In this episode of The Paid Leave Podcast, I speak with the two women who helped to craft the Maternal Health Equity: A Blueprint for Connecticut. I am speaking with Tiffany Donelson, the President and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation, and with Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, the Associate Dean for Health Equity Research and the Director of Equity Research and Innovation Center at Yale. (ERIC)

April it is National Minority Health Month, it’s also Black Maternal Health Week April 11th-17th and it is national public health week from April 6th-12th. Black women in Connecticut are much more likely as their white counterparts to experience severe maternal morbidity, and the state ranks 35th in the nation. Tiffany and Marcella discuss how they created the Maternal Health Equity Blueprint. Tiffany expresses pride in the blueprint's comprehensive approach and the inclusion of diverse voices. Marcella emphasizes the importance of awareness and engagement in addressing maternal health disparities. They both highlight that black women in Connecticut are twice as likely to experience severe maternal morbidity compared to white women. The blueprint aims to address these disparities through policy changes, community engagement, and leveraging existing resources like Connecticut's paid leave program. They emphasize the importance of economic security and job protection for maternal health outcomes.

To read about the Maternal Health Equity: A Blueprint for Connecticut, go to, CT Health releases blueprint for maternal health equity in Connecticut | CT Health Foundation

For more information about CEO Tiffany Donelson at the CT Health Foundation please go to, Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) | Changing Health Systems  (cthealth.org)

For information about the Equity and Innovation Center (ERIC) please go to,Equity Research and Innovation Center (ERIC) | Equity Research and Innovation Center (ERIC)

For more information about Dr, Marcella Nunez-Smith please go to, Marcella Nunez-Smith, MD, MHS | Yale School of Medicine

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In this episode of The Paid Leave Podcast, we are talking to a doctor who is a social media influencer about her expertise in telehealth. March is Women’s Health Month and International Women's Day is March 8th, and my guest is a leader in women’s health and longevity medicine. Dr Tania Elliott is dual board certified in Internal Medicine and Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Dr. Elliott embraced telemedicine first as a physician, and then as Medical Director of Doctors on Demand. She is currently Chief Medical Officer of Virtual Care at Ascension, one of the largest healthcare systems in the country including 150 hospitals in 20 states. She serves regularly as a healthcare broadcast media expert and is featured on top shows including Good Morning America, Rachael Ray, Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, The Doctors, and CBS This Morning. She has over 250 million likes on her social media platforms.

Dr. Elliott discusses the importance of paid leave programs like Connecticut's for new parents. She highlights the benefits of extended leave for bonding with babies and prenatal care. She emphasizes the long-term impact of postpartum care and the need for extended support.

To follow Dr. Tania Elliott go to Dr. Tania Elliott | Doctor

Follow Dr. Tania Elliott on social media on Facebook @TaniaElliott on Instagram @drtaniaelliott on Tik Tok @drtaniaelliott

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In this episode of The Paid Leave Podcast, we speak with Kandi Pickard, the CEO of the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS). Down Syndrome Awareness Week is celebrated across the world from March 15 to March 21 every year. The purpose of the week is to create awareness about individuals with Down syndrome and the difficulties they might face in their lives.  About 5,000 babies are born every year in the USA with Down syndrome. Due to advances in medical technology, individuals with Down syndrome are living longer than ever before. With 80 percent living past 60 years old. In March it is also National Developmental Disabilities Awareness month.

Kandi Pickard provides vision and leadership, working collaboratively with individuals and organizations like CT Laid Leave, to support the entire Down syndrome community.  Kandi’s involvement in the Down syndrome community first started as a local volunteer and advocate after her youngest son, Mason was born with Down syndrome. Ten years later, she leads NDSS with a focus on building community and keeping people with Down syndrome at the center of everything the organization does. Kandi says that CT Paid Leave is a great resource for caregivers, and for those with chronic health conditions. She says the flexibility to take time and be allowed varying lengths of leave aligns with the mission of the NDSS.

To get in Touch with NDSS please go to their website: National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS)

For questions or to apply for benefits please go to our website: CT Paid Leave

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In this episode of The Paid Leave Podcast, we are focusing on women's mental health and well-being, and the challenges pregnancy can have before and after the baby is born. March 8th is International Women’s Day. This Day gives focus to issues like gender equality, reproductive rights and violence and abuse against women.  International Women’s Day serves as a platform to address the mental health issues that disproportionately affect women. While mental health conditions can affect anyone, women face unique challenges due to societal pressures, biological factors, and caregiving responsibilities.

