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

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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].

Being welcome, included and valued is a basic human need and essential to health and well-being. It’s why eliminating inequities is key to creating healthy communities. As an organization dedicated to the health and well-being of every person, HealthPartners is committed to building an anti-racist culture.

President and CEO Andrea Walsh discusses the organization’s journey and why calling out racism is critically important to being an anti-racist culture. She also talks with hosts Dr. Kari Haley and Dr. Steven Jackson about how the expertise, passion and lived experiences of colleagues is helping to build a stronger organization where inequity and racism have no place.

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

Guest: Andrea Walsh

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

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

That Got Weird, a digital series from Twin Cities PBS, confronts the uncomfortable with real stories of racism experienced by Indigenous, Black, Asian and other people of color in Minnesota. Along with a promise of anonymity, each subject interviewed has a hand in designing their own character and giving it a pseudonym.

Myc Daz, the show’s character designer and co-animator, and Sergio Mata’u Rapu, director, co-animator and TPT digital series producer, share how the show got its start, the production process and why their guests’ stories are important.

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

Guest: Myc Daz, co-founder and creative director of Schoolz

Guest: Sergio Mata’u Rapu, documentary filmmaker, TPT digital series producer

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

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

Regions Hospital was the first Minnesota hospital to be verified as both a Level I trauma center for adults and children, able to meet the strict standards of providing entire families the highest level of care.

Kelsey Berndt, MD, a trauma surgeon and the medical director of the surgical intensive care unit at Regions, joins the show to discuss trauma and trauma-related injuries, health disparities, her team’s interaction with the community and “finding the calm in the chaos” of a trauma bay.

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

Guest: Kelsey Berndt, 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].

Awareness for mental health services in the U.S. has increased in recent years, but more work must be done. Over time we’ve learned how to talk about it – and just how important it is to speak up – as one in five people will experience mental illness.

Sarah Cassell, the director of inpatient mental health services at Regions Hospital, joins the show for a conversation about the cultural connection to mental health stigma, the overall increase in the need for mental health services, mental health-related emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic, and much more.

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

Guest: Sarah Cassell

HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast

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

Pregnant patients should feel empowered to have a birth experience that reflects their culture and values. Regions Hospital Family Birth Center was created with that focus – as a place for family-centered care, high reliability and health equity.

LeeAnn Hubbard, MD, the birth center’s medical director, discusses how health equity is the foundation of the facility, its importance in the delivery experience, and the partnership between providers and families.

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

Guest: LeeAnn Hubbard, 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].