The Spark

Women in Medicine Month is celebrated to honor the contributions of women in the medical field. For Dr. Sheela Vivekanandan, she knew she wanted to practice medicine at the age of six years old.

 “My sister was a brain cancer survivor, is a brain cancer survivor, and she was diagnosed at age nine. So, I was six. So that's what really drove me into medicine because we were always in and out of the hospital. And I really, I liked her neurosurgeon the best because he was the most encouraging, “said Dr. Vivekanandan.

From there, Sheela decided she was going to become a neurosurgeon. For Dr. Kit Lu, she also had a personal connection to becoming a doctor.

“My grandmother, unfortunately, was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer when I was in high school, and she ultimately passed from her breast cancer because, you know, she unfortunately didn't really get a lot of screening upfront. And so, by the time she was diagnosed, she was diagnosed with stage four cancer. So just kind of seeing her journey and her battle with breast cancer really prompted me to become a breast medical oncologist as well, because, you know, there's definitely a human side of medicine communicating with not just the patient, but also the family and really understanding kind of, you know, cancer doesn't hit just one person, but it hits the whole community and the whole family, “said Dr. Lu.

Kit Lu, MD completed her fellowship program at National Institutes of Health, medical school at Florida State University, and a residency program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Sheela Vivekanandan, MD earned her medical degree from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine and completed her neurological surgery residency at Geisinger Medical Center, followed by a neurosurgery fellowship at the University of Utah.

Women in the medical field can face many challenges including breaking stigmas associated with women in the medical field. Something both Kit and Sheela experienced.

“There has been such a stigma that women have not been represented, represented in medicine. And even as I was starting to get into the field, it seemed like there were more females that were joined just like slightly more, maybe like 52% more, something more females that were joining medicine versus males. But certainly still within the subspecialties, there's still quite a stigma of women like, for example, like in neurosurgery, like there's not that many women neurosurgeons. There's very few and less by neurosurgeons who are women. So, there's there's quite a bit of stigma associated with women in neurosurgery. And I think even now, probably Dr. Kate will attest to this, like, you know, it doesn't happen as much anymore now that I'm an attending and patients actually recognize me. But sometimes if I'm seeing someone in console in the hospital, they'll say, you know, my nurses here or so you know, like you're Rite Aid is here. They don't recognize that females are also doctors. It's just so ingrained in people's heads that it's this white male with this type of scope in a jacket. And it's it is at times kind of disheartening, and you just have to shake it off, “said Vivekanandan.

“I think in medicine it was predominantly male centric and also heavy male leadership role in in in medicine. So, a lot of males go into medicine and then they also take on to a lot of leadership or kind of like the kind of more prominent academic roles. I think more and more that has changed. I think a lot of institutions are very well aware of the gender gaps and they're trying to close the gender gap, which is great. But I think a lot of times, you know, as a female, we go into medicine and sometimes we are seen as nurses by the patients. And also, you know, I think sometimes in in our roles and some people may see us as, okay, well, we're going to take care of patients, but then we may be only working part time or we're not committed to medicine because then we have to go home and take care of family. But, you know, I like to you know, I would like kind of the community and also, you know, our women who are listening to this program to really understand that we need to start breaking down these gender stereotypes. And, you know, many of us are empowered to do more than just one thing, right? We can be a good physician, give great quality care, and we can also be leaders, and we also can be good mothers. You know, so I think it's powerful for us as the women. We can do it all well. So, and I really think that, you know, programs like this can empower young, younger women to know that, you know, is not sacrificing one versus another. I think, you know, we just have to give more women more opportunities to lead in medicine, “said Lu.

Both women spoke about why representation is so important to inspire the next generation of female doctors.

“As a woman and also as a minority, I come from a Chinese background. I think it's important to have good representation for women in general and also for different diversity in our feel. I think coming from a different background and being a woman, we're just more sensitive to kind of the different values of patience. You know, again, every patient had their own story, their own values, their own beliefs. So being attuned to the differences in terms of representation, in terms of their cultural beliefs and and gender belief would be important as we take care of the patients because their values and their belief could be different than mine. I also think that, you know, in research, women and also minorities are historically underrepresented in research. And so, a lot of the outcomes and what we know about diseases could be different across different backgrounds. So, it is important to increase that diversity and to increase the gender representation in research so that we can advance medicine, “said Lu.

