Well Beyond Medicine: The Nemours Children's Health Podcast

AI in health care isn’t a distant future — it's happening right now. Micky Tripathi, PhD, MPP, Chief Artificial Intelligence Implementation Officer, Mayo Clinic, joined us at HLTH 2025 to share what this transformation looks like on the ground: dozens of AI tools already in daily use, breakthrough models detecting disease earlier than ever, and emerging foundations for precision medicine and digital twins. He also explains the challenges ahead — data quality, workflow integration and privacy gaps — alongside the extraordinary opportunities AI offers to improve patient care, research and education.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Featuring: 

Micky Tripathi, PhD, MPP, Chief Artificial Intelligence Implementation Officer, Mayo Clinic

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.

How do we close the gaps in care for children’s mental health right now — not months from now?

In part two, we highlight two evidence-based models delivering rapid, meaningful support: HealthySteps, which strengthens early relational health in primary care; and PATH, a telemental-health program offering fast, targeted access for kids and teens.

Rahil Briggs, PsyD, National Director, HealthySteps, and Amanda Lochrie, PhD, MBA, ABPP, Executive Director, Child and Behavioral Health, Medical Director, PATH, Nemours Children’s Health, join us to explain how these programs meet families where they are, reduce stigma, shorten wait times, and lay the groundwork for children to flourish. Their work is detailed in a new issue brief from the Nemours Children’s Office of Policy and Prevention: Promoting Mental Well-Being for Children: Promising Pediatric Mental Health Models That Help Children Thrive.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Featuring: 

Rahil Briggs, PsyD, National Director, HealthySteps

Amanda Lochrie, PhD, MBA, ABPP, Executive Director, Child and Behavioral Health, Medical Director, PATH, Nemours Children’s Health

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.

Schools are more than places to learn - they’re also powerful front doors for kids to access mental health care. This episode explores how school-based health centers are expanding access to behavioral health services for children served by Nationwide Children's and Nemours Children's Health, drawing on promising models featured in a new issue brief from the Nemours National Office of Policy and Prevention. 

This is Part 1 of a two-part series on improving access to pediatric mental health care. Part 2 (Episode 168) focuses on telehealth and early relational health models that help children thrive well beyond medicine.

Learn more about these models in an issue brief from the Nemours Office of Policy and Prevention, entitled Promoting Mental Well-Being for Children: Promising Pediatric Mental Health Models That Help Children Thrive. 

GUESTS:

Daniella Gratale, Associate Vice President, Federal Affairs, Nemours Children's Health

Hannah Wagner, Senior Advisor for Policy Development and Partnerships, Nemours Children's Health

Mary Kay Irwin, Senior Director for School-Based Health at Nationwide Children’s

Jason Boye, MD, Clinical Director of School-Based Behavioral Health, Nemours Children’s Health

Carol Vassar, podcast 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.

What children eat today is heavily influenced by powerful forces — from ultra-processed “kids’ foods” to marketing strategies designed to keep them hooked. World-renowned nutrition expert Dr. Marion Nestle explains how we got here, why parents are facing an uphill battle and what real solutions look like.

We discuss school meals, the “pester factor,” the connection between food insecurity and obesity, and how other countries are taking a different approach. Dr. Nestle also offers practical, hopeful steps parents, grandparents and caregivers can take to help children develop a healthier relationship with food.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Featuring: 

Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, Emerita, New York University

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.

Child trafficking isn’t a distant issue — it happens in our own communities, often hiding in plain sight. Erin Williamson, LCSW, Chief Programs & Strategy Officer, Love146, a nationally recognized expert on child exploitation and trauma-informed care, shares insight into the realities of child trafficking. She discusses how health care providers, educators and community members can recognize red flags, build trust with vulnerable youth, and provide wraparound support that restores safety and dignity.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Featuring:
Erin Williamson, LCSW, Chief Programs & Strategy Officer, Love146

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.

Well Beyond Medicine: The Nemours Children's Health Podcast is exploring all the ways we can create the healthiest generations of children ever. 

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.

Chief Executive Officer Wizdom Powell, PhD, MPH, CMHC, joins the podcast to discuss how Unified Youth is reshaping mental well-being for young people through creativity. Drawing on her experience working with veterans and military families, Dr. Powell shares how the same principles of healing in community — what she calls “speaking to the wounds” — can help today’s youth remember who they are and reimagine who they can become. It’s a conversation about radical healing, belonging and the transformative power of art and purpose in building a healthier future for all.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Featuring:
Wizdom Powell, PhD, MPH, CMHC, Chief Executive Officer, Unified Youth

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.

Retired NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, PhD, connects space exploration to children's health and reveals what it really takes to thrive on long-duration missions — including playing the flute in orbit. She makes the case for the "A" in STEAM and shares advice for kids daring to dream big.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Featuring:
Cady Coleman, PhD, retired NASA astronaut, public speaker and author 

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.

In the second part of our series on congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV), we speak with two Nemours associates and mothers of children diagnosed with CMV at different stages of their journeys. They share personal stories of diagnosis, advocacy, resilience, and the everyday realities of parenting children affected by CMV.

Nemours Children’s Health policy experts also join the conversation to discuss current efforts and ongoing needs at the state and federal levels, including raising awareness, improving screening and supporting families through initiatives like the STOP CMV Act and other legislative efforts.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Featuring:

Daniella Gratale, MA, Associate Vice President, Federal Affairs, Nemours Children's Health
Casey Osgood Landry, MPH, Senior Advisor, Legislative & Regulatory Affairs, Nemours Children's Health
Caroline Bruce, MS, RD, LDN, CDCES, NASM-CPT, mom of child with CMV, Wellness Program Manager and Peer Support Program Manager, Nemours Children’s Health
Brittany Fitts, RN, mom of child with CMV, Senior Data Analyst, Nemours Children’s Health

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.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the most common viruses, yet many people have never heard of it. CMV is a leading cause of non-genetic hearing loss in children. In part one of this two-part series, we take a medical look at CMV — what it is, how it affects developing babies and the latest advances in early screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Featuring:
Cedric Von Pritchett, MD, Otolaryngologist, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida
William Parkes, MD, Otolaryngologist, Medical Director, Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware
Salwa Sulieman, DO, Infectious Disease physician, Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware
Kathryn (Kat) Tribulski, AuD, Audiologist, Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware

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.