Podcasts about valley medical center

Episode 51 Equity as Value — Integrating Cultural Inclusivity in Healthcare Reform On this episode host Raj Sundar discusses the importance of understanding the diverse demographic makeup of patients and tailoring healthcare metrics like A1c and blood pressure to community needs. They explore the challenges of engaging immigrant communities, emphasizing trust and cultural inclusivity. Hear about successful community-driven initiatives, the shift from volume-based to value-based care, and the pitfalls of targeting system-level metrics over patient well-being. Hiroshi shares his personal journey of reclaiming his Japanese identity and his community-centered work at Valley Medical Center, while Raj offers insights into delivering culturally responsive care. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen/

Summary: We discuss the importance of understanding the diverse demographic makeup of patients and tailoring healthcare metrics like A1c and blood pressure to community needs. We explore the challenges of engaging immigrant communities, emphasizing trust and cultural inclusivity. We'll hear about successful community-driven initiatives, the shift from volume-based to value-based care, and the pitfalls of targeting system-level metrics over patient well-being. Hiroshi shares his personal journey of reclaiming his Japanese identity and his community-centered work at Valley Medical Center, while Raj offers insights into delivering culturally responsive care. Overview: Understanding the demographic makeup of patients to address community needs Challenges in engaging with immigrant communities and establishing trust Importance of a patient-centered approach over a deficit mindset Developing community-driven ideas and recognizing community strengths Critique of the volume-based healthcare system and the shift to value-based care Addressing culturally responsive care within a value-based system Hiroshi's journey of reclaiming ethnic identity and its impact Community health centers' unique governance structure and community-centered approach Potential for traditional health systems to adopt community-centered models Examples of successful community health initiatives across the country. Next Step Visit our website, Healthcare for Humans, and join our community to enjoy exclusive benefits at https://www.healthcareforhumans.org/support/ Earn Credits: Clinicians, enhance your learning by earning valuable continuing education credits while listening. Utilize your CME funds to join our community. Support Our Mission: Non-clinicians, explore exclusive content and contribute to our collective journey. Be an Active Participant: Go beyond listening. Shape our narrative by co-creating episodes with us. Be part of our community by visiting https://www.healthcareforhumans.org/support/. Follow us on Instagram @healthcareforhumanspodcast

Steward Health Care said Friday that it is closing two of its Massachusetts hospitals — Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer — that received no qualified bids in its sales process. The bankrupt company said it will shutter the hospitals by the end of August.

This episode features Michele Forgues Lackie, CFO at UW Medicine's Valley Medical Center.  Here, she discusses how her organization is approaching payer relations, denials management, and more.

In today's episode of The Root Cause Medicine Podcast, we dive into evidence-based medicine, biases in clinical studies, and the significance of a patient-centered approach with Dr. Allen Sussman. You'll hear us discuss: 1. The role of evidence-based medicine in patient-centered care 2. How to critically evaluate medical studies 3. Statistical versus clinical significance in medicine 4. Integrating complementary and alternative medicine 5. “Saving the Art of Medicine” book 6. Balancing compassion and evidence in medical practice Dr. Allen Sussman is a highly experienced endocrinologist who has practiced for over 34 years and taught as a clinical assistant professor at the University of Washington. He co-founded the Rainier Clinical Research Center, where he was involved in numerous evidence-based studies and helped develop innovative treatments for diabetes. He also served as the director of Alternative Medical Services at Valley Medical Center and was part of a task force in Washington State to create standardized practices within alternative medicine. Dr. Sussman authored "Saving the Art of Medicine," which provides an all-around view of the medical field and what it means to be a healer. Order tests through Rupa Health, the BEST place to order functional medicine lab tests from 30+ labs - https://www.rupahealth.com/reference-guide

Jamie Stillwill and Joell Teal, from the University of Washington – Valley Medical Center, share about their multi-tiered internal recognition program.

This episode features Jeannine Grinnell, CEO of UW Valley Medical Center in Renton, Washington. Here, she shares her insights on leading a community hospital with a rich history, including its ties to Boeing, and discusses the significance of fostering a culture of excellence in the face of staffing shortages and financial challenges.

Allen Sussman MD was a board-certified endocrinologist in private practice for thirty- four years as well as Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington. As co-founder and President of Rainier Clinical Research Center, he was involved in hundreds of evidence-based studies and the development of ground-breaking technology for the treatment of diabetes. He also served as Director of Alternative Medical Services at Valley Medical Center and participated in a Washington State Commission Taskforce to systematize standards of practice within alternative medicine.  Married to his soulmate Melanie for over thirty years, he raised with her two sons, who both became doctors. Today, Dr. Sussman lives in Seattle, Washington, where he meditates every day in a beautiful Zen garden of his own design. His interests range from Buddhist philosophy to the science of consciousness and beyond. Sign up for 10% off of Shrink Rap Radio CE credits at the Zur Institute  

Most people envision and expect careers to follow a straight line, gently upwards and to the right, in one direction. Once you've found the type of work you want to do you get promoted as high as fortune and talents will take you, until the day you retire. Kim Higgins is an exception to this rule. A year ago Kim was serving as the interim CDI director for AdventHealth West Florida Division, a massive health system (West Florida has 13 hospitals alone). Her responsibilities included day-to-day management but also helping build a case for new staff, demonstrating ROI, and growing the department. That was in 2022, not so very long ago. Today you'll find her working as a remote CDI specialist reviewer for Valley Medical Center, a small, standalone acute care hospital located in Washington State. And she couldn't be happier, because it was the right move for her. We get into the reasons why and much more on this episode of Off the Record. On this show we cover: Her motivations and reasons for leaving leadership A day in the life of a remote CDI professional Impacts on her personal and professional life, pro and con West coast vs. Southeast chart reviews—there is a difference Kim's non-traditional career path into CDI (Cub Cadet?) Discovering what really matters in work, and life

Jamie Stilwill and Kristine Nicholson, from the University of Washington, Valley Medical Center in Renton, Washington, share about their Improvement idea program that has been in place for 6 years.

