HealthCetera

Chad Harper is an Award-winning Hip Hop artist and the founder of HipHop Saves Lives, a non-profit organization that uses music to propose ideas and solutions for positive social change. His most recent initiative was the recording “Ability”, the lead single for the “I’M JUST LIKE YOU” global campaign that highlights the talents of people with disabilities. Recorded in Sierra Leone, it features two rappers — 50 Don and Prophet — who are survivors of polio. HealthCetera host Diana Mason, RN, talked with Chad Harper when he was at the ParaOlympics about his commitment to social change, how a focus on people with disabilities came about, and his effort to create a kind and just world that recognizes the special abilities of every person.

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Prior authorization is a requirement by insurers that you and/or your health care provider get prior permission to do a procedure or provide certain medications or the insurer may not pay for it. This has been particularly true for people on Medicare Advantage, the alternative to traditional Medicare. But now commercial insurers outside of the Medicare program are using prior authorization as a way to reduce what they spend on your care, but it can potentially delay or deny the care you need when you need it. The burden of prior authorization on patients, clinicians and healthcare organizations has led some health systems to refuse to accept patients covered by a Medicare Advantage plan. HealthCetera host Dr. Diana Mason, RN, discussed prior authorization with Dr. Eli Cahan, MD, a journalist and resident at Boston Children’s Hospital who wrote about it in the August 30, 2024, issue of JAMA. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on September 11, 2024. 

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Voting is a social and political determinant of health. There is evidence that voting plays a positive role in our health and the overall well-being of our communities. Healthcare professionals are working in a nonpartisan civic engagement way to encourage people to vote. Today’s HealthCetera guest is a committed public health nurse and a member of this civic engagement movement. Dr. Lisa Campbell is the founder and CEO of Population Health Consultants. She’s a leadership & life coach for nurses as her primary service. She is known as an enterprising public health nursing executive with over 40 years’ experience, respected as a trusted coach and effective innovator.

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We are an aging society. Some of us worry about what will happen when we can no longer take care of ourselves without help. We may not like to think about it but we should. Long-term care (LTC) can be challenging to access, difficult to navigate and expensive. And yet, who among us wants to spend the last months or years of their lives without options on how we will live and be cared for? Diana Mason, RN, talks with two experts on the topic. Liz Seegert is an independent journalist who is also the topic editor on aging for the Association for Health Care Journalists and a HealthCetera Correspondent on aging. She recently wrote a column for the Association that provides basic information on LTC options. Thanks for returning to HCC. Dr. Melissa Batchelor Murphy, RN, is Professor and Director of the Center for Aging at the George Washington University School of Nursing. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on August 7, 2024.

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Talking about death and our choices in dying is crucial to those of us who want to die a “good death” but it’s equally important that our loved ones know of our end of life and post-life wishes. Dr. Diana Mason, RN, talked with Mary Ellen Markant, RN, an end-of-life educator, about preparing for death. Markant writes and talks to groups about how to begin to feel comfortable with and accept death as a natural part of living. They also talk about “green” burials and other choices related to our after-death preferences. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX radio on July 17, 2024.

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Samadhi is a nonprofit organization based in Kingston, NY, that takes a mindfulness approach to preventing, treating and supporting people in recovery from SUD and addiction. But the need for these services extends beyond the city’s borders. With funding from OASAS, the NYS Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services, Samadhi purchased a mobile van to take its services to northern Ulster County and Delaware County. Diana Mason, PhD, RN, talked with Jason Tompkins, a CRPA (certified recovery peer advocate) with Samadhi and Simon Abramson, LMSW, a psychotherapist and the Director of Mobile Outpatient at Samadhi. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on July 3, 2024.

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Harper Spero is a business coach, and Founder of Made Visible helping people living with an invisible illness be seen and heard. 

People living with disabilities that cannot be seen, are rarely accommodated for them and are frequently shamed when they physically cannot do the things that are expected of them.

Despite the progress towards inclusion, there are still significant barriers that persist that impede people living with an invisible disease and other disabilities from participating in society fully.

Ms. Spero shares how those living with an invisible illness can better navigate their lives through the power of communication and agency.

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If you talk with the young people in the Catskill region, they will tell you that there are simply not enough places for them to be together in person for fun. One teenager is doing something about that. Edrick Henderson is a rising junior who lives in Phoenicia, NY, and has been skateboarding since he was a young boy. He is leading an initiative called Shandaken Skatepark that is creating a place for skateboarding in the town of Shandaken. His father, singer and founder of the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice, has supported his son’s vision for a place for young people to be together, exercise, and have fun. HealthCetera host Dr. Diana Mason, RN, talked with Edrick and Kerry about the project on HealthCetera in the Catskills, WIOX Radio, on June 19, 2024.

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The COVID-19 pandemic challenged most everyone to think about their vulnerability to infectious diseases and how communities and society responded. It was an opportunity to learn about what we need to do to be better prepared for the next pandemic or epidemic, including the current spread of Avian flu that is proceeding with minimal public health tracking and interventions. In the April 2024 issue of Health Affairs, Dr. Arthur Caplan, Mitty Bioethics Professor at the New York University School of Medicine, discusses the book The Wisdom of Plagues by science journalist Donald McNeill in an article titled, “How to Endure a Pandemic and Learn Almost Nothing.” HealthCetera host Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, talks with Dr. Caplan about his conclusion that our failure to learn from the pandemic is more than a matter of misinformation. Rather, our moral compass and ethical stances as individuals and a society are barriers to being prepared for the next pandemic. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on July 3, 2024.

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Suicide rates are increasing across the country, including in Delaware County, NY.  HealthCetera in the Catskills host Diana Mason, PhD, RN, talked with Doug Ellston, LCSW-R, Director of Community Services for the Delaware County Mental Health Clinic, about the factors contributing to increasing rates of suicide, how to prevent suicides, and how to respond when you think someone may be at risk for suicide. This interview first aired on WIOX Radio on June 12, 2024.

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