“Making sure that women are represented because like you said, I've had patients come to me and say, you know, like females in particular, they're like, well, I could never talk to this, talk about this X, Y, Z problem with a male physician. So just having more people involved in the medical field who basically look like you are relatable. It really helps foster that relationship because the more you trust to your physician, the more you’re the better your care is going to be, quite frankly. But yeah, and you know, there's quite a lot, especially in women's health, that does go under researched. Like I think we all might have heard about, like how CDC was talking about mandating like pain control for IUD insertion and things like that that have historically been just overlooked for so long. So, I think having more women in the field, I guess, gives all of us better care, better quality care and more opportunities for growth, “said Vivekanandan.

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On this week's edition of The Spark Weekly:

Our Journalist Roundtable covers the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the southeastern US. We’ll be joined by Lilly Knoepp of Blue Ridge Public Radio and Jeffrey Collins of the Associated Press.

Also, on the program:

The Valley Jazz Orchestra just released a new album “Vicious Fishes” for the first time in over 50 years

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It’s been over a week since hurricane Helene made landfall near the Florida panhandle. Along with Florida, there’s been extensive damage in Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Georgia. At last count and time of recording at 10 a.m. Friday Oct 4, the death toll has exceeded 200 and is expected to increase.

In this journalist roundtable, Lilly Knoepp of Blue Ridge Public Radio and Jeffrey Collins of the Associated Press appeared on The Spark to discuss their recent hurricane Helene coverage.

“This disaster isn't unprecedented compared to others, is it's just not your traditional cleanup. It's just not making sure we get all the branches and trees that fell and, you know, repairing a pothole or two. I mean, like just the roads themselves. I mean, if you see some of the drone footage and everything. Like major highways, like U.S. highways look like trails. I mean, they look like primitive trails now because the, you know, the river just completely gouged them out. And then you won’t not be able to even rebuild on top of where the original road was. So somebody is going to have to figure out if they need to if they can rebuild on the road or they can go somewhere other place. So yeah, I mean, the thing I've heard about cleanup is it's just not like it's going to be a week or two. We'll get all the debris out of there. Everything will start to get back. I mean, you're going to have to rebuild entire infrastructure like it never existed in the first place, “said Collins.

Listen to the podcast to her more from the conversation.

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Our Braver Angels segment for the month of October was about how to prepare for the election no matter who wins. Nita Landis is a registered Independent, Monica Guzmon (Blue), and Chris Hausner (Red) was apart of the discussion today. During the podcast, Monica also discusses her book, "I never Really Thought of it That Way" and speaks about her experience coming to grips with the political differences she had with her family. We also discuss the Family and Politics Workshop in Camp Hill on November 2.

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Menstrual products are coming to some Pennsylvania schools thanks to Governor Shapiro’s million-dollar program.

Dr. Khalid Mumin Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education says it’s important to create conditions where students can learn without having barriers to the basic needs that may be acquired.

 “First and foremost, the governor and the first lady advocated for this funding because they believe that all Pennsylvanians, especially our kids, deserve real opportunity and freedoms to be able to chart their course for success, “said Dr. Khalid Mumin.

Pennsylvania Department of Health, Dr. Debra Bogen, says this is a win-win across the commonwealth, and she’s glad to see this program move forward.

“There's no bell that goes off that says I'm going to have my period today. So, it's really important that we have the flexibility in schools to respond to the needs of children when they when they need them. So, this is such a smart and easy, important, not easy, but it's an important program, right? We provide all kinds of things for our children to ensure they're ready for their school day. And this is just another important need that is met for children where, you know, you can't always have everything you need, always at your fingertips. And so, this is making sure the schools have those needs met, “said Dr. Bogen.

Montgomery County Commissioner Jamila Winder says period poverty affects so many people. Now there are period products located in all county buildings within Montgomery County.

