Well Beyond Medicine: The Nemours Children's Health Podcast

At the September 28, 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, a transformational vision and action plan for ending hunger and reducing diet-related disease by 2030 was introduced.  Achieving these goals that lie therein requires commitment and action across government, business, civic and nonprofit organizations, academia,  faith communities, healthcare, and the public at large. This conference showed that such commitment exists and that leaders across all sectors are ready to take up the challenge. 

For its part, Nemours was well represented at the conference by Dr. Kara Walker, Executive Vice President and Nemours Chief Population health officer, and Daniella Gratale, Director of the Office of Child Health Policy. They join us in this podcast episode to talk about the conference and Nemours' ongoing commitments to ending hunger, improving health and reducing health disparities.

Carol Vassar, producer

Biobanking is the process by which samples of bodily fluid or tissue are collected for research use to improve our understanding of health and disease. As part of our occasional series on precision medicine, we explore the past, present, and future of biobanking at Nemours. 

Featuring Nemours associates Dr. Diana Corao-Uribe, Dr. Deepti Anand, and researcher Jennifer Holbrook.

Carol Vassar, producer

Dr. Roger Harrison joins us on this episode of the podcast, and together we'll delve into his work as a pediatric psychologist in the greater Wilmington Delaware area, a role he's had at Nemore for 19 years, and his longstanding passion for health equity and inclusion, which has led to his more recent role with the diversity, anti-racism, inclusion value, and health equity initiative called DRIVE. 

Carol Vassar, producer

Animals are healers. They've been proven to reduce pain, anxiety, and blood pressure, and release endorphins, and even bring joy to what can be a scary place: a hospital. So it's not a surprise for hospitals, health care systems, and long-term care facilities to have pet therapy teams who bring tested, certified, and well-tempered animals - mostly dogs - to comfort patients and families. Nemours has volunteer pet therapy teams at both NCH locations. 

Recently, Nemours took the next step in pet therapy, and obtained a specially trained pet assistance, or in-residence, dog. Allie is a full-time Nemours associate who comes to work every day and is part of a child's treatment team. She can comfort children going through procedures, teach kids how to take pills, be there for their families, and even model a hospital gown. 

Allie's handler, Child Life Specialist and Pet Therapy Coordinator Kelsey Cebula, joins us on the podcast to talk about her work with Allie at NCH Delaware and her vision for growing this program across the enterprise. 

Carol Vassar, producer

Throughout the history of Nemours Children's Health, research has been a crucial part of our mission. As a natural companion effort with clinical work, it has been central to serving patients and families in Delaware, Florida, and beyond. 

Nemours' Executive Director of Research, Dr. Vicky Funanage, visits the podcast to provide an overview of research across the enterprise and a preview of Delaware Valley Research Week events happening from Oct. 17 through Oct. 21. 

Agenda for 2022 Delaware Valley Research Week

Attend virtually via Microsoft TEAMS on Mon., Oct. 17, from 8 a.m. - 1 .m.:

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 276 459 548 918
Passcode: oxEiqk

Attend virtually via Microsoft TEAMS on Tues., Oct. 18, from 12 noon - 6 p.m.:

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 258 514 676 747
Passcode: qx2qVP

Attend virtually via Microsoft TEAMS on Wed., Oct. 19, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.:

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 256 850 520 441
Passcode: E247qv

Attend virtually via Microsoft TEAMS on Thurs., Oct. 20, from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.:

We continue to honor Hispanic Heritage Month by talking with associates of Hispanic background about their personal experiences with being Hispanic in America and at Nemours. In this episode, we talk with Allen Garcia, PhD., Pediatric Psychologist based at Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando. 

Carol Vassar, producer

We're honoring Hispanic Heritage Month by talking with associates of Hispanic background about their personal experiences with being Hispanic in America and at Nemours. In this episode, we'll talk with first-year pediatric residents Dr. Natalia Cordona and Dr. Gabriela Guadalupe-Rios from NCH-Florida.  

Carol Vassar, producer

Dr. Stephen Dunn is the Chair of the Department of Surgery and Division Chief for the Nemours Solid Organ Transplant Program at Nemours Children's Hospital in Delaware. We're talking with him about his international work, his background as a surgeon, as a public health service veteran, and his determination to bring training, technology, and treatment for children with liver and kidney disease to a wider world, starting at the place where the seeds of his interest in medicine were sewn: rural Indiana.

Carol Vassar, producer

Under the broad umbrella of precision medicine falls pharmacogenomics, and within the field of pharamocogenomics, Nemours is involved with both researching and clinically applying pharacogenomics. In the second of two episodes on pharmacogenomics, we'll check in with pharmacists Dr. Benjamin Duong and Dr. Kelsey Cook about what's current in clinical pharmacogenomics, and what's on the horizon, too. 

Carol Vassar, producer

Pharmacogenomics is a field of research that studies how a person's genes affect how an individual responds to medications. Its long-term goal is to help doctors select the drugs and doses best suited for each person.

It's research that is happening within the walls of Nemours. We'll hear more about it from researcher Dr. Kathryn Blake, Director of the Center for Pharmacogenomics and Translational Research, and research scientist Dr. Ed Mougey. 

Carol Vassar, producer