Manvinder Kainth, MD is board certified in family medicine.  Now is a year 5 of her DPC Maple Primary Care. She grew up in Canada, and has worked in a number of states including Washington, New Hampshire, Texas and Minnesota. She moved back to the Dallas area in 2013 to be closer to her family and friends. Dr. Kainth earned her medical degree in 2003 from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston before completing a residency in family medicine at Valley Medical Center, an affiliation of the University of Washington, in Seattle.Dr. Kainth was named D Magazine's Best Doctor in Family Medicine in Dallas and nominated as a Mom-Approved Doctor by Dallas Child Magazine. Dr. Kainth is currently welcoming new patients.Some of the topics we discussed were:What Dr. Kainth does for bookkeeping, accounting, and payrollBooks, websites, and other resources Dr. Kainth recommendsCommon mistakes physicians should avoid while running a DPCHow to keep work-life balance3 practical tips for physicians who are considering starting DPCHow to keep overhead lowHow to market your DPCAnd more!Learn more about me or schedule a FREE coaching call:https://www.joyfulsuccessliving.com/Get in contact with Dr. Kainth:Her website: www.mapleprimarycare.comContact: drkainth@mapleprimarycare.com

Kurt talks with Liz Nolan, Senior Vice President, Chief Communications & Marketing Officer at Valley Medical Center. Liz talks about the pandemic's effects on healthcare access, health guideline communications, and the rise in the use of telehealth platforms. She shares more about how important it is to create and nurture a sense of belonging in her community and how her team is working to that end.

In response to recent power outages for more than 30,000 households and two San Jose hospitals, San José Mayor Sam Liccardo proposed that if PG&E does not present a plan for immediate replacement or repair of the company's failing infrastructure, the City seek a court injunction or Public Utility Commission (PUC) order mandating PG&E to do so.  “I have deep concerns about the safety of our residents and the viability of San José small businesses struggling against ongoing failures of a power grid hampered by poor maintenance and outdated equipment,” said Liccardo. “The march of climate change will continue, but other California cities subjected to far worse heat do not suffer the rate of power outages as the City of San José.   Our residents' health and safety depend on a reliable grid, and PG&E has an obligation to provide that to San José ratepayers.”   In a frustrating and menacing replay of August 2020, fears of heat-induced rolling blackouts resulting from insufficient load capacity statewide did not materialize this week, but nearly 100,000 San José residents were left in the dark anyway.    That is, San José residents suffered from the failure of PG & E's local distribution infrastructure—primarily blown transformers.   These failures shut down power to more than 30,000 households.   Three hospitals-- Valley Medical Center, Regional, and O'Connor--lacked without power for several hours, and failures of backup generators at Valley Med caused a loss of air conditioning, lighting equipment, and computer access. In some East San José neighborhoods—such in the retail area around Tully and King—residents reported that the power outages also took down cellular networks operated by AT&T, rendering cellular customers helpless to make a phone call or send a text to seek assistance. Liccardo continued,  “This is unacceptable.   We need to better understand why these failures disproportionately afflict PG&E's operations in San José.  More importantly, and we need to get them fixed—whether PG&E does so voluntarily, or under judicial or regulatory mandate.  We can no longer merely hope that PG&E will live up to its obligation to San José ratepayers to do so. “See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In response to recent power outages for more than 30,000 households and two San Jose hospitals, San José Mayor Sam Liccardo proposed that if PG&E does not present a plan for immediate replacement or repair of the company's failing infrastructure, the City seek a court injunction or Public Utility Commission (PUC) order mandating PG&E to do so.  “I have deep concerns about the safety of our residents and the viability of San José small businesses struggling against ongoing failures of a power grid hampered by poor maintenance and outdated equipment,” said Liccardo. “The march of climate change will continue, but other California cities subjected to far worse heat do not suffer the rate of power outages as the City of San José.   Our residents' health and safety depend on a reliable grid, and PG&E has an obligation to provide that to San José ratepayers.”   In a frustrating and menacing replay of August 2020, fears of heat-induced rolling blackouts resulting from insufficient load capacity statewide did not materialize this week, but nearly 100,000 San José residents were left in the dark anyway.    That is, San José residents suffered from the failure of PG & E's local distribution infrastructure—primarily blown transformers.   These failures shut down power to more than 30,000 households.   Three hospitals-- Valley Medical Center, Regional, and O'Connor--lacked without power for several hours, and failures of backup generators at Valley Med caused a loss of air conditioning, lighting equipment, and computer access. In some East San José neighborhoods—such in the retail area around Tully and King—residents reported that the power outages also took down cellular networks operated by AT&T, rendering cellular customers helpless to make a phone call or send a text to seek assistance. Liccardo continued,  “This is unacceptable.   We need to better understand why these failures disproportionately afflict PG&E's operations in San José.  More importantly, and we need to get them fixed—whether PG&E does so voluntarily, or under judicial or regulatory mandate.  We can no longer merely hope that PG&E will live up to its obligation to San José ratepayers to do so. “See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Dr. Gilbert Simas, Medical Director, and Crystal Lacey, Program Director from Willamette Valley Medical Center, discussed the Senior Behavioral Health Services. For many older adults, declining physical and mental capabilities and complicated medical problems coupled with loss and adjustment in lifestyle can be overwhelming. Geropsychiatry is a specialized area of medicine that focuses on unique physical and emotional needs. Don't miss this show and the great information shared!

This week, host Nick Preciado and reporter Tran Nguyen discuss why emergency workers at Valley Medical Center walked off the job amid the biggest spike in COVID-19 cases. Later, Senior Reporter Eli Wolfe dives into the county's decision to approve a new jail -- despite strong opposition from the community.

