Root of the Issue: Recent Episodes
The Root Cause Coalition
Conversations with Health Equity Champions
TheRoot of the Issue shares the personal and professional journeys of nationally recognized health equity advocates and their work to end disparities in access to healthcare and basic needs in America. Our podcast provides inspiration to become involved in our collective quest for health equity and offers common sense solutions to the underlying injustices that prevent all Americans from living a life of health and well-being.
This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Anthony Weekly, Chief Community Reinvestment Officer at Truist Bank. In this role, Anthony is responsible for collaborating with community development partners and regulators to help meet the credit needs of low- to moderate-income (LMI) individuals and communities. Over the course of their conversation they discuss the historic impacts of redlining on LMI communities, the need for cross-sector collaboration to address the social determinants of health, the role that the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) plays, and the motivating power of giving back to the community from which he sees so much of himself within. When asked to define what health equity means to him, Anthony had this to say:
“It's pretty simple. For me, it's equal access no matter what your social economic status. And I think we put people in certain buckets because of their socioeconomic status and it creates those health inequities for them. So it's equal access to healthcare no matter what. Because we all should have fair and equitable access to healthcare.”
You can learn more about Truist and the Community Reinvestment Act at their website: here
This week on Root of the Issue we’ve turned the tables and our guest is our very own Barbara Petee, President of the Root Cause Coalition. Over the course of the conversation with our special guest host, Alexandra Lewin-Zwerdling, Barbara discusses the origins of the inception of the Coalition, her inspirations for pursuing work in the social determinants of health and health equity, and the power of mentoring the next generation of leaders in the field.
When asked how to keep pushing the boulder up the mountain, Barbara had this to say:
“I think we live in a time where it is easy to say, ‘I've done all I can do and these issues feel so much bigger than ourselves.’ But I have learned that if we focus on a few of our key priorities, if we are working with people who are doing what's right in front of them in their own communities and start to thread all of the work that all of these organizations are doing, we are building so much momentum.”
You can learn more about the Root Cause Coalition and the upcoming National Summit at their website: here
This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Amy Yaroch, PhD, Executive Director of the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition. Over the course of their conversation Barbara and Amy discuss the work of the Gretchen Swanson Center, the increased awareness of the social determinants of health and health equity, Amy’s optimism for alleviating hunger by 2030, and much more.
When asked what keeps Amy motivated to take on such a tall task, she had this to say:
“I wake up each day and I think to myself, I'm here to make a difference. I've always wanted to make a difference, and I'm hoping that that's actually coming to fruition in some “
You can learn more about the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition at their website, here
This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Alfreda Rooks, MPA, Director of Community Health Services (CHS) at Michigan Medicine, UM Health. In this role, Alreda works to advance the mission to identify creative solutions to address the various health and social needs of the community. Over the course of their conversation they discuss the work that CHS does across the region and state, Alfreda’s familial roots in Jim Crow era Birmingham, as well as the moments that launched her on the path towards working in community focused medicine. When asked what how she defines health equity, Alfreda responded with this:
“To me, health equity is making sure that the person that is sitting in front of you is seen as a person, and has the opportunity to have world-class, quality healthcare that anyone else has…I don't believe that anybody has to die to get good healthcare
This week on Root of the Issue, our host Barbara Petee, is joined by Domonic Hopson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neighborhood Family Practice (NFP). NFP serves more than 21,000 patients across eight sites in Cleveland and Lakewood, OH and provides primary and preventive care, and integrated services, including behavioral health, pharmacy, midwifery and dental care.
Over the course of their conversation, Barbara and Domonic discuss the role of NFP in addressing the needs in some of our most neglected communities, Domomic’s pathway towards dedicating his life to the social determinants of health, how to find strength in taking on such an enduring problem, and how Domonic works to bring others to share their voice at the table.
On that note, here is what Domonic had to say when asked of the power that community voice lends in the march towards health equity:
“...we have to really encourage everyone to come to the table, even if it's in areas where it's not your ‘quote unquote’ specialty, but you have an experience; you have a voice that we need to raise and lend to these different topics.”