“Like as I mentioned earlier, they’re we believe, based on the 2022 census data, that there are over 13,000 females that are living below the poverty line and age 12 to 44 of menstruating age. And so, you know, the poverty challenges aren't just affecting our children. Right. And so, this is you know, people come to our county built buildings to do a lot of business, you know, vie for a marriage license. You might have to go to court for something, taking a walk in one of our parks or playing at one of the playgrounds. So it just really but the continuity of addressing period products, this is a great example from, you know, your schools to where people are doing business, you know, for every day, everyday life, “said Winder.

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AI:  Unpacking the Black Box is a WITF original production. The first episode ‘The Origins of AI’ premiered on Thursday. John McElligott the host and producer of the series says the purpose of the show was rooted in the future of AI.

“I think one of the big things for us is this show might seem like it's about A.I., but it's actually about the future of humanity in the age of A.I.. It's one of the reasons we're not just talking to technologists, “said McElligott.

Mitch Mathias is also a producer for the show. According to him, the show originally was for an older demographic.

“We felt like that was a group that really didn't understand or understand almost nothing about it or maybe heard the term, but that was about it. But I feel like as we go through the show. I mean, it's going to be on TV and it's also streaming. So, you know, the demographics there are different. TV tends to get a little bit older. So, these days anyway. But we are putting it everywhere because I feel like a lot of what we're covering and planning on covering is for any group that just wants to know more about it, “said Mathias.

Through watching the show, viewers will get to see how AI can be utilized. There will also be AI voiceovers, and generated versions of McElligott.

 “So, there may be times, you see, and I me, it looks real. Sounds real, but it's not me. But we realize with the speed at which this technology was moving, the ability to edit was just really a small portion of the production because things are happening so quickly. One of the unique things we've done, and nobody's done this before, is I get to interview some of these experts. We do it remotely on a podcast style, and then we're taking segments of that interview. We're feeding that into an AI that's creating the prompts. And those prompts are helping Mitch, and the team create the visuals. So, you're seeing us work hand in hand with the AI. The idea is not replacing everything we're doing. It's augmenting it and accelerating it in ways that are allowing us to keep up with the pace of change, “said McElligott.

There will be a total of eight episodes of AI:  Unpacking the Black Box on WITF TV. Both producers are looking to educate folks about the power of AI.

“I think one of the things that came up with me that just, you know, we talked about as we were starting this project or early on was sort of like if we can get across sort of talking about what A.I. is and what it's doing and how it's becoming more humanlike, maybe we sort of make people think about what it means to be human almost as compared to a computer or A.I., that kind of thing. I don't know if that's going to come across, but I hope that it does, “said Mathias.

CLICK HERE to watch the first episode.

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There have been over 100 confirmed deaths in the aftermath of hurricane Helene that caused destruction in parts of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Carolinas. Mennonite Disaster Service responded to the damage in Ashville, North Carolina.

Kevin King is the Executive Director of the Mennonite Disaster Service. He expressed what he’s experienced while being in North Carolina post hurricane.

“The sights and the sounds. Even the smells are just absolutely overwhelming. I've been doing this for 21 years, responded to Katrina, Greensburg, many other disasters. But it's been a long time since I've seen such a complex emergency like this.”

MDS has thousands of volunteers. Currently over 20 volunteers for Mennonite Disaster Service is assisting those in need in North Carolina.

"So, what's happening now is search and rescue, and then it's early phase of debris removal, chainsaw and so on. But we were called in and invited in by the local community to help open up the roads with skid steers and chainsaws. But 95% of our work is the long-term recovery, and that's the rebuild phase six, eight and two years later. But here we are responding to this huge, huge disaster.”

King says this work is not for the faint of heart, and sometimes, the work can take a massive toll.

“It makes me cry. Sure, it does. Human. And I guess when I stop. When the tears stop flowing. Maybe it's time to start to quit. To sympathize, to empathize with people who've lost so much life. Loss of property. Disasters are never friendly. They don't come and knock on your door and say, Can I come in? Disasters are just tragic. And so that's why I think the beautiful nature of Mennonite disaster services we supply volunteers to walk alongside of these people to help rebuild their home, rebuild their lives and get them restored, hopefully. So we're just a part of a larger network of many other national players, such as the Salvation Army, Red Cross, the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Lutherans. We all have our niche. And that's the beautiful thing that's really talked about. I need a warehouse. I'll call Seventh Day Adventist. I need some more chain saws. We'll call the Baptist. I need some ice and water. I called the Red Cross and Salvation Army. It's amazing the 64 of us national agencies know each other on a first name basis. So, it's not just about the Mennonites. We're here as partners together, and that's a beautiful thing.”