Hello and Welcome to the Follow The Brand Podcast! I am your host, Grant McGaugh, and I wanted to know the impact of empathy and advocacy regarding career development. My guest Laura Marquez believes in two simple principles diversity of thought and the human connection. First, people are your most valuable assets; that's why she doubles down on soft skills that include emotional intelligence. She is empathetic to every patient and colleague and strives to show up every day as her best self.Laura Marquez is a one-time emergency medical assistant turned Clinical Informatics IT Leader helping patients with the technology tools to help improve the patient experience. Thriving under tremendous pressure and a passion for helping patients, she applies skills learned over a career by tapping into her strengths of compassion, communication, and competitiveness.  Laura Marquez is the Assistant Vice President for IT Applications at UConn Health, in Farmington, CT. Marquez brings more than 20 years of healthcare experience leading dynamic teams, driving innovation, and bringing out the best in people by tapping into their strengths. In addition, she has shared ideas to improve the workplace with empathy as a TEDx speaker and is regarded as a servant leader with a strong focus on the patient experience.Before UConn Health, Marquez led several IT teams at Valley Medical Center in Renton, WA, and served as a clinical informaticist and build analyst at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. In addition, she brings forth a unique clinical perspective from years spent at the bedside of a regional Level-1 trauma center as a medical assistant. Marquez holds a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Washington and a Bachelors in Biochemistry from Western Washington University. She has also participated in an executive leadership development program with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and is pursuing Fellowship status. Both inside and outside of work, she enjoys coaching and mentoring others in technology and leadership.         Let's Welcome Laura Marquez to the Follow The Brand Podcast, where we are building a 5 STAR brand that you can Follow!      

So much needs to happen when you first go into practice for yourself. When you do things in the right order - it works.  Get a plan, connect to your community, see a need for your services and answer that call. Don't always rely on Google to answer your questions.  Invest in the experts who can do it right from the start - which will save you time and money! In this episode of the Fearless Practitioners Podcast I talk to Jessie Wrye about her journey in growing her private practice into a group practice - by doing the right things at the right time.   Listen in to learn how you can take your private practice to a group practice by building off the foundational skills you already have. ABOUT JESSIE WRYE Jessie (she/her) is a registered dietitian who is fluent in Spanish and certified diabetes care & education specialist (CDCES).  She has worked at: Queen of the Valley Medical Center, clinical inpatient care OLE Health, outpatient counseling & health education California Department of State Hospitals WIC Supplemental Nutrition Program She has partnered with local mental health agencies: Innovations Community Center South Napa Shelter Napa County Mental Health Alcohol & Drug Services, Napa County  Jessie understands the overwhelming research that supports the power of being nourished and the harmful effects of intentional weight loss & diets.  Practicing the art of this science drives her expertise, energy and advocacy.  Jessie has put her passion into action by founding As You Are Nutrition. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: Transitioning from private practice to a group practice. Investing in professional help when you need it. Going back to foundations to grow your private practice. MORE FROM JESSIE Website Where are you on your private practice journey? Owning a private practice is a journey, and often one that is taken alone. You might be wondering - where should you go with your practice next? Are you ready to grow, to scale? Or do you need some more foundational work first? Take the Quiz and find out what your next step is to become a Fearless Practitioner. MORE FROM ADRIEN Foundations of Private Practice Building Your Dream Practice Apply for Business Coaching Resources for Your Practice Schedule Your FREE 15 Min Fearless Steps Call Connect with Adrien on Instagram and Facebook Private Practice Paperwork Templates Subscribe & Review on iTunes Click here to subscribe to iTunes! I add new episodes every week and if you're not subscribed, there's a good chance you'll miss out on those. I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

The largest hospital in Santa Clara County is famously haunted and for good reason: it sits on top of hundreds of bodies. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/san-hauntse/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/san-hauntse/support

This episode features Soniya Fidler, President at UCHealth - Yampa Valley Medical Center.  Here, she discusses the COVID-19 situation in her area, how she grew from a human resources professional to her current role as President, and more. Thank you to our sponsor, Coverys. Copyrighted. Insurance products issued by Medical Professional Mutual Insurance Company and its subsidiaries. Boston, MA. In CA, transacting business as Coverys Insurance Company (CA# 6122-6).

This episode features Soniya Fidler, President at UC Health - Yampa Valley Medical Center.  Here, she discusses the COVID-19 situation in her area, how she grew from a human resources professional to her current role as President, and more. Thank you to our sponsor, Coverys. Copyrighted. Insurance products issued by Medical Professional Mutual Insurance Company and its subsidiaries. Boston, MA. In CA, transacting business as Coverys Insurance Company (CA# 6122-6).

In the third installment of ASPHOcast, guest Lori Schwanbeck discusses various issues regarding mindfulness and grief, framed in a healthcare context. Lori brings emotional intelligence and mindfulness to diverse populations around the globe in her work as a mindfulness teacher, consultant, and clinical psychotherapist. Lori is a senior facilitator member with Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, where she is a program designer and facilitator of mindfulness and emotional intelligence trainings delivered internationally in corporate, healthcare, education, and government settings. One of her current projects is Mindfulness Rx, an evidence-based compassion and resilience program designed to address burnout and well-being for healthcare workers, which she has facilitated at Stanford, Valley Medical Center, and UCSF hospitals.

This episode features Larry Coomes, CEO of Queen of the Valley Medical Center. Here, he discusses working in for-profit versus not-for-profit medicine, how business school has furthered his career in medicine, advice for other leaders, and more.

