Resilient Minds

As the stories unfold on the television program ER, the doctor’s struggle to address emergency medicine and their personal and professional lives, too. This episode brings the ER to life and the impact of trauma and stress on emergency medicine physicians. Our guest is Dr. Ronald Roth.

Dr. Ronald Roth began his career in Emergency Service at Penn State University where he completed an EMT course and then worked on the University Ambulance Service. He earned his medical degree and completed an Emergency Medicine Residency at the University of Pittsburgh. As a resident, Ron staffed a physician emergency response vehicle and served as a flight physician on a medical helicopter service. 

For more than 30 years, he worked at the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. In his tenure, Ron has served as medical director of paramedic training at the Center for Emergency Medicine, Director of the EMS fellowship, and chief of the division of EMS in the Department of Emergency Medicine. 

Dr. Roth currently serves as the medical director of the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety, Command Physician at the UPMC Medical Command Center, medical director for the Dicks Sporting Goods–Pittsburgh marathon, and as a team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers football club.

The Resilient Minds podcast is sponsored by Passages & Prose, LLC.

It is produced by: Lillie Leonardi and Chris Sichi.

Music: Ocean Breeze by Ketsa

On this podcast, two first responders discuss living through traumatic events and how they now help individuals manage life following critical incidents.

Our guests are Roy Cox, Ed. D. and Jenifer Swab, Ph.D.Dr. Roy Cox has served as an active member of the Region and Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety since 1977. His experience spans from Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Paramedic, EMS District Chief (RET), EMS Educator, University Educator, CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management Team) Operations Director, Flight Medic (RET), Federal Response Unit- PA1-DMAT Team member; American Red Cross Board of Directors Member, First Aid Instructor, CPR Instructor Trainer and State Evaluator.

Dr. Jenifer Swab is a paramedic and holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in education from Robert Morris University. She has over 40 years of experience in public safety as a Paramedic, rescue technician, dispatcher, and firefighter. Some of Jenifer's most recent accomplishments include training of police officers, firefighters, and educators on how to recognize an opiate overdose and administer naloxone.

The Resilient Minds podcast is sponsored by Passages & Prose, LLC.

It is produced by: Lillie Leonardi and Chris Sichi.

Music: Ocean Breeze by Ketsa

In 1984, Lillie Leonardi entered the law enforcement profession as the first female patrol officer on a police department located north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While training at the police academy, Lillie was the only female cadet among her male counterparts. During her tenure as an officer, she specialized in youth violence prevention and intervention, and investigations of crimes against children.

Lillie later joined the ranks of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and served with the Pittsburgh Division as its community affairs coordinator. She distinguished herself as a 9/11 responder at the Flight 93 crash site, serving as primary liaison to the United Airlines Humanitarian Response Team and surviving family members.

After serving for 25 years in the law enforcement profession, Lillie retired to pursue her lifelong passion for writing. She is a twice traditionally published author with Hay House: In The Shadow Of A Badge and The White Light Of Grace, and released her debut fiction novel The Blue Witch: Within in 2021.

In this episode, Lillie shares about her life experiences in the law enforcement profession, her diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the impact on family members and healing.

www.passagesandprose.com/pages/author-lillie-leonardi

The Resilient Minds podcast is sponsored by Passages & Prose, LLC.

It is produced by: Lillie Leonardi and Chris Sichi.

Music: Ocean Breeze by Ketsa

Mass shootings are incidents involving multiple victims of firearm-related violence. In 2020, there were 615 mass shootings that fit the inclusion criteria of the definition, resulting in 521 deaths and 2,541 injuries, for a total of 3,062 victims.

On October 27, 2018, the Tree of Life synagogue located in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA was attacked during Shabbat morning services. Eleven individuals were killed and six were wounded. This mass tragic event was the deadliest attack on a Jewish community in US history. It was also a heartbreaking incident to the people of Pittsburgh who came together to mourn the loss of life and support the surviving family members and loved ones.

Our guest for this episode is very familiar with the tragic events as well as therapeutic practices that are used as tools to heal.

Maggie Feinstein is a master’s level therapist who has distinguished herself in the field of integrated mental health and working within the medical community to provide brief interventions within the context of medical visits since 2009.  She primarily works in communities with high levels of trauma and poor access to mental health support.  She learned a lot about trauma and resilience and applied some of those principals to the work of recovery in Pittsburgh.

Maggie is director of the 10/27 Resilience Center. The Center was founded post the Tree of Life tragedy.

www.1027healingpartnership.org

The Resilient Minds podcast is sponsored by Passages & Prose, LLC.

It is produced by: Lillie Leonardi and Chris Sichi.

Music: Ocean Breeze by Ketsa

Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure or increased heart rate. Experiencing occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. However, people with anxiety disorders frequently have intense and persistent worry about daily life. These feelings of anxiety and sometimes panic interfere with daily activities and can be difficult to control. The causes of anxiety can be related to a major traumatic event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations that may trigger excessive anxiety.

Kathleen Seitz is a Nationally Certified, Licensed Professional Counselor offering both virtual and in office therapy. On this podcast, Sheila and Kathy explore the causes of anxiety, its effects to mind, body and spirit and therapeutic practices to promote healing.

Contact info:

[email protected]

The Resilient Minds podcast is sponsored by Passages & Prose, LLC.

It is produced by: Lillie Leonardi and Chris Sichi.

Music: Ocean Breeze by Ketsa

This podcast introduces Cypress to our audience. Cypress is an ecosystem of learning and multi-media project developed by Passages & Prose, LLC. It is a network of individuals, creative content, culture, strategy and current themes, all of which have an impact on both the formal and informal learning practices that take place globally.

With each Cypress podcast, a problem or situation is identified, discussed (reflected), options to resolve or heal are presented and resources (connections) provided.

On a daily basis, news reports share information about traumatic events, its causes and effects. With the riot at the Capital and its aftermath, first responders have been very much a focus of the media. Individuals may consider that first responders are trained and prepared for such incidents. Individuals may not however consider that events of this magnitude might cause trauma to the first responders that ultimately affects mind, body and spirit.

Our host, Dr. Sheila Gillespie Roth, is a professor and the Director of the Master of Social Work (MSW) program at Carlow University. Her areas of expertise are Crisis Intervention and Trauma. Dr. Roth is a licensed clinical social worker in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and has clinical training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing.

Our guest for this episode is Peggy Kearney. Peggy is an experienced licensed social worker with comprehensive responsibility in crisis intervention, disaster response, program design, development and implementation, finance and clinical supervision.

The Resilient Minds podcast is sponsored by Passages & Prose, LLC.

It is produced by: Lillie Leonardi and Chris Sichi.

Music: Ocean Breeze by Ketsa