Sara Messelt, Executive Director of Proof Alliance, joins Hayley to talk about fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), stigma, and meeting people where they are. FASD might be a new term for you, but Proof is working hard to expand awareness and understanding of how being born with an FASD might impact a child and how we can work as a society to support kids with FASD and reduce the stigma. Check out their website, proofalliance.org, or give them a call, 651-917-2370, to learn more! 

In this episode, Dr. Lichtsinn shares her thoughts about equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine. There is a lot to dig into when it comes to vaccine distribution, so we'll be coming back to this topic. Stay up-to-date on new podcast episodes and join the conversation by signing up for our weekly newsletter!

Hannah mentions a report from the Wilder Foundation. If you'd like to learn more about what they found, check out the report here. 

A new year, a new legislative session, a new president and a new season of the Our Stories. Our Health. podcast! And who better to kick us off than the new Senator representing District 64, Erin Murphy? Erin and Hayley revisit the idea of wholesale change as they talk about the past 11 months and what is to come. 

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The FDA has granted emergency use authorization to two COVID-19 vaccines and healthcare workers across the state are starting to receive their vaccines. Dr. Hannah Lichtsinn joins to help us understand how vaccines are developed and how this vaccine might impact our communities. 

Sam Zimmerman joins us to explain how the new contact tracing app, COVIDaware MN, works. Sam is the CTO of the organization PathCheck, a nonprofit developing contact tracing applications for around the country, and oversees all of the technology used to build COVIDaware MN. Download the app in the App Store or on Google Play. For more information, head to covidawaremn.com.

We asked Minnesotans to share with us what they were thinking about as they voted this year. 

In honor of National Vote Early Day (October 24, 2020), Erin Conti joins us to talk about all the ways we can vote in Minnesota. Whether you plan to vote before or on Election Day, in-person or by mail, Erin has the info you need to safely vote this election season. We also geek out over some Minnesota Secretaries of State. Voting is our superpower. Make your plan and vote for our future.

Secretary of State’s website: sos.state.mn.us

Voter Hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)

After a bit of a summer break, Dr. Lichtsinn is back to share her thoughts on healthcare in Minnesota during the era of COVID. In this episode, we talk about the closures of hospitals during a pandemic and what that means to our healthcare system as a whole. Spoiler, we think it is very bad, but Hannah also reminds us that as things start to crumble, we can find ground on which to build. 

This week, MDH announced an expansion of testing options for Minnesotans, while the CDC announced new guidelines about who should be tested. If you're confused, don't worry, we have some questions too. Dr. Lichtsinn helps us focus in on what we need to know about testing. 

Ruth Richardson is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and the CEO of Wayside Recover Center, which specializes in chemical dependency and mental health treatment for women and their families. As a member of the POCI (People of Color and Indigenous) Caucus in the Minnesota House, Rep. Richardson was one of the legislators who sought to specifically name Racism as a Public Health Crisis, chief authoring the House Resolution that passed this summer. In this episode, Hayley learns more about Wayside's many programs and the process of passing the long overdue resolution in the House. Let us know if you want to join our Ruth Richardson fan club.