Off The Box

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Today, the guys sit down with Peter Decena.  Chief Decena has experience working for the San Jose State Police Department, the San Jose Police Department and currently serves as the Chief of Police for the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.  

His years of service across diverse agencies and specialty assignments coupled with his leadership progression gives him incredible insight and stories surrounding policing. EMS and life in general.  They delve into topics such as the future of policing, community networking, working with allied agencies and EMS, small town vs large town politics and policing, leadership, and much more.  

Chief Decena has an insightful story and well thought out answer for everything the guys throw at him - you do not want to miss this episode.

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Today, the guy's dream (well, one of many they have) comes true.  They always thought if they did this long enough, eventually they might have a guest come back for a second round.  

John and Garrett could not be happier to have John's good friend, Dr. Paul Silka, Emergency Medicine Physician and Regional Medical Center of San Jose Medical Director on the show.  They reflect on almost a year of managing Covid-19, working in one of the busiest ER's in the county, the vaccine, and briefly touch on lifeguarding and surfing.  

While not as long as the guys normally go, this episode if filled with nothing but quality, a few laughs, and maybe even a few surprises.  Please give it a listen and tell a friend - we appreciate all of our new and current fans!

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Today, the guys sit down with Greg Biggs, CEO of Vander-Bend, a manufacturing company located right in the heart of Silicon Valley.  

The guys have talked a lot about medical robots and the physicians who use them, but how does the actual robot get created?  Greg, with his decades of experience in manufacturing, explains the process, history of, and design of these incredible devices.  Sometimes it starts with an idea on a napkin, then a massive order or steel, wires, and plastic, and before you know it, an operating room has a robot used to improve or even save a life.  

This episode is incredible has it takes a look at manufacturing in America, something usually only heard about but what does it actually mean?  Take a listen and enjoy how an idea turns into an actual product used by our physicians.

John's family comes from manufacturing so this episode is very special to him - he hopes you enjoy it as much as he did recording it.

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Today, the guys sit down with the Chief of the San Jose Police Department, Eddie Garcia.  John and Garrett had been looking forward to this for a while as his calendar books pretty far out in advance, but it was well worth the wait.

Chief Garcia is extremely down-to-earth and shared so many fun stories related to leadership, values, vision and his tenure working for the San Jose Police Department.  He discusses a multitude of topics within law enforcement and we don't want to spoil the interview, but three big takeaways you'll notice:  his passion, his ability to weave in stories and anecdotes to highlight his insights, and most notably, the true respect and admiration he has for the men and women of the department.  

The guy's favorite part was just after the interview concluded.  Garrett hit stop on the recorder and Chief Garcia said he was having so much fun it only felt like we had been talking for only 15 minutes....it had been an hour and 45.  Thank you Chief Garcia for your service to San Jose, can't wait for round 2 with you!

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Today, the guys know what you're thinking.  Nuclear submarines and ambulances?  Yep, they go together.

The guys sit down with with Tyler Coats who served in the United States Navy working on a nuclear submarine.  And let's be serious, John and Garrett couldn't pass up the opportunity to explore that rabbit hole.  They definitely got an education - you should too!

After the Navy, Tyler went on to get his MBA at Stanford and with a group of investors bought Falcon Ambulance where he serves as the CEO of the company.  He speaks about leadership, running an ambulance company, and his plans for the future.

Where else can you hear about nuclear subs and ambulances?  Only at Off the Box.

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Today, the guys sit down to take stock and give thanks for what has been an incredible journey.  They discuss their start in the podcast world, some of their favorite episodes, and look to what they have in store for the remainder of the year.

Spoiler, we have some amazing guests coming up.  Think nuclear big.  CEO big.  The biggest names at the best school in the nation (UCSC).  The top brass big.  Let your minds go crazy but keep Off the Box close by as we get you through 2020.  

What will 2021 bring?  Well, we have some ideas but would love to hear yours.  Please email the guys at:

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Or, follow us on IG.  We are basically the Brad Pitt and George Clooney of the IG world, NBD.

Stay safe this holiday season, we appreciate every listener, you are all part of the Off the Box family.

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Wow - what a podcast this one is!  Today, the guys sit down with Dr. Hacein-Bey, interventional radiologist.  He is an incredible guest and they cover a multitude of topics on and off topic relating to neurology and stroke.

Initially, the conversation begins innocent enough...stroke, neuro, neuro IR, causes of stroke, prevention of stroke, and even a touch of Covid-19's impact on healthcare.  Garrett is very adept at coaxing a wonderful A&P lesson that is not too complicated but also in-depth enough to keep our medical professional audience engaged.  

John somehow manages to navigate the second half of the show down a myriad of rabbit holes regarding wisdom, social media, where the human race is headed, and a few economic analogies.  

This is a fantastic episode, the guys hope it challenges the listeners to explore different topics mentally and appreciate this awesome world we live in.

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Today, the guys sit down with Dr. Rakesh Patel, a radiation oncologist at Good Samaritan Hospital and all around expert in his field.  The guys admit there is little exposure to the oncology world related to their days in EMS.  So this is a very ground up discussion regarding oncology, causes, treatments, the team involved with oncology care and what is involved during and after a cancer diagnosis.  They also delve into genetics and genomics along with his work on a multitude of boards and commissions (including reporting to the President) all striving to improve oncology detection, care, and treatment.

Dr. Patel is absolutely incredible in making sometimes difficult subject matter (both in complexity and emotion) relatable and easy to understand.  You can simply feel his warmth, compassion, and an unwavering dedication to his patients and their family - an incredible spirit to be around.  

John was also excited because he finally got to discuss statistics and mentioned game theory - believe it or not, there is actually some math involved in this episode.  Fear not though, again, Dr. Patel breaks it all for everyone.

John and Garrett were both blown away by both Dr. Patel and learned so much in regards to the care of the cancer patient - this is definitely worth a listen and please do share with a friend.  

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Such a fun episode.  The guys sit down with Shelby Key, RN at Regional Medical Center.  She has so many fun stories about nursing, being a traveler RN (she has worked all across America in many different hospitals), making friends in new cities, ICU care, and they also talk a little bit about sepsis (she is the Sepsis Coordinator).  

Shelby is so smart and absolutely passionate about her care of patients.  If you want to be inspired while being educated, this is the episode for you!  Plenty of laughs to go around as well, this episode will be done before you know it.  But, not to worry, we already got Shelby to agree to come back.  Excellent!

Please do share this with a friend - if you like it, so will they.  

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Follow us on IG - Shelby puts up with John and Garrett trying to match her knowledge on the whiteboard.  

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David Lee is the Director of EVS (Environmental Services) at Regional Medical Center in San Jose, CA.  Hospitals are a clean and often sterile place.  Dave and his team work extremely hard ensuring our hospital is as clean as possible for you, your family, and the team providing care.

Today, the guys sit down with David to discuss what goes into ensuring the hospital is completely clean, what it is like to manage a team during a pandemic, his role as a leader/mentor, and they squeeze in a little baseball as it is World Series time.  Dave umpires for college and high school baseball and basketball and that was a rabbit hole the guys just couldn't pass up.

This was a fun episode - Dave is just a warm, caring person and his staff do an incredible job.  The guys really appreciate him and his team and they think you'll learn a lot from this episode.

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