You can learn more about the Neighborhood Family Practice at their website: Neighborhood Family Practice
In this special encore, we revisit a conversation with Susan Benigas, the Executive Director of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM). Susan shares the powerful work of the ACLM, and its focus on lifestyle medicine, a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine – a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connections – also provides effective prevention for these conditions. When asked about what drives her motivation at the ACLM, Susan shared this powerful perspective:
“We are on a mission to add years to life and life to years. Each and every one of us has the opportunity to benefit from what evidence so overwhelmingly supports. In that the power of what we eat each and every day, how we move, how we sleep, how we manage our stress, the power of our social connections; these pillars empower us to determine our health destiny.”
This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Wendi Huntley, President and CEO of Connecting Kids to Meals. In her role, Wendy guides the nonprofit organization in providing hot, nutritious meals, at no cost, to at-risk kids ages 18 and under in low income and underserved areas of northwest Ohio. Over the course of their conversation Barbara and Wendi discuss the history of the organization, the role the COVID-19 pandemic played in illuminating problems plaguing underserved communities, childhood inspirations, as well as much more.
When asked what Wendi feels lies in store for Connecting Kids to Meals, as well as President Biden’s goal of ending hunger by 2030, Wendi had this to say:
“When I think of what the future holds for Connecting Kids to Meals in all of these areas, plus so many more, I can hardly sleep. Not because of the worries, but I can hardly sleep because of the level of excitement about all of these amazing things that are happening to our organization.”
You can learn more about Connecting Kids to Meals at their website: Here
In this encore airing, we revisit a conversation with Mike Curtin, CEO of the DC Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C. DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. Over the course of their conversation, Mike details his unconventional path into the non-profit space, his childhood upbringing in which giving back to the community was always a constant, as well as what he believes to be the pathway towards ending childhood hunger by 2030. When asked what keeps him so hopeful on a path that seems, at times, insurmountable, Mike responded with this:
“Whether you're a teacher or a doctor or a banker or a recovering addict, or someone who's been incarcerated for 25 years or 30 years, or if you're the president of United States, we're all standing around the same table, working with the same food, trying to make our community a little bit better every single day.”
To learn more about the DC Central Kitchen, please visit them
at: their website, https://dccentralkitchen.org
In this encore airing, we revisit a conversation with Gary Cates, the Chief Philanthropy and Government Relations Officer for ProMedica. Gary shares his story on how he became involved in the movement towards addressing the social determinants of health as well as some of those that influenced and inspired him along the way. When asked why health equity is such an important issue for the country to address, Gary responded powerfully with this:
“In this nation, it never should be that the color of your skin, the size of your wallet, or the ZIP code you live in…none of those factors should ever dictate the number of days you'll walk the face of this earth.”
In this encore airing, we revisit a conversation with Cathryn Couch, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Ceres Community Project. Cathryn shares how her time in both the corporate and non-profit worlds honed her leadership skills, the significance of food as medicine, as well as the importance of providing the next generation with the tools they need to be capable of sufficiently feeding both body and mind. When asked what motivated her to launch the Ceres Project, Couch noted the crucial role that providing meals can play when re-connecting some of our nation’s most vulnerable back into a sense of community:
“And so we started to realize that food was the vehicle for so much more than just the nutrients in the food and that we were doing much more than just providing a meal to someone. We were connecting them to a community.”
This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Leigh Caswell, Vice President of Community and Health Equity at Presbyterian Healthcare Services. Over the course of their conversation, Barbara and Leigh discuss how organizations can better collaborate with communities to address their most urgent needs, the outcomes of the system’s Food Farmacy program in the New Mexico area, the role community health workers play in addressing the social drivers of health, as well as coming to terms with some of the big challenges to address when it comes to health inequity.
On discussing how important language is when speaking with communities, Leigh had this to say:
“We're thinking about the language we use all the time, even so much to begin saying social drivers of health as opposed to social determinants of health because of what it might feel like to be told that your health is determined by these factors in your community as opposed to influenced by and do you have the ability to change those factors? So [even] just the word determined versus driver is something that we talk about as well.”
