Caring for a child with a chronic condition can feel overwhelming – especially when it involves coordinating specialists, therapies and countless appointments. That’s where Health Hug helps. By combining technology with a personal touch, Health Hug streamlines pediatric care, connects families to resources, and eases burdens for both parents and providers. On this episode, Health Hug’s CEO & Co-founder, Christina Sloan-Vélez, takes us back to the kitchen table where Health Hug was born as a result of personal, professional and world circumstances she was facing.

Guests:
Christina Sloan-Vélez, CEO & Co-Founder, Health Hug
Christina Nadaskay, RN, BSN, Chief Clinical Officer, Health Hug

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.

Mama Glow founder Latham Thomas shares her personal journey into birth work, breastfeeding and the difference between doulas and midwives. A SuperSoul 100 honoree, she’s advancing maternal health through advocacy, education and birth equity.

Guest: Latham Thomas, Founder, Mama Glow

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.

Tina Aswani-Omprakash began experiencing symptoms as a child – joint pain, eye inflammation and digestive issues – but no one connected them. Without a diagnosis, health insurance, or support due to the cultural stigma surrounding inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Crohn’s disease, Tina endured a long and painful journey to understand her own body.

Today, she’s a patient advocate, storyteller and CEO of the South Asian IBD Alliance (SAIA), using her lived experience to support others – especially young people and families – facing similar challenges.

Own Your Crohn’s
South Asian IBD Alliance (SAIA)

Guest:
Tina Aswani-Omprakash, MPH, CEO, South Asian IBD Alliance (SAIA)

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.

Anne Snowdon, PhD, Chief Scientific Research Officer, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), joins us to discuss how information, innovation and digital technology are transforming health care worldwide. From AI tools that support early-career clinicians to cross-border collaboration on system design, this conversation explores how digital health is improving outcomes, addressing workforce shortages and advancing a shift from disease management to whole child health.

Guest: 
Anne Snowdon, PhD, Chief Scientific Research Officer, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.

Early literacy is one of the strongest predictors of lifelong health and success – yet reading scores across the U.S. are falling at an alarming rate.

In part two of our series on early literacy and health, we highlight Nemours Children’s Reading BrightStart!, a proven, science-based program celebrating 20 years of impact.

Reading BrightStart! supports children from birth through first grade with early literacy curricula, educator training, and family resources – helping more young learners become confident readers and setting a foundation for lifelong health.

Resources:
Nemours Children’s Reading BrightStart! Family Resources
Harris Poll Executive Summary
Full Harris Poll Results

Guests:
Rebeca Grysko, PhD, CBIS, Special Education Teacher and School Liaison, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida
Jamie Williams, MEd, Manager, Intellectual Property and Curriculum Design, Nemours Children's Health
Dawn Espinoza, MEd, Educational Support Supervisor, Early Learning Coalition of Pasco and Hernando Counties, Florida
Samantha Taylor, Quality Performance Specialist, Early Learning Coalition of Pasco and Hernando Counties, Florida

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.

Early literacy is one of the strongest indicators of lifelong health and success – yet reading scores across the U.S. are declining at an alarming rate. In part one of this two-part series, we dive into what the latest data reveals, how the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the literacy crisis, and what actions educators and health care providers can take to reverse these trends.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Nemours Children’s Reading BrightStart! continues its mission to help every child become a successful reader through early literacy curricula, educator training and family resources for children from birth to first grade.

Resources:
Nemours Children’s Reading BrightStart! Family Resources
Harris Poll Executive Summary
Full Harris Poll Results

Guests:
Kate Blackburn, MSW, Director of Practice and Prevention, National Office of Policy & Prevention, Nemours Children’s Health

Rebeca Grysko, PhD, CBIS, Special Education Teacher and School Liaison, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 60 million Americans – one in five – live in rural areas, including 12 million children. But hospitals in these communities face growing challenges: cybersecurity threats, aging infrastructure, staffing shortages and limited funding are all jeopardizing access to care.

Laura Kreofsky, Director of Rural Health, Microsoft Philanthropies, highlights the critical need to bolster rural health care systems. Through efforts like the Rural Health AI Innovation Lab (RHAIL), Microsoft is helping rural hospitals enhance cybersecurity, access affordable AI tools and strengthen collaboration.

Guest:
Laura Kreofsky, MHA, MBA, PMP, CDH-E, Director of Rural Health, Microsoft Philanthropies

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.

Dr. Robert Pearl, former CEO of the Permanente Medical Group and a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, discusses his latest book, ChatGPT, MD. He shares how generative AI could transform health care by empowering patients and clinicians through real-time data analysis and insights. These AI tools could significantly improve chronic disease management, helping to reduce the incidence of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. In this wide-ranging interview, we explore his vision for the potential of generative AI in reshaping the future of health care.

Guest:
Robert Pearl, MD, author, podcaster, former CEO of the Permanente Medical Group, Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.

Achondroplasia advocate Chandler Crews, founder of The Chandler Project, joins us to discuss life with the most common form of skeletal dysplasia. She shares her personal journey, including her decision to undergo limb-lengthening surgery. We also explore emerging treatments and the evolving conversation around advocacy, research and innovation in the achondroplasia community.

Guest:
Chandler Crews, Founder, The Chandler Project, and Orthopedic Care Coordinator & Liaison, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida

Host/Producer: Carol Vassar

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.

Dr. Jackie Gerhart, Chief Medical Officer for Epic, and Phil Lindeman, Vice President of Data and Research at Epic, join us to explore how real-world data is transforming pediatric care with the power of Epic's Cosmos and EpicShare platforms. We also discuss how data-sharing collaborations across health systems are advancing pediatric research and innovation, with a special focus on the groundbreaking work of Dr. Kevin Dysart from Nemours Children's Health. 

GUESTS:

Dr. Jackie Gerhart, Chief Medical Officer, Epic

Phil Lindeman, Vice President of Data and Research, Epic

Carol Vassar, host/producer

Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or management.

Subscribe, review or let your voice be heard at NemoursWellBeyond.org.