It was a dewy January morning, just two days before the Bay Area would host its first Super Bowl, right in Mountain View's backyard at Stanford Stadium.When a man picking through the trash comes across a body while hoping to find some cans to earn a few extra bucks, the police are called. The story starts like this: A young woman, strangled to death, seemingly without any identity whatsoever. Her case baffles detectives.As they slowly learn about who the woman was, and where she came from -- her story spanning continents and major global moments that led to massive aid movements -- another pressing question begins to enter their minds: who would want to harm her? Who would discard her behind a grocery store, in a sleepy Silicon Valley town, and more importantly, why?Could a murder really happen in the home of high tech?This is the first episode of our special edition podcast series, Silicon Valley Beat: Major Crimes._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________For those in need of audio assistance, or who are hard of hearing, we have included a transcript of this podcast for you here. Please see below.[[Disclaimer: The Silicon Valley Beat, Major Crimes, is a podcast that deep-dives into major cases investigated by the Mountain View Police Department. Because this podcast covers investigations including critical incidents and homicides, what we discuss here may contain material that is not suitable for all listeners. Names and other sensitive information may be changed to protect the identity of the innocent.]] [[Opening bumper]]Episode 1: The Body in the Dumpster Saul Jaeger: He started the morning like he had others before – shuffling through dumpsters behind the Safeway on Stierlin Road, looking for any cans for which he could get maybe a couple bucks. It was early still, just before 7:30 a.m. on what witnesses, and police reports, described as a dewy January morning. He may get lucky. As he leaned over to pluck through the trash, the man startled. Amongst the cardboard boxes and the discarded fruits and vegetables, a leg poked out from one of the dumpster bins, dark in color. The man wasn't sure if it was a mannequin, or worse, a body. He ducked back to the rear of the store, and alerted a manager. Something wasn't right. [[steps on gravel]] The manager, and a few employees, walked back outside to the open dumpster, lids thrown back well before the man looking for cans arrived. Dew dusted the discarded waste, and as soon as the manager leaned over to inspect what was within, he turned around and went inside to call the police. [[Siren blaring]] A two-man fire crew were first on scene. Leaning into the bin, one firefighter reached out for a pulse, putting his two fingers to a wrist. The wrist was cold -- too cold. He stepped back and waited for the police to arrive. It was January 18, 1985. [[”Careless Whisper” by Wham! begins to play, newscasts of time overlap as reports are read]] Katie Nelson: That January was known as a “one of the most intense arctic outbreaks,” according to the National Weather Service. Wayne Gretsky scored his 400th career goal that month. VH1 debuted, and Madonna owned the radio waves with her “Like a Virgin.” Two days later, the first Super Bowl hosted in the Bay Area, at Stanford Stadium, would be televised across the US on three major networks. More locally, Silicon Valley was in its “Golden Age,” where tech was booming and we began to see the first iterations of the lore that this section of the Bay Area holds for modern day entrepreneurs. The CD-ROM had recently been introduced by Sony and Philips, revolutionizing the way in which we would come to share information and entertainment in the coming years. Apple had introduced the Macintosh just one year before in January 1984. And, the first “Windows” operating system was released by Microsoft. Mountain View, though, smack in the middle of all this growth, was still very much a suburb. Homes were ranch-style, and the local dump had closed not two years before to help restore the beloved shoreline and wetlands. Could a murder really happen in the home of high tech? This is Doug Johnson, longtime resident and historian of the Mountain View Police Department.Doug Johnson: I wondered what brought somebody to Mountain View back in 1985 because there wasn't really a lot of reasons to come to this town. Shoreline was still landfill. The downtown was -- it hadn't changed much since the 40s. Castro Street was two lanes in each direction and was basically empty. You could stand on the railroad tracks and you could look down at El Camino and see cars going by because there wasn't really much going on, going on downtown. And, um, there was no club scene or anything like that. The only reason, the only regional draw if you will in Mountain View at the time, was probably St. James' Infirmary. And it was kind of fun saloon with a ten-foot statue of Wonder Woman as you walked in the door and peanut shells all over the floor. Katie Nelson: In 1985, Mountain View certainly wasn't the town that we know it today, with a bustling downtown and multi-billion dollar corporations. But again, could a city, now home to tech giants, and once thought of as a quaint corner of Silicon Valley, really be the place where someone could be murdered? Saul Jaeger: On that cold, winter morning, that's exactly what Officers Schlarb and Barcelona were trying to find out when they made their way over to the Stierlin Road Safeway. As the men peered inside the dumpster, they saw a woman, lying face down, wearing a striped, long-sleeved shirt, a green sock still on her right foot. A gold and brown high-heeled shoe dangled from her covered foot. She was petite and thin, a little over five feet, with a cropped haircut. Her head was turned just so. Gently looking around her body, officers saw nothing obvious to indicate what had happened to this Jane Doe. But could there be a clue somewhere, among her clothes, perhaps in the bags surrounding her body, that could point the officers to the killer? Would the police find the killer in the man who was walking back and forth to his car on Vaquero Drive late the night before? Could the suspect be the person who drove by a home late at night on the same road with a loud muffler, stop near the Safeway, and drive off? Katie Nelson: A Stierlin Road resident noted his daughter had been studying late at night on January 17, hours before the body was discovered in the dumpster, and heard a car peel out in the driveway adjacent to their home. A Hackett Street resident told police he had heard from a mechanic at the Union 76 gas station, just down the road from where the body was discovered, that he had seen two men arguing with a black woman in their car. Any one of these clues could lead to something more. Door by door, police searched for answers. More than a dozen cards were left, requesting help, to call if anyone remembered anything that could possibly help. At least six of the requests went unanswered. [[Interlude]] Almost immediately, officers on scene that morning encountered a complication – the woman had no identification on her. The red, faded stamp on her left hand, typically indicative of a visit to a bar at that time, was of no use – the only local bar at the time that stamped red did not do so the night of the murder, according to the police report. The shoe that dangled from Jane Doe's foot, while manufactured in Santa Maria, could not be narrowed down to a particular purchase area as the shoes were sold across the United States. The investigative technique of simply tracking purchases via a credit card was still nearly a decade away. Saul Jaeger: The watch that was still fastened on her left wrist had no engraving, no personalization to possibly guide the detectives to a family member or loved one. The ring on her left ring finger too, did nothing to help the mystery. Jane Doe could be anyone, from anywhere. Her family, her friends would have no idea what had happened to her. But this much was certain -- something bad had happened to Jane Doe. Here's Don McKay, a retired sergeant with the Mountain View Police Department, who back in 1985 was the sergeant in charge of investigations. Don McKay: Um, they discovered this early in the morning. It was still dark when I got the call, about finding a body in the dumpster behind Safeway, just sort of scattered, like she was just dumped there. This Safeway was on the corner of Bailey and Montecito. Well, there were several police cars there. It was very isolated back there. There's some apartments that back up to that dumpster and there was nobody there so it was just sort of all us. Brought some lights and stuff and tried to work the scene. We didn't have a lot to go on.It took