The Health Crossroad with Dr. Doug Elwood and Dr. Tom Elwood

Terry McManus spent almost 20 years in the banking and investment advisory business, working for Fifth Third Bank and the US Bank. There, he led a myriad of responsibilities including asset management and wealth planning. Terry has also worked for a number of not for profit organizations including the One City Foundation and the Starfish Foundation. Most recently, Terry has assumed the role of Executive Director of May We Help, an organization that is dedicated to providing assistive equipment for those with disabilities. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and lives in Cincinnati with his wife Christine and two children. In this interview, Terry walks us through the process of May We Help and shines light on the difficulties many individuals face and the tremendous courage and hope provided when they are matched with the proper tools that they need to gain independence and to fulfill their passion.

Allison Sklarew is an American teenager and high school student who lives with her family in Maryland, right outside Washington, DC. Unlike many prominent guests in this podcast series, she does not have an impressive professional resume, but it is easy to suspect that that part of her life will change over time. For now, she is similar to millions of other youngsters in the United States, except for some important details. First, as a toddler she underwent heart transplant surgery. Secondly, she has made a presentation to a group of experts at the National Institutes of Health and testified before the Maryland State Legislature. Another way in which she stands out in contrast to individuals her own age and also to a great many adults is that she has an enormous amount of experience as a recipient of health care services, which include taking various medications and undergoing sophisticated diagnostics, such as electrocardiograms and biopsy catheterizations. Many love songs contain lyrics along lines of “my heart belongs to someone else.” In her case, it is literally true, for she owes her life to being one of the fortunate individuals to have undergone transplant surgery. In this interview, Allison provides details on all of this as well as her care at UPMC and with Kaiser insurance and the incredible story of her reaching out to her donor family and then meeting them at The Transplant Games.

Paloma Luisi serves as Manager, Research & Evaluation at HITLAB. Her work focuses on leading research projects that aim to evaluate new technologies or ideas. She uses her passion for research to develop appropriate, and oftentimes innovative methodologies, to study healthcare innovations and works to translate findings into real-world results that have the potential to improve lives. Paloma’s approach to solving difficult problems in healthcare research stem from a belief that technology can eliminate barriers in healthcare and that technology innovation, whether simple text messages or sophisticated telemedicine devices, should be evaluated and compared against each other and the status quo to enable decision makers to make the right investment choices at home and abroad. Her professional experience is grounded in academic degrees in public health, anthropology, and economics from Fordham University and Hunter College. In this interview, Paloma tells us about the HITLAB and all the work she is doing on examining how technology may positively influence health delivery moving forward, while still recognizing the challenges in doing so. From mHealth and telemedicine to Health 2.0 many other emerging technologies, Paloma provides an in-depth look at innovation in health today with recommendations for apps and resources.

Dr. Gary Sayed is a professor of radiology at Alfaisal University College of Medicine and Director of the Molecular and Functional Imaging Laboratory at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Prior to his current role, Gary served as the Executive Director of the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, a division of the Institute of International Education, where he led the Fulbright Scholar Program on behalf of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State to develop international faculty and higher education exchanges, research, and linkages. He previously, served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Dean and professor of radiology at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, and Chairman and clinical professor of Diagnostic Imaging at Thomas Jefferson University. He is certified by the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine and currently serves as the Director of the Board. His doctorate is from the University of Pennsylvania. In this interview, Dr. Sayed provides personal reflections into his path through healthcare and some of his favorites, including conferences and books.

Molly Lindquist is a leading patient advocate and founder of Consano, a crowdfunding platform for medical research. Molly has a long history of professional work. After graduating from Stanford with a degree in economics, she worked as an investment banking analyst in the consumer group at Robertson Stephens before transitioning to World Market, where she traveled the globe sourcing products, and then doing company planning for Banana Republic and Gap. Molly's focus on patient advocacy began in 2011 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. Her focus with Consano is helping facilitate the connections between individuals and medical research projects and has met with great success. Her slogan of Hope. Honor. Heal is a great representation of patient advocacy at its finest. In this interview, Molly shares her incredible story of her journey through breast cancer as well as her desire to affect the broader aspects of health by becoming an entrepreneur and starting Consano.

