Healthy Communities News podcast

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women. In fact, 1 in 5 deaths among women is due to a cardiovascular issue. But many people don't fully appreciate the particular risks women face when it comes to heart health. In this episode, our host Melissa Eagan speaks with Dr. Joanne Armstrong, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Women's Health and Genomics at CVS Health. Dr. Armstrong explains how heart disease looks different in women and how the reproductive journey can increase lifetime risk. We also hear from Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Vice President and Chief Health Equity Officer at CVS Health. Dr. Khaldun discusses the need for the health care system to move from a one-size-fits-all approach to recognizing the unique needs not only of women but of particular groups of women. “A Black woman is actually more likely to have high blood pressure than a White woman,” she notes. Meanwhile, “Hispanic women are actually twice as likely to have diabetes, which we know contributes to heart disease.” CVS Health is working to improve women's heart health right in the community through screenings at local CVS MinuteClinics. Minoka McPherson, a family nurse practitioner and a Senior Practice Manager for MinuteClinic, talks to Melissa about the services that they provide. In addition, she discusses how mental health conditions like depression and chronic stress can also be risk factors for heart disease. Learn moreLearn about hands-only CPR training from the American Heart AssociationSchedule an appointment at a MinuteClinic

Reports from the CDC of a potential future surge in the number of young people with type 2 diabetes by 700%, and of type 1 diabetes by 65% over the next four decades is alarming. But there is cause for hope, thanks to an incredible initiative called Project Power that does empower kids in underserved and underfunded communities across the country on ways to prevent diabetes. Melissa speaks with Eboni Bright, a national project manager based in Washington State (and her 11-year-old daughter Kendall). As well as Dr. Rinku Sandesara, Medical Director of National Accounts at CVS Health, who explains diabetes for us.

Fewer families in Denver, Colorado will be going to sleep hungry at night now! That's thanks to amazing new Goodr pop-up grocery stores that opened recently to service the Denver Public School system's Colfax Elementary and Place Bridge Academy. Bolstered by a partnership with sponsors Aetna and Amazon. And Melissa speaks with Jackie Bell, the Colfax Community Hub Program Manager, Michael Hancock, Mayor of the City of Denver, Jasmine Crowe-Houston, founder and CEO of Goodr, and Rochelle Sawyer, a school counselor at Place Bridge Academy, and 10-year-old Maddie

Some 350 people came to the Metropolitan Baptist Church's facility in Newark, New Jersey over the course of a three-day vision clinic recently. They left, not only with a new prescription, but stylish glasses they had chosen – all for free! This was thanks to the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation and Aetna, bolstered by members of CVS Health's Workforce Innovation and Talent Center Team. Melissa was there, too – and she spoke with Christina Nicastro, the lead director of Aetna Vision, Dawn Yager, program manager with OneSight, and Valdemar Reyes, a senior regional manager of Target Optical. Not to mention three very happy attendees – who can see much more clearly now!

Dr. Khaldun will lead the strategy to advance health equity for patients, members, providers, customers, and communities, having served as the Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan and Chief Deputy Director for Health in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, where she was responsible for public health and aging programs, Medicaid and behavioral health. She led Michigan's COVID-19 response and is credited for Michigan's early identification of and strategy to address disparities in COVID-19 outcomes.

Reaching out to help prevent suicide will be a lot simpler – starting July 16th – when anyone across the country can just dial “988” to receive lifesaving counsel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And Melissa takes us inside the Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center, the nation's first, which helped make this happen. Cara McNulty, President of Behavioral Health and Mental Wellbeing for CVS Health Aetna, also discusses collaborating with Didi Hirsch as part of the company's own initiative to reduce suicide attempts among members 20% by 2025. And we also hear from Ann Taylor, who volunteers for Didi Hirsch, and is herself a suicide attempt survivor.

A four-story, 36-unit apartment complex that will provide affordable housing is going to be built in the booming Five Points neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. And Melissa tracks down the story behind Charity's House, as it will be called -- tracing it back to Thomas “Pistol Pete” Albright, a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues.