My guest on this episode is the Founder & Executive Director of the Alliance Center in Stamford, Carolyn Kagan. Carolyn is a licensed clinical social worker and perinatal psychotherapist who designed a holistic maternal mental health practice that provides individual therapy, group support, yoga, and wellness programming for expecting new and experienced mothers and their families. Carolyn talked about the benefits of CT Paid Leave with moms and caregivers. She also sees the benefits as an employer who has had a worker take CT Paid Leave when their baby was premature. She sees how paid leave benefits the retention of good workers because they come back to work as a more whole version of themselves.

To get in touch with Carolyn at The Alliance Center go to their website at The Alliance Center | Rooted in Motherhood | Stamford, CT (thealliancecenterct.com).


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 (ctpaidleave.org).

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In this episode of The Paid Leave Podcast, we talk to a paid leave expert. It was back in 2022 that we were able to give employees in Connecticut benefits for CT Paid Leave. It’s been 4 years and we have given benefits totaling more than 1.4 billion dollars to about 170 thousand workers in Connecticut. An expert in all thing’s paid Leave is Vicki Shabo works at New America and is a gender equity expert, policy strategist, and coalition builder, who has helped to win paid family and medical leave, paid sick time, equal pay, and pregnancy fairness policies affecting tens of millions of people in the United States. 

Vicki highlights the disparities in paid leave policies, noting that while 13 states and D.C. have comprehensive policies, the U.S. lacks federal legislation. Schabo emphasizes the importance of paid leave for economic stability and family well-being, citing research showing strong public support. She also discusses the role of Hollywood in influencing cultural perceptions and policies through storytelling.

To Find information about Vicki Shabo and her work go to newamerica.org/betterlifelab or newamerica.org/entertainment or click here Vicki Shabo

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February 14th is National Donor Day, February 10th is Safer Internet Day, and in March it is National Kidney Awareness Month. 

In this episode of The Paid Leave Podcast, I speak with Ellie Doyle who is a storyteller, content creator, social media influencer, and founder of Reheated Coffee Club, a Connecticut lifestyle brand rooted in motherhood, community, and small-business love. After moving her family from Florida to Connecticut, she began sharing her real-life journey of raising three kids, building community, and finding joy in everyday moments across the state. In Florida, Ellie was a kidney donor to her sister who suffers from kidney disease. She talks about the difficult recovery and how things would have been different if she had lived in Connecticut. She is a big fan of CT Paid Leave and believes this will help her if they decide to grow their family.  She also has ties to Connecticut as a child, so the move wasn’t out of the blue! Reheated Coffee Club is her name on Tick Tok where she has almost 35,000 followers and 1.9 million likes. On Instagram, she has over 51,500 followers and 1 million likes. Because of her big influence on social media, her move to Connecticut was widely publicized and she has been featured in newspaper articles and TV news about her move to CT. 

You can find Ellie Doyle and her travels throughout Connecticut on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook @reheatedcoffeeclub. Her website is reheatedcoffeeclub.com. 

For more information or to apply for benefits please go to ctpaidleave.org.

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In this episode of The Paid Leave Podcast, we talk about the fact that It was 4 years ago, in January of 2022, when CT Paid Leave started giving benefits to eligible CT workers. Since then, we have given over 1.4 billion dollars in benefits to over 182 thousand workers in Connecticut! 

Senior Lecturer in the Honors Program at Loyola University Chicago, Megan Sholar joins me to discuss state programs and the hope for a national paid leave policy. Megan teaches courses on women and politics, Latin American politics, and European politics. Her first book, Getting Paid While Taking Time: The Women’s Movement and the Development of Paid Family Leave Policies in the United States (2016), explores the reasons that the United States remains the only industrialized country in the world without paid family leave at the national level. She has also written about paid leave in The Hill and The Washington Post. Her most recent book is Chasing Equality: Women’s Rights & US Public Policy (2023). 

Scholar, an expert on paid leave, emphasizes its importance for women, noting the U.S. is the only industrialized nation without a national paid leave program. She cites pivotal moments like the 2016 presidential candidates' support and the 2019 federal parental leave policy. Megan also discusses the economic benefits and the need for state-level initiatives, using Connecticut as a model for efficient and successful implementation.

To get in touch with Megan Sholar, Megan Sholar: Loyola University Chicago.