Michael Morris is a native of Lawrence Massachusetts, a city 25-miles north of Boston whose residents experienced many hardships that affect their health after its principal industry—the production of woolen textiles—shut down permanently. He is a product of the Lawrence schools. Along with the responsibility of raising a family and building a successful law practice, he has been able to devote much of his adult life to efforts to improve the lives of the inhabitants of Lawrence. He has made a special point of making it possible for a huge number of youngsters to complete their early education and continue on to college. Even after they reach adulthood, he continues to serve as an inspirational mentor in many valuable ways that help to enrich the quality of their lives. His degrees are from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Suffolk University Law School.In this interview, Michael shares personal stories about growing up with co-host of The Health Crossroad Dr. Tom Elwood and about Central Catholic Highschool, insights into helping kids succeed despite major obstacles, and other reflections on the broader notions of health. While Michael is not our typical guest entrenched in the world of health, his stories are personal and enjoyable and convey how health factors relate to so many other elements of how and where we live.

Dr. Blaine Warkentine is a true leader in health who has been involved in multiple different elements of the industry. A Physician-entrepreneur, Blaine's most recent endeavor is called Vimty, which focuses on end of life care planning. Prior to his current company, Blaine either founded or held leadership positions in companies like SurgeryTrack, Innovation Thrives, Fitness Builder, InVivoLink, and WellDoc to name just a few. Blaine's passion for improving health revolves around building and harnessing innovation strategies, user data, engagement, design principles, and rapid iterative product development to test hypotheses about solving some of health's biggest problems. Blaine completed his medical orthopedic residency at the University of Maryland and his fellowship in sports medicine at the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.In this interview, Dr. Warkentine provides great insights into the world of health, being an entrepreneur, his philosophy of B2C4B, the importance of palliative care and end of life arrangements, and the intersection of health and technology including the revolution that was introduced by the iPhone.

Ashley Mason manages the wellness program for Massachusetts State employees. She spends her days traveling across the state delivering lunchtime seminars on wellness topics; meeting with Wellness Champions and other interested employees at each agency; and developing onsite programming, including a state-wide weight loss competition. She publishes a wellness blog for the program, which can be found at wellmass.wordpress.com. She also reviews nutrition articles for The Journal of Allied Health. She has experience providing nutrition education and counseling to adolescents, inmates at state correctional facilities, and residents of mental health group homes. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and holds degrees from Boston University and the University of Bridgeport.In this interview, Ashley reveals why she started studying nutrition, discusses working with incarcerated individuals, and shares her experiences on working in the health field and some of the amazing people and conferences she has met and attended -- including Dick Hoyt, who has appeared at The Health Crossroad.

Dr. Destry Sulkes has held executive positions in healthcare IT settings for over 15 years, including roles as Managing Director at Medsn, Inc., since acquired by Indegene, Managing Director at MedsiteCME, a subsidiary of Medsite, Inc., and Vice President of Medical Affairs and Strategy at WebMD. His research is published in leading peer-reviewed medical journals such as The American Journal of Medicine, The American Journal of Cardiology, Archives of Ophthalmology, Retina, and others. Dr. Sulkes holds a BA from Dartmouth College and a joint MD/MBA with research honors from Tufts University School of Medicine. He currently serves in voluntary roles as President of the Board of Directors at the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Healthcare Professions, and as a Mentor for the Blueprint Health accelerator program for healthcare IT start-ups. Dr. Sulkes is currently the Co-Founder and Executive Vice President at Medivo, a company dedicated to simplifying and transforming health.In this interview, Dr. Sulkes discuss several critical topics in health care today, including transparency, patient education, value, HIPAA, leadership, and his path through Alaska!

Ann Battrell is Executive Director of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, a position she has held since 2005. Prior to doing so, she served in other key positions for that organization, beginning in the year 2000. Her background includes experience in corporate management, education, and in the clinical setting. She has been the manager of dental hygiene development for the Ohio company Innovative Customer Solutions. She has provided didactic and clinical instruction to undergraduate dental and dental hygiene students and graduate dental hygiene students at the Northwestern University Dental School. She also has more than a decade’s experience as a clinical dental hygienist, providing direct patient care in general dentistry practices. During her career, she was elected President of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association and has been a forceful advocate for advancing the practice of dental hygiene, which included making presentations at an Institute of Medicine workshop and other important venues. She holds degrees from the University of Missouri- Kansas City and Northwestern University Dental School.In this interview, Ann discusses scope of practice, oral health in the US, and some of the challenges, and opportunities, facing the nation's oral health in the future. In this interview, Ann discusses scope of practice, oral health in the US, and some of the challenges, and opportunities, facing the nation's oral health in the future. In this interview, Ann discusses scope of practice, oral health in the US, and some of the challenges, and opportunities, facing the nation's oral health in the future.In this interview, Ann discusses scope of practice, oral health in the US, and some of the challenges, and opportunities, facing the nation's oral health in the future. In this interview, Ann discusses scope of practice, oral health in the US, and some of the biggest challenges, and opportunities, facing the nation's oral health in the future.