As mandates are being lifted across the country after over two years of pandemic waves, it feels like we're all coming back to life again. But how do we go about finding a new normal? And what exactly does that mean? Melissa speaks with those who are living it, in real time - in New York City. People who make New York a place others flock to, as well as a place millions call home: Tom Birchard from Veselka, Charlotte Moore and Ciarán O'Reilly from the Irish Repertory Theatre, and Maria Nazzoli from Pearl Oyster Bar.

If suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in America, why aren't more people talking openly about it? Melissa does just that, with staff members of the Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center, the first of its kind in the U.S. We also hear from Cara McNulty, President of Behavioral Health and Mental Wellbeing for CVS Health Aetna, who discusses collaborating with Didi Hirsch as part of the company's own initiative to reduce suicide attempts among members 20% by 2025. And Ann Taylor, who volunteers for Didi Hirsch, and is herself a suicide attempt survivor.

Melissa speaks with Dr. Nitin Gupta, the founder & CEO of Rivertowns Pediatrics in New York, about protecting his community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as his own health challenges. He says, “I mirrored [my practice] after the pediatrician I had. He was always available for his patients. If I got sick, I saw him that day.” Dr. Gupta also disputes the common perception that COVID-19 does not affect kids.

While 2021 has certainly been a rollercoaster year, Melissa finds hope throughout this past year's coverage on the podcast. She shares some of her favorite moments where people across the country have been galvanized to connect in new ways, and to help others, all the more!

What went on inside hospitals during the height of the pandemic? Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman had exclusive access to one of New York's largest and hardest-hit medical centers for his moving documentary, The First Wave. Melissa speaks with him, as well as subjects Dr. Nathalie Dougé and physical therapist Karl Arabian for an intimate portrait of courage in the face of death and disease, and the toll that takes.

Cory Greenberg had a promising career as a professional bicycle racer ahead of him when he was confronted with irritable bowel disease, and suddenly didn't know if he'd ever be able to ride a bike again, much less compete. Melissa speaks with Cory about his experiences, and founding Ride4IBD, as well as with his Mom, Randi, and Emily Pefanis, Vice President of Specialty Operations at CVS Health — which played a big role in Cory's recovery.

COVID-19 may have exposed the cracks in our social networks, but an organization called Papa has been filling in — especially for those who are older and isolated. It's an on-demand service to provide companionship and assistance to those who need it. In this Healthy Communities News podcast episode, host Melissa Eagan speaks with Andrew Parker, Papa founder and CEO in Miami, FL, as well as Papa Pal, Denise Martincic, and her Papa, Miss Deborah Allen, Medicare beneficiary in Waterford, MI.

Now that a new Workforce and Innovation Talent Center (or WITC) has opened in the Hill District community of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, host Melissa Eagan speaks with some of those who will make change real, moving forward. Hear from the WITC manager, Sean Ware, a communications and marketing intern already onsite named Julian McGee, and Brett Wormsley, Program Manager at Ebenezer Outreach Ministries and Director of Technology, Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Melissa speaks with John White, Senior Advisor, Workforce Initiatives for CVS Health, and Vincent Campbell, Senior Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church about the WITC launching in Pittsburgh's historic Hill District, where the average income is currently between $14,000 and $17,000 a year. As Pastor Campbell says, “If there's a thousand people who need help, and you help one, obviously that's impactful to that one person. But then you have to look 999 people in their face who you couldn't help. What CVS [Health] has done is said that ... that other 999 can now come and get help.”

Melissa speaks with Joel Helle, Vice President of Physician Services about the feasibility of reaching the CDC's goal of decreasing HIV infections 90% by 2030. She speaks to Marco Benjamin, National Liaison, HIV/Sexual Health at CVS Health, and Jen Laws, a CDC HIV Ambassador and public health policy consultant, who are both HIV positive and working from the ground up to end the HIV epidemic, now 40 years on.

We speak with Stephen Fontz, CVS District Leader, as well asBishop Donte Hickman from the South Baptist Church, which has stood firm against what he calls, “the suburban flight and the urban blight.” He's been dealing with vaccination hesitancy in his own special way. By way of example, we also hear from one of Pastor Hickman's congregants, Sonia Sobel, who did change her mind about being vaccinated.