us a while to ID this person. We could tell she was missing a shoe, we figured maybe we'd find that. From what we remembered, she was fully clothed, but I remember thinking: “Here we are, the week of the Super Bowl, and Super Bowl's at Stanford. And I'm thinking, ‘I got a hundred thousand extra suspects' that I wasn't planning on. It looked like she had been strangled, but we weren't for sure. We didn't find that out until we got to the autopsy. Katie Nelson: By 3 p.m. on January 18, 1985, Jane Doe had been brought to the coroner with the hopes that he would have a better idea of who she may be. The coroner on duty that Friday afternoon at Valley Medical Center began his methodical examination. The first sentence of the autopsy reportnnotes just how petite the victim was. The coroner noted she weighed just 95 pounds. She measured only 4 feet, 8 inches tall. On the right side of her forehead, a small cut was noted. A front tooth, chipped. She was otherwise healthy, with the coroner noting most inspections yielded “unremarkable” results. As he went about his work, the coroner clipped fingernails and took other samples from the body, some potentially for use to determine what had led to that fateful discovery that morning behind the Safeway. But neither of those samples would ultimately point to what exactly had led to Jane Doe's death. No. On just the second page of the report, under the section noted “External Evidence of Injury,” the coroner noted the following: “On the front and ride side of the neck are multiple contusions which vary from ⅛ to ¼ inch in greatest dimension.” “The strap muscles of the neck as well as the other pretracheal soft tissues exhibit a moderate degree of contusion with hemmorhage. The tongue … shows multiple hemorrhages on the anterior third as well as in the middle third.” Jane Doe had been manually strangled to death. This was not a quick death. It was slow. It was hard. Chris Kikuchi: It's a very violent crime, but to be able to squeeze you know, someone's neck in that manner and so tightly and so violently that the person dies, there's a tremendous amount of force. Katie Nelson: We'd like to introduce you to veteran police detective Chris Kikuchi. He served as the primary investigator on this case later on. Chris Kikuchi: At any point, you can realize that person is losing air obviously and that person is struggling and to continue doing that, until the person dies, I can't even imagine. Even at 100 pounds, you wrap your hands around anyone's neck, they're going to struggle. They're going to do whatever they can to get out of that. It's not easy. Katie Nelson: That knowledge alone makes this investigation all that much more devastating. It also makes us wonder – was this murder personal? Was this a crime of passion? Or was this an instance where total rage took control and ultimately cost one young woman her life? Was this a targeted incident or, God forbid, was this random, and the start of something far more sinister? Here again is Detective Sergeant Don McKay.Don McKay: The most frustrating part was just ID'ing her, finding out who she was, where she came from, where she lived, so we had a base to start with. We had no place to start the investigation. Normally, when you know the person, you know where they live, you know where they hang out, you know her associates. We had no idea on anything for three weeks. All we could do was collect the evidence, freeze what we could collect. We didn't have a DNA database at the time. Nothing. Katie Nelson: But even though less than 24 hours had passed since Jane Doe's body was found, the cause of death was still only half of the puzzle solved. It would take two more weeks before Jane Doe had a name. [[Interlude]] Saul Jaeger: She was Saba Girmai. She had just turned 21. Born in Mekele, Ethiopia in 1964, Saba had immigrated with her family to the United States when she was 17. [[Clip from British broadcast on the famine in Ethiopia]] Saba's family was part of a growing number of Ethiopians who had come to the United States to seek refuge, many of whom were able to utilize new changes enacted through the passage of the 1980 Refugee Act, which was created to help fine-tune immigration procedure for refugees, particularly of humanitarian concern, seeking admission to the United States. Ethiopia, during the time that Saba's family came to America, was in the throes of upheaval. Before they arrived on US soil, Saba's family had lived through the overthrow of the government by the Ethiopian army. In 1974, when Saba had just begun her teen years, an interim military government had been put in place to create some kind of control at a government level. But, their efforts were swiftly replaced by a Marxist regime. Katie Nelson: By 1981, a civil war had erupted, and a crippling drought plagued the country. That drought would be the catalyst for what many remember as the famine that sparked the first Live Aid concert in 1985.[[1985 commercial for Live Aid]]The 16-hour musical marathon that catapulted Queen back into the spotlight, the one that was projected to raise about 10 million pounds for famine relief, but in fact raised triple that amount. The funds would be put towards helping the roughly 160 million people impacted by famine across northeastern Africa. In Ethiopia, reports were surfacing that aid groups that came to the country to help couldn't access certain villages and towns, exacerbating the crisis. Mekele, Saba's home, was hit especially hard. Saba's family arrived in the United States just two years before the peak of the conflicts that would plague Ethiopia until the early 1990s. Mekele, during the height of the famine in the mid 1980s, unfortunately became known for its hunger camps that surrounded the city, which housed nearly 100,000 refugees. Estimates today suggest that in 1985, nearly 100 people died in these camps every day, waiting for some kind of reprieve. Saul Jaeger: As her family began to settle down roots in America, Saba was enrolled at Monroe High School in Rochester, New York, a large, brown-bricked building with Greek columns in the picturesque upstate area that had opened its doors to students nearly 60 years before Saba stepped onto campus. But her time there was short. Saba was not involved in any clubs or sports, according to her family, nor did she actually finish high school. She dabbled in cosmetology school for a while after dropping out of high school, but that didn't hold her interest for long. By the time Saba traveled to California with her sister in 1984, she was ready for something different. She had been in California only seven months when she was killed. Once in California, Saba was known to flit from home to home, between cities like Palo Alto, Santa Clara, and San Jose, couch-surfing with friends or acquaintances, enjoying the local club scene. She had an alleged boyfriend, but she had never been married. Katie Nelson: Where Mountain View fell on her radar was a bit of a mystery. She was not known to neighbors who lived near where her body was found. Saba was known to go out, sometimes to the chagrin of those who knew her. She drank and smoked marijuana, practices that today are not noteworthy, but back in the mid-1980s still carried somewhat of a social taboo. Saba was also not known to stay in one place for long. She was social, described by at least one person as “feisty” and an “Ethiopian princess.” Most notably, though, despite her ease with being out and about, no one had admittedly seen her the day before her death. Saba had essentially vanished. But now, word of Saba's death had begun to spread, particularly within the Ethiopian community. Recently, we found a copy of the 1985 report of Saba's death in the police blotter section of a local paper. Wedged at the bottom of the page, between a Super Bowl robbery crime spree and a rape arrest, the local paper highlighted in just eight short sentences the totality of the crime. Headline: Murder victim apparently strangeled. A young woman whose body was discovered last week in a Mountain View dumpster apparently died from strangulation, a spokesman from the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office said Monday. “It was a homicide,” said the spokesman, who declined to be identified. There were some other minor injuries to the body, but nothing of any significance, he said. The results of the autopsy performed late Friday were to be turned over to Mountain View police this week. Police lieutenant Brown Taylor said the woman has yet to be identified. The partially-clad body of the woman, whom police believe was in her late teens or early 20s, was discovered shortly before 8 a.m. Friday by employees of Safeway, 570 Stierlin Road. “Apparently she