This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Tina Anderson, the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Territory Coach for CVS Health. Tina is often described as the bridge between the healthcare needs of the population and the company. Her grassroots approach drives efforts to insert CVS Health and Aetna as a healthcare partner in every community. Over the course of their conversation they discuss the positive power of collaboration with communities, how Tina’s background in social work equipped her with the tools she uses today to address the social determinants of health (SDoH), addressing the difference in needs between underserved urban and rural communities, and how Tina brings others to help accomplish what often seems, at times, like such a steep task.
On the importance of advocating for those who often feel as though they don’t have a seat at the table, Tina had this to say:
“I've had people really advocate for me on the highest level possible, which I'm so grateful for, because it is necessary, especially for an African American woman in this space, it is not easy. So I [want to] make sure that I point that out because it needs to be pointed out, right? We have to have people who advocate, who support, who understand, who see us, right? And make room for us, and then also remind us that we are enough.”
Denise Scott, President of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), joins host Barbara Petee to provide a breakdown of the intersectional approach her organization takes towards tackling social determinants of health across a variety of communities. When asked how she keeps going when things seem so challenging, Denise simply said:
"I have seen the success of the intentionality around this work. We've made significant accomplishments because we work together, across industries, across sectors. I find that to be one of the most powerful tools that we have. So for me, the North Star really is the rear view mirror telling me that we have some strategies that really work. That focus, that intentionality is what makes the difference."
Larry Burns, President and CEO of the Children’s Foundation, joins host Barbara Petee to discuss the work he leads as well as how the vision and focus of the organization has evolved over the last few years in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. When asked how he would defined health equity, Larry had this to say:
“[health equity] … is having everybody, regardless of where they live, where they come from, or their social economic background have access to healthcare. The United States - to me - is the best country in the world. Healthcare is amazing, but not everybody has the access that I have or that maybe you have. And so just creating programs that give people the opportunity to have the great healthcare that's available to them, [thats important] The solution is complicated, but the problem is easy to identify,”
Billy Shore, founder and executive chair of Share Our Strength, the parent organization for the No Kid Hungry campaign, joins host Barbara Petee to discuss what is possible when organizations work together, lending their unique strengths, to tackle the overwhelming social determinant of childhood hunger. When asked what keeps his team going, Billy commented:
“We look for something that the writer, Jonathan Kozol talks about in terms of picking battles that are big enough to matter, but small enough to win. And we're constantly asking ourselves, ‘What would that be?’ And…our first answer to it was that when it comes to kids in this country who are hungry on a regular basis, that is exactly big enough to matter, but small enough to win. And I think, also, just the notion of holding ourselves accountable to getting specific results. When somebody gives us a donation, whether it's $5 or, or $5,000, they're parting with something that they worked hard for that was precious to them, that they have every right to keep and to use on their own behalf, yet they're giving it away. And we have an obligation, I think of it as a sacred trust to take those resources and turn them into measurable, tangible impact. And so being accountable to that, being willing to invest in measuring the impact that we've had and communicating it and being transparent about where we are against our objectives, those are all the things that I, I think, animate and motivate the team at Share Our Strength.”
DeAnna Minus-Vincent, who currently serves as the Chief Social Justice and Accountability Officer for RWJBarnabas Health, joins host Barbara Petee to discuss the work that must be done in the nation’s efforts towards instituting an anti-racist framework in the health care community. She recounts drawing inspiration from her mother’s activist work, as well as her own experience of dealing with health inequity firsthand. When asked what keeps her going, DeAnna commented:
“What most excites me is creating true change. I think we have embedded social factors into the clinical setting. I think we have changed some policies… and I think we've changed some minds and hearts. It’s been a true collaborative effort. And I think when we train people and there's a-ha moments, like “I didn't know that that was a micro-aggression”; or moving from just talk to action, really giving people the tools…seeing people empowered, seeing the systems change, that’s what keeps us going. And… even though they're small steps and they're baby steps, they're steps in the right direction.”
