Root of the Issue

In this encore airing, we revisit a conversation with Mike Curtin, CEO of the DC Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C. DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. Over the course of their conversation, Mike details his unconventional path into the non-profit space, his childhood upbringing in which giving back to the community was always a constant, as well as what he believes to be the pathway towards ending childhood hunger by 2030. When asked what keeps him so hopeful on a path that seems, at times, insurmountable, Mike responded with this:

“Whether you're a teacher or a doctor or a banker or a recovering addict, or someone who's been incarcerated for 25 years or 30 years, or if you're the president of United States, we're all standing around the same table, working with the same food, trying to make our community a little bit better every single day.”

To learn more about the DC Central Kitchen, please visit them

at: their website, https://dccentralkitchen.org

In this encore airing, we revisit a conversation with Gary Cates, the Chief Philanthropy and Government Relations Officer for ProMedica. Gary shares his story on how he became involved in the movement towards addressing the social determinants of health as well as some of those that influenced and inspired him along the way. When asked why health equity is such an important issue for the country to address, Gary responded powerfully with this:

“In this nation, it never should be that the color of your skin, the size of your wallet, or the ZIP code you live in…none of those factors should ever dictate the number of days you'll walk the face of this earth.”

In this encore airing, we revisit a conversation with Cathryn Couch, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Ceres Community Project. Cathryn shares how her time in both the corporate and non-profit worlds honed her leadership skills, the significance of food as medicine, as well as the importance of providing the next generation with the tools they need to be capable of sufficiently feeding both body and mind. When asked what motivated her to launch the Ceres Project, Couch noted the crucial role that providing meals can play when re-connecting some of our nation’s most vulnerable back into a sense of community:

“And so we started to realize that food was the vehicle for so much more than just the nutrients in the food and that we were doing much more than just providing a meal to someone. We were connecting them to a community.”

This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Leigh Caswell, Vice President of Community and Health Equity at Presbyterian Healthcare Services. Over the course of their conversation, Barbara and Leigh discuss how organizations can better collaborate with communities to address their most urgent needs, the outcomes of the system’s Food Farmacy program in the New Mexico area, the role community health workers play in addressing the social drivers of health, as well as coming to terms with some of the big challenges to address when it comes to health inequity.

On discussing how important language is when speaking with communities, Leigh had this to say:

“We're thinking about the language we use all the time, even so much to begin saying social drivers of health as opposed to social determinants of health because of what it might feel like to be told that your health is determined by these factors in your community as opposed to influenced by and do you have the ability to change those factors? So [even] just the word determined versus driver is something that we talk about as well.” 

This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Tina Anderson, the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Territory Coach for CVS Health. Tina is often described as the bridge between the healthcare needs of the population and the company. Her grassroots approach drives efforts to insert CVS Health and Aetna as a healthcare partner in every community. Over the course of their conversation they discuss the positive power of collaboration with communities, how Tina’s background in social work equipped her with the tools she uses today to address the social determinants of health (SDoH), addressing the difference in needs between underserved urban and rural communities, and how Tina brings others to help accomplish what often seems, at times, like such a steep task. 

On the importance of advocating for those who often feel as though they don’t have a seat at the table, Tina had this to say:

“I've had people really advocate for me on the highest level possible, which I'm so grateful for, because it is necessary, especially for an African American woman in this space, it is not easy. So I [want to] make sure that I point that out because it needs to be pointed out, right? We have to have people who advocate, who support, who understand, who see us, right? And make room for us, and then also remind us that we are enough.”

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Peter Simonsson, PhD, MSW, LCSW, a criminologist at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.  Dr. Simonsson has extensive experience conducting community research in criminal-legal settings with a focus on violence and violent victimization. In addition to his academic work, he serves as an expert witness in hearings involving children with suspected or known histories of maltreatment, abuse and trauma, and is a consultant for municipal, state and federal agencies on issues involving violent crime.  At Temple University, he is the faculty lead on Philadelphia Cure Violence, which is an evidence-based gun violence prevention program.  In this episode of Root of the Issue, Dr. Simonsson discusses his work with justice-involved people who act as peer mentors to mentor and promote desistance from gun violence and stabbings in Philadelphia.