For more information on her books, Getting Paid While Taking Time: The Women's Movement and the Development of Paid Family Leave Policies in the United States: Sholar, Megan: 9781439912959: Amazon.com: Books.

Lynne Rienner Publishers | Chasing Equality Women s Rights and US Public Policy.

for more information or to get apply for benefits go to ctpaidleave.org.

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In this episode of The Paid Leave Podcast, I speak with a doctor who I have followed for over a year on social media. Her inspirational storytelling has created her as a viral medical social media influencer, with over 150 million views and close to 900 thousand followers just on TikTok. Dr. Erin Nance is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and viral TikTok creator known as @littlemissdiagnosed, where she uses humor and storytelling to make medicine feel human again. She’s the bestselling author of Little Miss Diagnosed, co-host of The Medical Detectives Podcast, and the founder and CEO of FeelBetr, a new platform bringing doctors and patients together to share real, credible health stories in the social media age.

Dr. Nance shares her journey to becoming a surgeon, influenced by a childhood experience with an orthopedic surgeon after she was injured. She discusses the importance of social media in raising disease awareness, citing her "31 for 31" campaign that reached over 100 million views. Dr. Nance highlights the significance of paid leave programs, sharing personal stories and the impact on her brother's life.  On her first day of residency, her brother had an accident in a swimming pool and became a paraplegic. He lives in Connecticut and has utilized bonding leave with Connecticut Paid Leave, when they welcomed their new child.

To follow Dr. Erin Nance on social media go to @littlemissdiagnosed on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Dr. Erin Nance 🇺🇸 (@littlemissdiagnosed) | TikTok

To get to the FeelBetr platform go to FeelBetr | The FeelBetr Founder Story: Meet Erin Nance

For more information on Dr. Erin Nance go toErin Nance, MD | Orthopedic Hand Surgeon | Midtown East, NY

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The United States is an aging nation and Connecticut is an aging state. Living with a disease that usually affects the older population - like Alzheimer's - is tough for the whole family. Caregivers of those with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia are usually family members who have to learn to navigate from diagnosis through the progression of the disease. CT Paid Leave can help by providing up to 12 weeks of income replacement when a caregiver is away from work to care for their loved one.

Joining in the discussion are two CT Paid Leave advocates from the CT Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association - Carolyn DeRocco, Vice President of Programs and Education, and Christy Kovel, Director of Public Policy.  Carolyn and Christy realize how important the CT Paid Family and Medical Leave Act is for caregivers as well as for individuals who are newly diagnosed with this disease.  In this episode, we delve into what Alzheimer's is, how to diagnose it, preventative measures, treatments, and the new advocacy  work they are doing.

For  more information on Alzheimer's Disease, visit  alz.org/ct
or call their toll free hotline 24 hours 800-272-3900

For more information about CT Paid Leave or to apply for benefits, visit ctpaidleave.org.

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In this episode of the Paid leave Podcast, we discuss the holidays and the challenges that it can bring. The holidays are usually a joyful time of year, time spent with family and loved ones and time to reflect before the New Year. But for some people the holidays can bring on intense sadness if you have had a loss, or maybe you find yourself alone during the holidays. Perhaps you lost a loved one or went through a divorce or you are estranged from your family. It can be a tough time for your mental health. The holiday season can be a challenging time for individuals struggling with addiction, as it often brings heightened stress, triggers, and the pressure to celebrate. However, with the right strategies and support, it is possible to navigate these challenges. Domestic violence is high around the holidays for many reasons like stress, financial burdens, more family time, isolation, and alcohol and drugs can play a role too.  Holiday Season Anxiety and Seasonal Affective Disorder can both effect your mental health around the holidays, and healthcare professionals say they can be debilitating and impact your daily life and your job. CT Paid Leave can help with up to 12 weeks of income replacement if you are suffering from a serious mental health condition. Our guest is Mental Health Connecticut Clinical Care Coordinator and Licensed Master of Social Work, Patricia Seaver. Patricia explains how the holidays can exacerbate mental health issues, and she emphasizes the importance of self-care, planning, and seeking support during this holiday period. She highlights the role of caregivers and the benefits of Connecticut's paid leave program in providing time for mental health recovery. Patricia also discusses the increased risk of domestic violence, and addiction relapse during the holidays.

For information or to get in touch with Mental Health Connecticut, please go to Homepage - Mental Health Services Education & Advocacy. (mhconn.org)

For more information or to apply for benefits please go to CT Paid Leave. (ctpaidleave.org)

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