While 2021 has certainly been a rollercoaster year, Melissa finds hope throughout this past year’s coverage on the podcast. She shares some of her favorite moments where people across the country have been galvanized to connect in new ways, and to help others, all the more!

What went on inside hospitals during the height of the pandemic? Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman had exclusive access to one of New York’s largest and hardest-hit medical centers for his moving documentary, The First Wave. Melissa speaks with him, as well as subjects Dr. Nathalie Dougé and physical therapist Karl Arabian for an intimate portrait of courage in the face of death and disease, and the toll that takes.

Cory Greenberg had a promising career as a professional bicycle racer ahead of him when he was confronted with inflammatory bowel disease, and suddenly didn’t know if he’d ever be able to ride a bike again, much less compete. Melissa speaks with Cory about his experiences, and founding Ride4IBD, as well as with his Mom, Randi, and Emily Pefanis, Vice President of Specialty Operations at CVS Health — which played a big role in Cory’s recovery.

COVID-19 may have exposed the cracks in our social networks, but an organization called Papa has been filling in — especially for those who are older and isolated. It’s an on-demand service to provide companionship and assistance to those who need it. In this Healthy Communities News podcast episode, host Melissa Eagan speaks with Andrew Parker, Papa founder and CEO in Miami, FL, as well as Papa Pal, Denise Martincic, and her Papa, Miss Deborah Allen, Medicare beneficiary in Waterford, MI.

Now that a new Workforce and Innovation Talent Center (or WITC) has opened in the Hill District community of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, host Melissa Eagan speaks with some of those who will make change real, moving forward. Hear from the WITC manager, Sean Ware, a communications and marketing intern already onsite named Julian McGee, and Brett Wormsley, Program Manager at Ebenezer Outreach Ministries and Director of Technology, Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Melissa speaks with John White, Senior Advisor, Workforce Initiatives for CVS Health, and Vincent Campbell, Senior Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church about the WITC launching in Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District, where the average income is currently between $14,000 and $17,000 a year. As Pastor Campbell says, “If there's a thousand people who need help, and you help one, obviously that's impactful to that one person. But then you have to look 999 people in their face who you couldn't help. What CVS [Health] has done is said that ... that other 999 can now come and get help.”

Melissa speaks with Joel Helle, Vice President of Physician Services about the feasibility of reaching the CDC’s goal of decreasing HIV infections 90% by 2030. She speaks to Marco Benjamin, National Liaison, HIV/Sexual Health at CVS Health, and Jen Laws, a CDC HIV Ambassador and public health policy consultant, who are both HIV positive and working from the ground up to end the HIV epidemic, now 40 years on.

We speak with Stephen Fontz, CVS District Leader, as well asBishop Donte Hickman from the South Baptist Church, which has stood firm against what he calls, “the suburban flight and the urban blight.” He’s been dealing with vaccination hesitancy in his own special way. By way of example, we also hear from one of Pastor Hickman’s congregants, Sonia Sobel, who did change her mind about being vaccinated.

In this episode of Healthy Communities News, we speak in even greater detail with Randy Phelps, as well as Dr. Jonathan Wiesen, a pulmonary physician and critical care specialist who runs COVID-19 emergency rooms. And psychiatrist Dr. Laura Ebner, who had already been volunteering for Give an Hour for years, but couldn’t resist helping these new, often neglected heroes, “If [COVID-19] has taught us anything, it’s that we all have to practice self-care, and that mental health affects us all.”

People of color represent more than 25 percent of the total U.S. population, but only 10 percent of the country’s health care professionals. A new scholarship funded by the CVS Health Foundation and managed by the United Negro College Fund, Inc. (UNCF) hopes to improve that balance. Healthy Communities News spoke to those who helped launch the effort and students who rely on scholarships to help them complete their education.