In talking about the credible messenger approach to addressing community gun violence, Peter shared: 

“We've had this idea of sort of lived experience across healthcare and criminal justice and mental health for some time …  And we're learning that participants in those programs who work with credible messengers, who have lived experience, they share things; if you went across a minefield…It's better to walk in the footsteps of a person who has crossed that before. You need to learn from people like that.”

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Dr. Tiffany Preston Whitman, an at-large Toledo, Ohio City Council member. Since arriving on the Council, Councilwoman Whitman has led efforts for historic reinvestment in youth programming and sponsored legislation to increase public safety accountability and transparency. Over the course of their conversation they discuss:

• The crucial need to address the rise in violent crime impacting at-risk communities 
• The ability of local government policy to influence change at the federal level
• The value of servant leadership as a member of the Toledo City Council
• The efforts in providing a sense of safety and security in the lives of her constituents

When asked what she values most in her role, Councilwoman Whitman says:

“…when I was running for office, and even now, I wanted Toledo to be more than a place where people just survive. I'm working to ensure residents, neighborhoods and businesses are able to thrive. And that is what I put forth; that I really want families and moms like me to be able to raise their family and thrive in our community.”

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Toni Jones, Senior Director of Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) Growth at CareSource, a member-centric managed care plan. In her role, Toni works with internal market teams and external partners to address social care barriers and health inequities through the CareSource Life Services model. Over the course of their conversation they discuss:

• What CareSource is and how the organization addresses the SDoH
• The importance of continuing to focus on issues that were brought to light during the COVID-19 medical emergency.
• How to assure those in need that their voice is heard, even when the problem at-hand seems most daunting. 
• The essential need for community-based multi-disciplinary care management teams in the effort to tackle the social determinants.

In her explanation of health equity, Toni says:

It's really providing that access for optimal health no matter what your physical or mental ability is, your geographic location, your education level, your language, your gender, your identity … anything that you would be able to get the needed and necessary services to have optimal health [outcomes]. 

You can learn more about CareSource at their website: here

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Hayley Studer, Founder and CEO, of achi Solutions. Following a 20 year career in healthcare finance, Hayley left her executive position to embark on a new journey to fuse her passion and purpose for community work and service.

Over the course of their conversation they discuss:

• Hayley’s background on the development of achi Solutions,
• the need to address healthcare at the community level,
• the value of servant leadership in a new business, and
• how value-based care can be a key tool in addressing the social determinants of health.

In her explanation of health equity, Hayley says:

"Where you live should not matter. And to be in a country that has so much wealth and opportunity and to have [health inequities] still exist is appalling. To me, it's not okay and I don't want to live in a society that thinks that that is okay."

You can learn more about achi Solutions at their website: here

This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Rob Casalou, President and CEO of Trinity Health Michigan & Southeast Regions and Sean Gehle, Regional Vice President, Advocacy, Trinity Health Michigan.  In their respective roles, both gentlemen work tirelessly to advocate for the health and wellbeing of the patients and families they are called to serve with an unwavering commitment to health equity and addressing the social determinants of health. Trinity Health's programs that address the social determinants of health are recognized as models for health systems nationwide. Over the course of their conversation, they discuss the work that must be done with lawmakers to end hunger by 2030, what motivates them to keep going, and how to develop community oriented solutions that help address basic needs, such as The Farm at Trinity Health.

 Here, Rob highlights on the biggest motivations that keeps him going:

 “You know the best part of my job is when I'm in one of our facilities, and I see the faces of those we serve, and I see the look of concern in their eyes as they're walking in a big, scary place. And I realize that they are depending on us, and no matter all the politics… at the end of the day, they're relying on us and they need us to do our job. And that still motivates me every day.” 

You can learn more about The Farm at Trinity Health: here