had been killed and left in the dumpster sometime Thursday night,” Taylor said. Police said the woman was black, weighed about 95 pounds, and was about 5 feet tall. And with the news spreading, friends and acquaintances began to come forward. A friend, we'll call “Taka,” said Saba had been in San Jose on January 12, when she broke a window of an apartment that belonged to a man she had been staying with at the time. It was the longest period of time detectives knew of Saba's whereabouts. According to the man at the home, she had been staying with him practically since she had arrived in California the previous June. She'd celebrated her 21st birthday three days before the window episode. Saul Jaeger: Finally, someone who could maybe give a little more insight into who Saba was, where she may have been, and what may have happened to her. Leads like this are important, not just because they offer some semblance of direction with a case, but because when investigations slow, they bring about some hope and some much-needed feeling of movement. We knew little about Saba at the time. And, for those in her community who knew of her, or for those who actually knew her, even they could not pinpoint exact dates or times that they had last seen her within a few days of her death. So, this was something, right? But as was becoming a growing trend with this case, with each hope for a new lead, things quickly fizzled. On January 12, when the police were called to address the broken window at the man's apartment, we know that they did ultimately escort Saba away. But, from what the boyfriend knew, she was out and about by the next morning. The last time he, and probably anyone else, had heard from her was on January 14, when she called him to let him know she was in Palo Alto. Specifically where, though, he could not say. Katie Nelson: Interviews and gathering witnesses for Saba's whereabouts could be described as tricky at best. Saba had also been seen maybe in a pickup truck with a white man at some point, but exactly when, the interviewee could not be sure. He was quoted as saying, “The last time he saw Saba she was with an unknown black male; he thinks it was either on January 11 or 12.” Another said: “He knew of Saba, but had only heard her name since she had been killed.”A third person said: “She stayed at the house about one month ago, but he had not seen her since.” One interviewee surmised that it was possible Saba was killed because while she was social, was willing to drink and smoke, she refused to sleep with men. Another interviewee said Saba had been seen with a woman three weeks before, begging for money, but that person didn't know the woman's name. Nearly one month after Saba was killed, on February 8, an Ethiopian man came into the police department and told investigators that he had seen Saba maybe on the 14th or 15thof January, three days before she died, in a van with an unknown white man heading northbound on Third Street in San Jose. The reason this was so important, he said, was because he remembered something he did not tell detectives at the time he was initially interviewed – Saba was wearing some type of hat. This pattern of rough guesstimates on when people had seen Saba continued throughout much of the initial investigation, bleeding well into the second month after Saba was killed. By the end of March, 1985, nearly all potential connections to Saba had been interviewed, and there had been hardly any headway in the case. Saul Jaeger: Again, retired Detective Sergeant Don McKay.Don McKay: Well, we started going through the apartments behind the thing to see if someone heard the car because we didn't know what she was dropped off in, in a car or whatever. And, we got a couple of people who thought they heard something back there around four in the morning, but nothing that could put anything to it. What it affected was trying to locate where we thought she was probably picked up at a party in Palo Alto somewhere, where there were a lot of Super Bowl parties going on and stuff. We had no idea where she came from, but we didn't realize she was of Ethiopian descent until we talked to her sister. That's the first time we even had an idea of where she was from, what she was doing, where she lived. And her sister didn't know where she lived for the last three weeks prior to the murder. And we had no idea where she had been. We went into numerous locations, places we had to try to find out where all the parties were, and nobody knew. No witnesses at all. We never did come up with a witness. We did a lot of footwork. [[interlude]] Saul Jaeger: That ever-lingering question still loomed large -- With the vast network of people who seemingly knew Saba, or knew of her, who would have had a motive to kill her? And even more so, who would have discarded her body in that dumpster at that Safeway? By April 2, detectives decided to use their trump card – they brought in Saba's alledged boyfriend for a polygraph examination. He was seemingly the last person known to have talked to Saba. Some had identified him as her boyfriend. He disputed that though. There was no question however, that he was close to her. So he must know something, right? Was it possible a fight had gone awry? Was he possibly mad at Saba because of her drinking, and smoking, and moving from place to place? Had Saba done something that caused him to snap?The following is an excerpt from the polygraph examination. Type of Case: MurderRequesting Agency: Mountain View Police DepartmentDate: April 2, 1985 Q: Do you know for sure who caused Saba's death?A: No. Q: Did you strangle Saba during January 1985?A: No. Q: Were you physically present in the vehicle that took Saba to the dumpster where she was found?A: No. Q: Did you last see Saba on 13 January when you left her in front of that shop in San Jose?A: Yes. Q: Did you see Saba between 14 and 18 January 1985?A: No. Q: Did Saba call you on 14 January and tell you she was in Palo Alto?A: Yes. On April 11, 1985 the results of the polygraph exam were returned to detectives. They read: After analysis of the charts produced during this examination, it is the opinion of this examiner that the boyfriend was deceptive in his answers to the relevant questions. Results: Deception indicated[[End Episode 1]] Thank you for listening to this episode of The Silicon Valley Beat: Major Crimes. For more details and for credit for the music and other source material used throughout our podcast, please visit the episode's website at pippa.io.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Source material utilized in this podcastResearch sourcing:https://www.weather.gov/ilm/January1985coldhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VH1#Early_history_(1985–1994)https://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/1985/hot-100https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XIXhttps://www.gcis.co.uk/a-history-of-the-cd-rom.htmlhttps://www.archivesfoundation.org/documents/refugee-act-1980/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Civil_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Civil_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983–1985_famine_in_Ethiopiahttp://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/13/newsid_2502000/2502735.stmhttps://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/politics-famine-ethiopiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekellehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MekelleMusic Sourcing:Interlude/interview background music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAyFXPDUoPQ – MorningLightMusichttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjoqx7wYbVw – MorningLightMusichttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OnJidcj2CU – FesliyanStudios Background MusicTheme Music:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVl9frUzHsE – Over Time by Audionautixhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qjh0OGDt58I – AshamaluevMusicInsert Music for Time Period:George Michael – Careless WhisperInsert for News of Time Period: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkLPx8mQ-t0&pbjreload=10 – BBC News Report for Ethiopian famine 1984https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y82B-dWyuAw – Live Aid Concert TV Commercial from 1985 Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Amit Trivedi continues sharing his real-world case experience using the Senhance surgical robotic system from TransEnterix. Reference Video Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88707anQvTQ This 4-minute hiatal hernia repair case video from Dr. Trivedi shows how the rotation wheels on the Senhance make robotic suturing easier than traditional laparoscopy.

