Off the Charts: Examining the Health Equity Emergency

Penumbra Theatre was founded in 1976 by Lou Bellamy as a forum for African American voices in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area’s theater community. Today, Penumbra is using arts, equity and wellness as it evolves into the Penumbra Center for Racial Healing. President Sarah Bellamy and wellness director Camille Cyprian join share the process and how their team is engaging in a long-term community needs assessment to discover how people are learning to thrive in an environment with myriad issues, including racism.

Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD

Guests: Sarah Bellamy and Camille Cyprian

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

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When Willie Braziel thinks about growing up in a single-parent household without his father, he remembers the father figures and peers who helped him on his journey. The operations manager for HealthPartners Institute’s Office of Health Professional Education shares how role models and community programs for youth led him to a lifetime of mentorship and volunteerism, including nearly 50 years as a basketball coach.

Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD

Guest: Willie Braziel

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

Got an idea? Have thoughts to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

Munira MaalimIsaq remembers how difficult navigating the health care system was for her family after they moved to the U.S. from Somalia when she was 9 years old. Since then, she has wanted to help others in a similar position and give back to her community. Asking people what they need and providing education have been her keys to connection.

MaalimIsaq, a nurse practitioner at HealthPartners Clinic Maplewood and former telemetry nurse at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital, shares how she was able to help and serve members of the Somali community by dispelling COVID-19 myths, providing vaccines, and establishing a support group at mosques for those struggling with alcohol addiction.

Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD

Guest: Munira MaalimIsaq, FNP (family nurse practitioner)

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

Got an idea? Have thoughts to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

Health and well-being create a perspective that activates the way the world engages with us. Activities that are nature-based, happen outdoors and have an element of adventure lead to self-discovery, connection to the environment and building communities.

Anthony Taylor, of the Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission, shares how riding his bike through Minneapolis one day during college led to a lifelong journey of health, wellness and education centered on nature, outdoors and adventure. Much of Taylor’s work has been dedicated to connecting communities of color to movement and the outdoors.

Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD

Guest: Anthony Taylor

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

Got an idea? Have thoughts to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

Equity and diversity bring new ideas, innovation and a richness that move progress forward. But some may think it’s a zero-sum game, that giving someone power takes it away from someone else.

Emily Binstadt, MD, HealthPartners emergency medicine physician and director of simulation at Regions Hospital, talks about being a fierce advocate for women in medicine. She and hosts Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD, discuss setbacks and experiences, how feedback gets delivered differently for women versus men, and how talking openly and identifying issues can lead to positive changes away from what has long been considered “normal.”

Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD

Guest: Emily Binstadt, MD

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

Got an idea? Have thoughts to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

At HealthPartners and Park Nicollet, it’s part of our ongoing work to improve the health and well-being of birthing parents and babies, through health equity efforts focused on eliminating disparities in maternal and infant care.

Dr. Diane Banigo, a doctorate-prepared midwife, certified nurse midwife and Park Nicollet community consultant, discusses means to be a midwife, the importance of building authentic relationships, and “birthing while Black.”

Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD

Guest: Diane Banigo, DNP, APRN, CNM

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

Got an idea? Have thoughts to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

NOTE TO LISTENERS: Technical difficulties affected some of the audio on this episode.

Historically, there hasn’t been a lot of diversity in firefighting and emergency medical services. Seeing is believing, and two graduates of the St. Paul Fire Department’s EMS Academy Pathways program, which provides tuition-free emergency medical technician certification, share the impact representation has had on them.

In the final episode of Season 1, Josh Garubanda, a firefighter-paramedic, and Nela Kurtic, a paramedic, discuss cultural barriers, the challenges of cultural nuances, navigating differences with their peers, and connecting with the communities they serve. Off the Charts will return soon with Season 2.

Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD

Guests: Josh Garubanda and Nela Kurtic

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

Got an idea? Have thoughts to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

Childhood immunization schedules are designed for children’s young immune systems, helping to protect them from preventable diseases as early and as safely as possible. That’s why it’s so important to stay on schedule – even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Andrea Singh, MD, department chair of pediatrics at Park Nicollet and co-lead of the Children’s Health Initiative, discusses disparities in childhood vaccination rates and how critical vaccines are for keeping kids healthy. Dr. Singh also shares her lifelong passion for teaching and helping people learn, and her experience as a parent and how it relates to building trust with patients and their families.

Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD

Guest: Andrea Singh, MD

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

Got an idea? Have thoughts to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

Racial disparities and major deficits exist in almost every child health measure. The most important one to improve, according to Dr. Jason Maxwell, is reading and literacy because of its statistical connection to adult poverty and incarceration.

Dr. Maxwell, the HealthPartners chair of pediatrics and HealthPartners Como Clinic medical director, discusses getting kids and parents started early with reading, open and honest communication, and listening to patients and their families to find out what’s important to them.

Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD

Guest: Jason Maxwell, MD

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

Got an idea? Have thoughts to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

In maternal health, race matters. In the U.S., it’s evident in the statistics and disparities in maternal- and infant-health outcomes. HealthPartners is working to help reverse the trends of health inequities and close gaps in the disparities of birth outcomes with family-centered care, high reliability and health equity.

Dr. Corinne Brown-Robinson, the vice chair of the OB-GYN department and medical director of the ultrasound department at HealthPartners and medical co-chair of the Children’s Health Initiative, shares her personal and professional experiences with pregnancy and childbirth, national statistics that show disparities in birth outcomes for Black and Indigenous birthing people and trust’s role in the patient-provider partnership.

Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD

Guest: Corinne Brown-Robinson, MD

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

Got an idea? Have thoughts to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].