In this episode of Healthy Communities News, we speak in even greater detail with Randy Phelps, as well as Dr. Jonathan Wiesen, a pulmonary physician and critical care specialist who runs COVID-19 emergency rooms. And psychiatrist Dr. Laura Ebner, who had already been volunteering for Give an Hour for years, but couldn’t resist helping these new, often neglected heroes, “If [COVID-19] has taught us anything, it’s that we all have to practice self-care, and that mental health affects us all.”

With two COVID-19 vaccines now authorized by the FDA for emergency use, we’ve stepped up to help administer vaccinations across the country. So, for our first 2021 podcast, we’re taking you behind-the-scenes with Dr. Jocelyn Shrum, one of the CVS pharmacists responsible for training people across the country who make it all work. We speak with her the day after she and her team first administered vaccines in Nashville, Tennessee, where she gets vaccinated herself. Then we check in with Jewel Statham, a nursing assistant, and Julian Holland, a resident at Heartland Promedica in Ohio — who just got vaccinated as well. May listening make you as hopeful for the year ahead as they are.

As we look back on 2020, we’ll take you from Atlanta’s Westside, where its civil rights history still inspires today’s movements; to Boston, where a gutsy nonprofit that’s been using food as medicine for 30 years has reinvented itself in the face of the coronavirus. As well as Miami-Dade County where Branches is equipping students in new ways to keep learning. And downtown Houston, Texas, where the San José Clinic seems to have been preparing for a healthcare crisis just like the one we find ourselves in, since 1922.

In this episode, we head to Houston to learn about the integral role this small clinic has been playing in the community for almost a century. When the pandemic hit, the staff quickly adapted to ensure their patients could continue to access the care they needed.

The coronavirus has touched all of our lives in one way or another. Children, in particular, are in an ongoing state of flux. In South Florida, an organization called Branches has been working diligently for over 25 years to serve the neighborhood’s youth and their families. In this episode, we spoke with executive director Brent McLaughlin and Kim Torres, Director of Student Services, and Branches partner Rosa Santiago — as well as students Kelson Baptiste, Vicshonda “Vicky” Bellany, and Melvin Amaya.

Community Servings in Boston, Massachusetts, started in 1990 as a program to feed a small group of AIDS patients suffering from malnutrition. It has turned into a community hub that provides thousands of medically tailored meals each month, job training, and so much more. The COVID-19 pandemic has not slowed their work. In fact, it’s increased demand and CVS Health stepped up to help them hire a temporary workforce of kitchen staff and delivery drivers. In this month’s podcast episode, we speak with David Waters, CEO, as well as COO Kevin Conner, executive chef Brian Hillmer, and Training Kitchen program graduates Ricardo Mercado and Jermaine McNeill, who explain how they make it all happen.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is more important now than ever before. In this episode, we speak with David L. Casey, Vice President for Workforce Strategies & Chief Diversity Officer at CVS Health, as well as Duane Rohr, an advisor in CVS Health’s Workforce Initiatives department and Renee Smith, a graduate of the Abilities in Abundance program and colleague at one of our CVS Pharmacy locations in Baltimore, Maryland.

In the podcast, we explore these topics even more deeply with Breanna Lathrop. We also caught up with Dr. Bill Warren, the visionary who founded Good Samaritan some 21-and-a-half years ago. John Ahmann is the president of the Westside Future Fund and an Atlanta native who brings an historical perspective to the discussion before closing the loop with Makeda Johnson, director and founder of the Sisters Action Team, who draws from her faith and the power of collective action over individualism in supporting her community.

New Orleans is no stranger to adversity, and relies on its deep community roots to unite residents as they band together to respond to the pandemic. In this month’s podcast episode, we spoke to Danielle Taylor, a CVS Pharmacy District Leader and both of her parents, Jessie and Thais Ardouin, who were hospitalized at the same time with COVID-19. We also hear from Reinaldo Martinez, a CVS store manager, who is coping with loss in his family and leaning on his love of New Orleans, his coworkers, and staying busy with work to cope.