Dr. Trivedi, a bariatric surgeon board certified in general surgery, discusses his real-world case experience using the Senhance surgical robotic system from TransEnterix. 

Shortly after I got out of the hospital 3 years ago, a friend and former coworker sent me a link to an announcement from Valley Medical Center in Renton, WA, about the Stroke Club. Despite the commute from downtown Seattle, this would become the first support group I attended. It's there that I met Sarah Devine, a neurology nurse practitioner who led the group. Since then, the group has grown, we've heard from a wide assortment of speakers, attendees have come and gone, and now Sarah is handing over the reins of the group while she prepares to take her own well deserved break. Before she leaves, though, I wanted to sit down and talk with her more about her own path. Bio Sarah Devine is an Adult Nurse Practitioner practicing at Valley Medical Center’s Neuroscience Institute. Sarah sees Stroke and TIA patients in the hospital and clinic to confirm etiology, reduce risk for re-stroke and counsel patients on life style changes while helping through the multiple post stroke syndromes and symptoms that occur. She supports Stroke Survivor programs including encouraging Neuro Tai Chi programs; has run Valley’s Stroke Club for the past four years and sits on the Board of Tango Stride -Tango for stroke survivors. Sarah received her MsN-ARNP in 2011 from Seattle Pacific University. After graduating, she worked in the post -hospital setting of Nursing Home rounding for several years -a perfect setting for learning geriatrics and internal medicine. Her nursing career started in 1996, also in geriatrics, for the next 15 years she nursed in cardiology, chronic disease management and hospice in the all settings -hospitals, clinics, nursing facilities and patient homes. It was this broad view of nursing and health care that gave her adequate perspective to translate the confusing language of healthcare to the counties most vulnerable people. She lives in Seattle with her husband where they are lucky enough to live in the same state as their four grown children Roles It's quite significant how our roles define how we see people. Prior to our chat, I never would have guessed Sarah had a liberal arts background, was the child of immigrants, or spent time as a cardiac nurse or hospice nurse. Granted, none of that seems out of character. But once we meet someone and put them in a certain bucket, that's how we seem them -- Nurse Practitioner and Stroke Clinician facilitating a support group and treating patients. The lesson here on one level is, of course to recognize that the members of our care teams are individual people, too, with their own stories and paths. We may not see or hear those stories in our brief interactions, but the are there, and they shape the people we deal with. Perhaps the more important lesson, though, is to understand how people see us -- others meet us and put us into a limited bucket with their own perception of what a stroke survivor is, what a care giver is, what an OT is, what a PT is, what a doctor is, etc. When people make limited assumptions about us based on our role, it's easy to become offended that they're not seeing us as whole people with a history. But give them a break. We do it too. It's part of human nature. And recognize that that view goes both ways. Grief Sarah talked about helping survivors grieve for their previous life. Because this new life is different and can be a sharp break from our previous life. It's a concept I've heard before and I think we've talked about it in previous episodes. But the new concept to me was when she talked about her cardiac patients feeling a sense of betrayal at their bodies. It's the betrayal we never expect to come. As someone who has always been comfortable thinking in brain space, and who identifies as Ravenclaw, the stroke does feel like a betrayal. I was never an athlete. I could barely strum some notes on the mandolin, and I've never been the life of the party. But I have been a big reader, and I love thinking about things. I can get lost in daydreams and playing out all sorts of scenarios in my head. I can write and share concepts and stories. I've allied myself closely with my mind. And then it betrayed me by, in part, dying. Our lives can be turned upside down, not from the outside, but from the inside. And that makes that sense of betrayal that much more severe. Hack of the Week Sleep is free medicine. Living with a neurological condition means the brain works overtime and simply needs more sleep. Stroke survivors who find themselves struggling more than normal may simply have been over taxing the brain. The best way to combat that, and to overcome neuro-fatigue is simple to stay hydrated and take a nap. There aren't a ton of advantages to having a stroke, but socially acceptable naps is one to embrace. Links Sarah on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sarah.devine.9822 Stroke Club https://www.valleymed.org/Our-Services/Neuroscience/Stroke/Stroke-Club-Flyer/ Tango Stride on Strokecast http://Strokecast.com/Tango Find Stroke Support Group http://Strokecast.com/FindSupport Strokecast Community on Facebook http://Strokecast.com/FacebookGroup Strokecast on Instagram http://Strokecast.com/Instagram Wil Wheaton on Depression http://Strokecast.com/DepressionLies Where do we go from here? What does Sarah's story make you think about? Let us know in the Strokecast Facebook community at Strokecast.com/FacebookGroup. To find a stroke support group in the US, visit Strokecast.com/findsupport. Follow Strokecast on Instagram at Strokecast.com/Instagram. Don't get best…get better.

