HealthCetera

In our country, someone dies by suicide every 11 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mental health and suicides are issues that are touching all of us, including in rural farming communities. HealthCetera producer and host Diana Mason, RN, discussed this issue with Chris Pawelski, a fourth generation farmer in Goshen, NY, who had his own struggles with managing the stress of farming in the documentary Muckville. He continues to farm and to work on agricultural policy that he discusses during the interview. The interview first aired on October 9, 2024, on WIOX Radio.

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Today’s politics divide Parties, friends, and families. Having strong political positions makes it harder for people who are Republican to live with their Democratic family members, and vice versa.

This ideological divide is not the only 2024 issue creating tension in families. The current generation’s parenting style can be different from how their parents raised them creating a generational divide and tension.

Guest Francine Smilen decided to take this issue on and created the Grandmothers Circle, a workshop series focused on ways to live and learn from these different parenting approaches and enjoy the role of grandparenting. 

Ms. Smilen is a Certified Executive Coach who recently retired from a career in training and organizational development. She has experienced her greatest joys and sorrows as a grandmother to Francesca, Talia, and Maya.

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Photo by Fine Photographics on Unsplash

Earlier this year in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises vs Raimondo, the Supreme Court overturned what is known as the Chevron deference, allowing courts to ignore the expertise of federal agencies when interpreting laws. While this decision was prompted by actions of the Environmental Protection Agency, it has enormous implications for health. HealthCetera host and producer Dr. Diana Mason, RN, talked with Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the APHA, about the implications for health and health care of this Supreme Court decision. This interview first aired on HealthCEtera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on October 2, 2024.

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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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Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

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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