New Orleans is no stranger to adversity, and relies on its deep community roots to unite residents as they band together to respond to the pandemic. In this month’s podcast episode, we spoke to Danielle Taylor, a CVS Pharmacy District Leader and both of her parents, Jessie and Thais Ardouin, who were hospitalized at the same time with COVID-19. We also hear from Reinaldo Martinez, a CVS store manager, who is coping with loss in his family and leaning on his love of New Orleans, his coworkers, and staying busy with work to cope.

You can be young, look and feel healthy and still be at risk for a heart attack or stroke. Surprised? Healthy Communities News spoke with Dr. Mosca, a volunteer medical expert with the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement, to get a better of understanding of women’s heart health. We also sat down with Jenny Petz and Nicole Murray, two of the inspiring heart disease and stroke survivors chosen for Go Red for Women’s 2020 class of Real Women to hear their powerful stories of survival and recovery.

You can be young, look and feel healthy and still be at risk for a heart attack or stroke. Surprised? Healthy Communities News spoke with Dr. Mosca, a volunteer medical expert with the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement, to get a better of understanding of women’s heart health. We also sat down with Jenny Petz and Nicole Murray, two of the inspiring heart disease and stroke survivors chosen for Go Red for Women’s 2020 class of Real Women to hear their powerful stories of survival and recovery.

To really know what a community needs, you have to live there. Talk with your neighbors over the back fence. See the issues with your own eyes. That’s what makes the Live Healthy Little Havana program a success. Neighborhood residents, working as community liaisons, are at the heart of the work to improve life for those in the community. And everyone’s got a seat at the table, from government representatives to health workers to lifelong residents. It’s a model that’s driving change — and one that other communities can replicate.

To really know what a community needs, you have to live there. Talk with your neighbors over the back fence. See the issues with your own eyes. That’s what makes the Live Healthy Little Havana program a success. Neighborhood residents, working as community liaisons, are at the heart of the work to improve life for those in the community. And everyone’s got a seat at the table, from government representatives to health workers to lifelong residents. It’s a model that’s driving change — and one that other communities can replicate.

Workforce training that takes a single mom of five from homeless to hopeful in Cleveland. Students debating how to go tobacco-free on a Philadelphia campus. These are two of the exciting stories we’ve covered this past year on our Healthy Communities News podcast. And now you can sample them all on our year-end episode. Whether it’s been about faith leaders joining forces with their congregants to shed weight, or a former sex worker who draws upon her own hard-earned experience with opioids to help others struggling with addiction and recovery, we’ve gone around the country to shine a light on people and programs who are bringing change to their communities. We hope they will inspire you, and we look forward to bringing you more stories of hope this coming year.

Workforce training that takes a single mom of five from homeless to hopeful in Cleveland. Students debating how to go tobacco-free on a Philadelphia campus. These are two of the exciting stories we’ve covered this past year on our Healthy Communities News podcast. And now you can sample them all on our year-end episode. Whether it’s been about faith leaders joining forces with their congregants to shed weight, or a former sex worker who draws upon her own hard-earned experience with opioids to help others struggling with addiction and recovery, we’ve gone around the country to shine a light on people and programs who are bringing change to their communities. We hope they will inspire you, and we look forward to bringing you more stories of hope this coming year.

In Nashville, Tennessee, there’s a low-slung brick building nestled among fast food shops and a gas station on Clarksville Pike. It’s proudly painted red, white, and blue – a comfortable, well-worn spot that’s become a cultural hub for generations of African-American customers. And now, patrons of the barbershop can get more than a shave and a haircut. High rates of hypertension in this community are compounded by the fact that African-American men often aren’t receiving regular medical care. A group of partners, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Nashville Health, and CVS Health, are setting out to address this by placing pharmacists inside barbershops to screen for high blood pressure and recommend necessary treatments.

In Nashville, Tennessee, there’s a low-slung brick building nestled among fast food shops and a gas station on Clarksville Pike. It’s proudly painted red, white, and blue – a comfortable, well-worn spot that’s become a cultural hub for generations of African-American customers. And now, patrons of the barbershop can get more than a shave and a haircut. High rates of hypertension in this community are compounded by the fact that African-American men often aren’t receiving regular medical care. A group of partners, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Nashville Health, and CVS Health, are setting out to address this by placing pharmacists inside barbershops to screen for high blood pressure and recommend necessary treatments.

