel, a social work administrator who now teaches policy part-time in the social work program at Hunter College. 

The special opens with Congressman Josh Riley (D, NY-19) discussing the federal changes that have occurred in the past year in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the issues related to the 2025 government shutdown; followed by a focus on the impact of these changes on hospital systems in the region. This latter discussion is with Carolyn Lewis, the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Basset Health System, and Michael Hochman, the Executive Director of Margaretville Hospital and Mountainside Residential Care Center that are part of Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley and WMC Health.

To listen to the second hour, please go to this link.

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Opposition to vaccines by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as the governor and surgeon general for the state of Florida, is striking fear in the hearts of public health experts and those who have vulnerable children. HealthCetera Correspondent and school nurse Robin Cogan, RN, MS, FAAN, spoke with Teri Mills, RN, MS, CNE, and Donna Gaffney, RN, PhD, FAAN, two nurses who are using their roles and power as grandparents to remind people of what life—and death—was like for children before we had vaccines. They talk about Grandparents For Vaccines, an initiative that seeks to harness grandparent knowledge and experience with prior epidemics like polio and measles to discuss the life-saving value of today’s vaccines for their grandchildren and other children.

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Cell phones in schools has been a controversial topic, with New York State recently banning students’ use of smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices, including smartwatches, while in school. The ban is required to begin in the 2025-2026 school year and applies during class, lunch, study hall, and hallways and is required for both public and charter schools in the state. Is this a good idea? HealthCetera host Dr. Diana Mason, RN, talked with Dr. Sunny Hallowell, a pediatric nurse practitioner and Associate Professor at Villanova University’s College of Nursing about smart devices in schools.

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Cell phones in schools has been a controversial topic, with New York State recently banning students’ use of smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices, including smartwatches, while in school. The ban is required to begin in the 2025-2026 school year and applies during class, lunch, study hall, and hallways and is required for both public and charter schools in the state. Is this a good idea? HealthCetera host Dr. Diana Mason, RN, talked with Dr. Sunny Hallowell, a pediatric nurse practitioner and Associate Professor at Villanova University’s College of Nursing about smart devices in schools.

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Few people who are not nurses or researchers have likely heard about the Nurses Health Study. Begun in 1976, it is one of the most enduring longitudinal health studies and has produced important findings that have improved the lives of everyone. But it is likely to end because of the Trump administration’s battle with Harvard University that has cut about $2.6 billion in research and contracts from that university, including for the Nurses Health Study. Why should people care? HealthCetera host Diana Mason, RN, posed that question to Jean Keifner, RN, a retired school nurse who is one of the original participants in the study; and Robin Cogan, RN, HealthCetera correspondent, school nurse, and creator/writer of the blog, The Relentless School Nurse. Cogan wrote one of her blog posts on the Nurses Health Study and included actions that people can take to oppose its closure. This interview first aired on WIOX Radio on July 30, 2025. 

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Most of us know about the Special Olympics as a competitive sports program for people with disabilities. But few people know about the health equity work that Special Olympics does for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Dr. Anne Williams is a Registered Nurse and Vice President of Health Services and Education for Special Olympics International. She spoke with HealthCetera host Dr. Diana Mason, PhD, RN, about the work of Special Olympics International to encourage physical activity and sports among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This interview first aired on WiOX Radio on July 16, 2025.

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Heat waves are becoming more frequent, longer, and more intense. Extreme heat events pose significant health risks, particularly for vulnerable populations such as older adults, low-income households, and people with pre-existing health conditions. And perhaps more so, the risks are high for people whose jobs are outdoors, such as farm workers. HealthCetera host Dr. Diana Mason, PhD, RN, talked with Dr. Nancy Rudner, DrPH, APRN, about the issue of heat injury among farmworkers. 
Dr. Rudner is a nurse practitioner, nurse scholar and population health expert who lives in Florida and has been doing work on heat risks and protections for that state’s farmworkers but her work is relevant everywhere. This interview first aired on WIOX Radio on July 7, 2025.

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It’s been estimated that waste, fraud, and abuse in health care spending in the US ranges from 3% to 10%. The Trump Administration and Elon Musk have been taking a chainsaw to what they are claiming is “cutting waste, fraud, and abuse” in government. But what constitutes waste, fraud and abuse? Can more transparency—including price transparency—be a solution? And can a chainsaw approach to reducing health care spending really address waste, fraud and abuse? Dr. Diana Mason, RN, producer and host of HealthCetera, discusses these questions with Dr. Kumhee Ro, a registered nurse and associate professor in the Seattle University College of Nursing. Dr. Ro also has served as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow, with experiences in Washington, DC, and her home state of Washington. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on May 21, 2025.

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The COVID19 pandemic exacerbated food insecurity across the country, including in NYS. Food pantries were ramping up their supplies as the food needs of individuals and families outstripped pantry supplies. But what has happened since the pandemic? The New York Health Foundation undertook an analysis of food insufficiency across the state from May 2020 through October 2024 and issued a report on their findings entitled Hunger on the Rise: New York’s Food Insufficiency Rates Hit New Highs and Exceed Pandemic Levels. HealthCetera producer and host Diana Mason, RN, discussed the report with Julia McCarthy, Senior Program Officer for the NYHealth Foundation, who helps to lead the foundation’s Healthy Food, Healthy Lives priority area, that aims to create a more equitable food system connecting all New Yorkers with the food they need to thrive. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on May 21, 2025.

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