On this week’s episode Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League (NUL), joins host Barbara Petee to discuss the role of social advocacy groups and community organizing in the long term fight toward achieving health equity.
Here, Morial speaks on the power of volunteerism in creating change; “I think my advice is to find a purpose, or a cause or an organization and volunteer some time. In other words, get in the game. Get in the mix. I am blessed that I have a day job that allows me to do this work full-time. But wherever you sit, corporate America, state, federal or local government, in a non-profit agency in higher ed, you can be a transformative change agent. By working to change that institution, by using the power you have.”
On this week’s episode, host Barbara Petee is joined by Susan Fuehrer of the MetroHealth System in Cleveland, Ohio. Susan, who serves as President of the Institute of H.O.P.E. (Health, Opportunity, Partnership, and Empowerment), works with her team to address the social determinants of health in an ambitious, comprehensive, and coordinated manner.
Susan goes on to say that, “You know, people are recognizing that none of us can do this alone anymore. And we are breaking down barriers amongst healthcare institutions and there's organizations like The Root Cause Coalition that are really stepping up and bringing the collective voice together. [We are] relying on each other to share best practices, identify lessons learned from things that don't work so others don't make the same mistakes. I think what's really brings me hope is that we are, in many ways, working much better together and recognizing that none of us can do this alone, and that the only way we're going to be successful is to form alliances and coalitions and do this work together.”
David Waters, CEO of Community Servings, a critical regional program, providing medically tailored meals (MTMs) plans in Massachusetts and Rhode Island joins host Barbara Petee to discuss the role that MTMs play in tackling a variety of issues often facing underserved communities, both in terms of social justice, food insecurity, and health care.
Waters says, “...When we think of trying to right the ship of healthcare in America, nobody in healthcare was talking about medically tailored meals or food as medicine even five years ago. And it seemed so daunting to get anyone's attention. But through groups like Root Cause and Community Servings and the Food Is Medicine Coalition, I rarely go into a meeting anymore where a doctor, or a healthcare leader, or an insurer doesn't already know the term - medically tailored meals - and know of the research that we've published. So when you think that one person or one small agency can't have an impact, we're doing such major work together and things really are changing.”
Brian Peters, CEO of Michigan Health and Hospital Association (MHA), and Laura Appel, Executive Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy for MHA, join host Barbara Petee to discuss the role of the Association in addressing the social determinants of health, as well as how hospitals and health systems throughout the state of Michigan are tackling these issue to ensure wholistic and appropriate healthcare for all whom they are privileged to serve.
Peters says, “...at the end of the day, when we talk about these challenges, including challenges of social determinants of health and health equity, I think that the first issue is sunlight. Sunlight, meaning we recognize the issue and we can focus attention on it. Sunlight is the best disinfectant -- as you've heard. And by focusing on the issues and rallying people around it, combined with this constant evolution in our level of understanding and technology, we are going to continue this long term path towards an improved healthcare infrastructure. And the MHA is going to be a part of that journey. No question about it. And that excites me.”
Appel adds, “...we didn't know about this yesterday, but every day we get better at this. And that's how I feel about all of the things that we're working on. As many reasons you could have to … despair, every day we're going to get better at this.”
A trailblazer in exploring the roots, implications and consequences of the political determinants of health, as well as a nationally respected voice in the health equity movement, Daniel E. Dawes is highly respected for his work in developing landmark federal policies, including serving as an architect for the Affordable Care Act's Health Equity Focused Provisions.
“We knew something was going to happen on a larger scale, than what had been attempted in the previous Congress,” remarks Dawes. “When it did happen, and Barack Obama became President, and he became the first President to declare [during the campaign] that he was going to ensure the prioritization of health equity -- the elimination of health disparities – in his health reform agenda …we finally, after 150 years, got this agenda in a major health policy, the Affordable Care Act. Today we have 62 provisions that were included in that law. I have seen how many millions of people, including in my own community, have said, ‘I today am alive because of Obamacare.’ “
Dawes serves as the Executive Director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine and is a professor of health law, policy and management. He is the author of two notable and widely respected health policy books, 150 Years of Obamacare and The Political Determinants of Health.