Medical services are only part of staying healthy. Your community plays an even larger role: whether you have access to safe streets and fresh food, whether you can breathe clean air and drink untainted water, whether you can find places to exercise and socialize. These “social determinants of health” are critical to the well-being of communities and their residents. However, getting them right can be a real challenging. Hear from the places and people who are making a difference. © 2019 CVS Health and/or one of its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Medical services are only part of staying healthy. Your community plays an even larger role: whether you have access to safe streets and fresh food, whether you can breathe clean air and drink untainted water, whether you can find places to exercise and socialize. These “social determinants of health” are critical to the well-being of communities and their residents. However, getting them right can be a real challenging. Hear from the places and people who are making a difference. © 2019 CVS Health and/or one of its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Carrie Robinson is a 28-year-old single mom living outside of Cleveland, Ohio. She’s a pharmacy technician – but not too long ago, she and her five kids found themselves homeless. She shared her story about how CVS Health’s Workforce Innovation and Talent Center changed her life. The centers provide people in under served communities with the training, resources and support network they need to be successful. Like Carrie.

Carrie Robinson is a 28-year-old single mom living outside of Cleveland, Ohio. She’s a pharmacy technician – but not too long ago, she and her five kids found themselves homeless. She shared her story about how CVS Health’s Workforce Innovation and Talent Center changed her life. The centers provide people in under served communities with the training, resources and support network they need to be successful. Like Carrie.

Gina is an individual in recovery from opioid use disorder and a former sex worker. Today, she’s a Linkage to Care Coordinator in rural North Carolina, a job funded by an Aetna Foundation grant. Each day, Gina uses her street smarts and lively personality to connect residents struggling with opioid use disorder with the help and resources they need.

Gina is an individual in recovery from opioid use disorder and a former sex worker. Today, she’s a Linkage to Care Coordinator in rural North Carolina, a job funded by an Aetna Foundation grant. Each day, Gina uses her street smarts and lively personality to connect residents struggling with opioid use disorder with the help and resources they need.

Faith leaders, county health officials, the local health system and community groups have proven that it takes a village to address local health issues. The Village HeartBEAT program created a fitness challenge in local congregations. The goal? To help residents battling heart disease and diabetes. The program uses exercise, nutrition and community gardens to help raise the spirits and lower the weight of participants.

Small businesses can revitalize neighborhoods – so the Bridgeport OIC is lending a hand to local entrepreneurs. We talk to Jeff Nelson of Seeding Knowledge, a start-up that plants and maintains gardens and sells produce. He’s expanding his services to the East End Pop Up Market, where he’ll offer not only fruits and vegetables, but cooking classes and gardening instruction.

Faith leaders, county health officials, the local health system and community groups have proven that it takes a village to address local health issues. The Village HeartBEAT program created a fitness challenge in local congregations. The goal? To help residents battling heart disease and diabetes. The program uses exercise, nutrition and community gardens to help raise the spirits and lower the weight of participants.

Small businesses can revitalize neighborhoods – so the Bridgeport OIC is lending a hand to local entrepreneurs. We talk to Jeff Nelson of Seeding Knowledge, a start-up that plants and maintains gardens and sells produce. He’s expanding his services to the East End Pop Up Market, where he’ll offer not only fruits and vegetables, but cooking classes and gardening instruction.

As the economy struggles and poverty rises in Bridgeport, manufacturing jobs are not the only thing leaving town: Residents have had to go farther and farther to find fresh food. But a group of local businesspeople is looking to reverse that trend. They’re opening the new East End Pop Up Market, which will offer not only fresh food, but also job training and wellness workshops. It’s a solution that can be a model for food deserts across the country.

As the economy struggles and poverty rises in Bridgeport, manufacturing jobs are not the only thing leaving town: Residents have had to go farther and farther to find fresh food. But a group of local businesspeople is looking to reverse that trend. They’re opening the new East End Pop Up Market, which will offer not only fresh food, but also job training and wellness workshops. It’s a solution that can be a model for food deserts across the country.