On April 18th, 2014, Lane Edward’s life dramatically changed while doing something he had done with great success throughout his life: he dove in head first. Lane was an avid traveller and in 2014 while visiting Thailand he went on a snorkeling excursion. An unfortunate miscommunication led to him diving off the boat into very shallow water, causing a C4 spinal fracture. Fortunately, a physician was on the boat at the time of the accident, stabilizing Lane and successfully moving him to a local clinic where he was later airlifted to a hospital in Bangkok for acute care. In early May, Lane was transported back to the USA and underwent surgery at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center before undergoing extensive physical therapy at Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California. Lane now has the benefit of many friends and family as well as a part time caretaker to help him through his daily routines and support his ongoing recovery process. Regardless of when or where you meet Lane, the same positive and brave characteristics resonate with everyone he interacts with, which is also at the core his nonprofit organization, Loving Lane. His organization's mission is to chronicle his ongoing recovery and support others who have suffered spinal cord injuries. Visit www.lovinglane.com to hear more about Lane and his progress.

This week I am chatting with one of my eldest friends, Greg Jungwirth! Greg and I go way back - all the way back to McNary High School in Keizer, Oregon. Back then it was a lot of playing poker on the weekends, making crappy movies, and playing pickup sports whenever we could. Today, we're both very educated and Greg is now a Resident Physician at Valley Medical Center in Renton, Washington! While I was (and am) a major goofball, Greg is the smartest person I know. So it was very cool to have a serious conversation, as adults, about healthcare and what it's like maneuvering the complicated minefield of being a doctor. I learned SO MUCH in this conversation, as we dove into the shady backroom deals that were being made in the recent attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and what that uncertainty looked like in his medical center. I hope you enjoy learning today! EPISODE NOTES: Here's some stuff that Greg and I mentioned during this episode - make sure to visit Craigbidiman.com/edupunxpod to check out more about each of these notes! - Check out Greg's physician profile at Valley Medical center by visiting their site! - Greg makes a great reference to a recent episode of Adam Ruins Everything, which focused on the costs of hospitals - you can check out a clip of this episode here. - A big James bond fan, Greg ranks his favorites as “Skyfall," “The Man with the Golden Gun,” and “Goldeneye," which in all fairness is the only answer. - Greg and I are both big nerds for the album, “Deja Entendu,” by Brand New - takes me back. - I genuinely did not know that Greg was a big Kurt Vonnegut fan, but I was glad to hear that he also loved the lesser known brilliant piece, "Godbless You, Mr. Rosewater," which contains a lot of great messages that we could use today. - Another consistency in our friendship is our love of the movie, "Snatch," which is Greg's favorite movie, and my second favorite - only behind "the Big Lebowski." MUSIC NOTES: - Big thanks to our record label sponsor of the week, Near Mint Records, for providing this week's tunes. Make sure to check out more tunes from Near Mint by visiting wearenearmint.com! - This week's tunes come from the new Boy Rex album, "Better Vision." It's one of my favorite albums of the year this year so far! - Make sure to check out more work from Boy Rex by visiting theboyrex.bandcamp.com or theboyrex.com - you can snag physical copies of their tunes and/or stream it all there! - You can also check out their current tour dates with Tyler Daniel Bean! Get to the gig! ADVERTISING NOTES: - This week's episode is sponsored by Plucking Yew Promotions and Matt Palmer Media. Are you an artist or musician? Do you need some quick design work done? Reach out to Matt Palmer! He's an incredibly talented based in the midwest and would love to help you out! Visit mattpalmermedia.com for more info on how to commission work from him! FOLLOW, RATE, REVIEW, SUBSCRIBE, AND SHARE! - Any love on the iTunes app helps! CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE ITUNES STORE! - Follow along on Instagram and Twitter @eduPUNXpod!