CLICK HERE to donate to the Mennonite Disaster Service.

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Paulus Farm Market was established in 1991 in Central PA by Jim Paulus. What started out as a small business selling potatoes out of a garage, produce at the town’s square farmers market, is now approximately 1,000 acres located on South York Street in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

Amy Paulus, Co-owner of the Paulus Farm Market, shares what most visitors look forward to in the autumn season.

“So, we have what we call our fall fun. And the fall fun is open seven days a week. We have a u-pick pumpkin patch. We have hayrides on the weekends. We have two big tents that are filled with loose corn. Think of sandbox corn. We have haystacks where kids can climb. We have a wooden tractor. We have a great big old combine place that it used to be my husband's first coal mine. It was his first combine. And now we've created a place that out of that we have all sorts of friendly farm animals so people can come out and learn about them and pet them and feed them a little mini corn maze. All kinds of fun stuff for the fall.”

Paulus Farm Market has also become a sought-out place for Agritourism.

 “We offer field trips to local schools almost every day. We have every weekday. We have at least one group coming out to learn about where foods come from. We really focus on foods coming from farms. We have, for instance, we have a pizza garden growing, so even a frozen pizza. Even the youngest child can think about the ingredients that go into a pizza. And where do those ingredients come from? Well, cheese would start out in a store. Maybe that's a lot of times the answer. But also, it would start out originally from the cow that milk comes from. The cow comes from an animal, and that animal is living on a farm. So, we do things like that. Excuse me. We offer birthday parties. We offer all types of agritourism events where people can come out and see those gardens, see what we do. We're always there. So, we're like, very accessible. But yeah, we the field trips, that's probably the biggest educational aspect of our farm.”

Agritourism benefits surrounding communities by drawing tourist to rural areas, stimulating local economies, and fostering a greater appreciation for agricultural practices and local food systems. Amy has a background in education, which she says goes hand in hand with the agritourism business at the farm market.

 “So farming is it's you have to you have to be able to improvise. You have to be able to be diverse. You can't just go out there and plant the corn and the potatoes, which is what my husband loves to do, but to diversify and really bring in all sorts of people, and especially young kids and young families, you have to have other things for them to do. And so, when we opened this agritourism part, it was at a time when the market was still doing well, still bring it, still bringing people in. But we knew that it was hard to compete with grocery stores, hard to compete with the great big box stores. And we didn't want to do that. We wanted to remain a small part of the community but have a big impact. So we have seen the business grow by 100% with having agritourism. It just brings in a larger group of people really, really just helps people to understand that, it's not just this. These eggs are not just appearing in my grocery store. This hand is not just appearing in my grocery store. All of these things are connected back to farms. So, I feel very proud that we have helped to create that type of an informative destination for people and a fun destination for people.”

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A new social media trend has been circulating showing children as young as ten years old using antiaging and skincare products. Dr. Kate Berry, Dermatologist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center says it’s concerning.

“I think it's a big issue. These social media trends really can create a lot of problems as children are buying these products that are really appropriate for adult skin and not children's skin and can create both short term and long-term issues. There's a lot of key differences between children's skin and adult skin, which is not always well advertised on these social media platforms. A lot of people are receiving information without really going into the effects or the science behind skin care. So, they're not really understanding what they're putting on their skin, “said Dr. Berry.

According to Dr. Berry, this trend may not be life threatening, but it could be counterproductive in the long run.

“Their skin is, as I said, different. They don't need to address concerns like decreased collagen. Their skins are already continuing to increase the collagen content. That's not going to max out until they're in their mid-20s or mid-30s. So, anything that's going to increase their collagen is redundant. So, if that product then causes irritation, that's really all they're getting from it. They're not getting any of the benefit that an adult would get. So, I think that's the biggest issue is that people are using products or kids are using products that really have no possible benefit for them and really just harm, “said Dr. Berry.

Lex Remillard, Licensed Clinical Social Worker for Altior Healthcare says this trend is more than skin deep.

“If I'm if a child is comparing their insides to someone else's idealized outsides, it's going to create a huge problem because we're not dealing with reality. At all, “said Remillard.

The social media #Sephorakids and Get ready with me trends is linked to social media influencers with online popularity. According to Remillard, it’s important to explain to kids, the trends are made from a sales standpoint from the beauty industry.

“it's interesting because a lot of the kids that are watching the videos, they don't understand commerce. They don't understand like how. The system works. And, I mean, the key and I would say this about any mental health topic is talk to your child. Just talk to your child and you have to sit down, “said Remillard.

However, Dr. Berry stresses the importance of visiting a dermatologist before trying those products seen online.

“So, dermatologists have a lot of training in about being able to evaluate your skin, see what it needs, and then address those needs. So, children, for example, have a much faster cell turnover rate than adults. So, their skin in general is naturally going to be more soft, smooth and radiant. And that cell turnover slows down as we age. So, gives us things like dullness and not even texture. And so, for them, as we get older, these brightening products can be really helpful because it's going to increase that cell renewal rate. But are unnecessary for children. So being able to assess where somebody's skin is and see any issues there and then be able to recommend appropriate products, “said Dr. Berry.

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The Valley Jazz Orchestra just released a new album “Vicious Fishes” for the first time in over 50 years. Co-directors of the album Dr. Jeffrey Lovell and Dr. Justin Morell. Their paths first crossed at the University of Oregon where they both earned their doctorate degrees.

They’re now professors at Lebanon Valley College. Students in the “Big Band” was also apart of the project. For senior Aaron Ruddrow says working with Dr. Lovell and Dr. Morell was an enjoyable experience.

“I've had the opportunity, and I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to record a few things of mine, but also a couple of other people's projects in the past. And but nothing quite this scale. And it was really. Yeah, enjoyable experience, especially to be able to collaborate directly with Dr. Morale, being the composer, to kind of just talk to him and be like, okay, what sound do you want from me? Like, what do you want specifically from me as the drummer? And to get like, what are you looking for? And it was kind of it was a neat experience to be able to, to collaborate in that way, just to produce exactly what we were all envisioning for this project, “said Ruddrow.

The last Vally Jazz Orchestra last album was released in the 1970’s, nearly 60 years ago. According to Dr. Lovell, the band was run by a fraternity in the 70’s. He says it was monumental to accomplish the new album. Dr. Morell says he’s proud of his students.

“We knew that this was a group of students and musicians that should be, you know, captured on recording so that it could be remembered and listened to. But we also we did it with an awareness of a tradition and a history of jazz at this college that, you know, like Jeff was saying, I mean, it goes back, you know, well into the 70s and has been, you know, certainly at many times it's been a hub of jazz and jazz education in this region of a quality that is that's very rare. So, we wanted to make sure that if we were going to do a recording project that it at least, you know, could. Could be, you know, in that lineage and stand up to, you know, the tradition that's been around here for all that time. And I'll tell you also, this is I you know, if we have any control over this is not going to be the last such project that we do. Because, you know, Jeff, he doesn't talk about it that much, but he's an incredible jazz composer, not to mention pianist and just overall musician. And so, my goal is to, you know, get him to do a project of all of his music because the band should be playing that, “said Morell.

The album also features grammy aware winning artists.

 “We've got two Grammy Award winning trumpeters that have agreed to record a couple of solos on the album. The two that we're kind of excited about. We're also guest artists for our concerts the last two years. John Diverse, who is the director of the jazz program at Frost School in Miami for our School of Music and a close friend of Justin's. And also a mutual friend of ours, Josh Deutsch, who's a New York based trumpet player, musician, fantastic musician who came to played with the band and with the faculty last spring. He recorded a couple of tracks solos on a couple of tracks for the album. And then Tom Stroman, our own legend in the music department, recorded a solo on one of the tracks. So, we are we wanted to kind of make a big splash and a big deal about this. It it's we see it as also an opportunity for recruitment. To get the word out about the program, having some tangible artifact of what our students have accomplished and what can be accomplished moving forward, “said Lovell.

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