After two-and-a-half years of working through the COVID-19 pandemic, Amy Knight, president of the Children’s Hospital Association and Dr. Angelo Giardino, a pediatrics specialist in Salt Lake City, UT, discuss the dimensions of providing quality healthcare to children with an emphasis on mental health.
Knight says, “Our focus has shifted a little bit. I say with pride, children's hospitals have always done a great job of taking care of kids but we're starting to understand that issues are different and that we can still do better. So right now we're spending a lot of time on mental health. That's not only a children's hospital issue, that's a community issue and we feel like we have a voice to to speak on behalf of kids and families.”
Dr. Giardino adds, “In pediatrics we really are starting to shift our focus from health care to children's health. Health care has a lot to do with the visit to the doctor's office, meeting with the doctor and the nurse and the other professionals. But, working with children and families and the communities that they live in it is much more important to focus on social health and emotional health. We're seeing that kids are struggling and particularly in the behavioral health or mental health arena.”
Rachelle Reyes Wenger, System Vice President of Public Policy & Advocacy Engagement for CommonSpirit Health, joins host Barbara Petee to discuss the power of collaboration in the face of seemingly insurmountable societal obstacles. From climate change to social justice reform to health inequity, Rachelle believes that through the determination of many working in lockstep, change is always possible.
“I think what the beauty is about collaborating with so many different folks within the RCC (Root Cause Coalition), is because we have the advantage of not only looking through our own individual lens, but through the lens of others within healthcare and our friends outside of healthcare. Those who are really committed to this work and who have various ways of looking at the problem, I think that's really what's needed and also what Congress needs to hear.”
Ruth Ann Norton, President and CEO of the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI), joins host Barbara Petee to discuss the importance of a healthy home environment as a determinant to achieving health equity.
“I think we are doing some of the most groundbreaking work on the intersection of climate, healthy housing and healthcare. Helping to inspire healthcare to invest in occupied housing as an incredible opportunity for justice of equity and a path of a high trajectory for low income families to move out of poverty,”
Michelline Davis, the president and Chief Executive Officer of National Medical Fellowships, Inc. (NMF), leads her organization's mission of creating greater representation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in medical professions. By advocating for greater representation in the practice and leadership of healthcare, Davis is working for equity in employment, and as a result, greater health equity in in underserved communities.
“Ensuring that there are more black indigenous persons of color — who are at present underrepresented in medicine — are in leadership at healthcare systems and in healthcare structures across this country [will lead to] administrative operational and clinical decisions that help us to eliminate, not just reduce, health disparities,” says Davis
Katy Crosby, Town Manager of Town of Apex, North Carolina, discusses the dire need for a focus on addressing economic wealth as a core to achieving health equity.
“I think your access to wealth or your economic condition really does impact your health,” says Crosby. “So I decided to focus on economic justice. And how do you build wealth? Because I felt like that was the foundation of so many of our life conditions, right? The more wealth that you have, the better health outcomes that you have.”
Rep. Jim McGovern, a passionate advocate for food equity, joins Root Cause Coalition president Barbara Petee, for an exclusive interview detailing the goals of the upcoming White House Summit on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.
"One of things that I think will be helpful is the fact that the White House is going to elevate the voices of those with lived experiences," says McGovern. "I think one of the problems we have had in the past is that we talk about initiatives and programs and we throw numbers and statistics and graphs and all kinds of interesting studies. But I think we've lost our human ability to feel what's behind those numbers and statistics."
The 2022 White House Summit on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, will be the first time IN MORE THAN 50 years that the Executive Branch will focus their efforts to "accelerate progress and drive significant change to end hunger, improve nutrition and physical activity, reduce diet-related disease, and close the disparities around them."
Emily Allen, the Interim President and Senior Vice-President, Programs, AARP Foundation, discusses their work ending systemic barriers by “focusing on populations that have historically been marginalized or experienced systemic racism and discrimination.”
In addition to relying on strong data sets to guide their work, AARP Foundation also relies heavily on real-time human interaction with the people they are serving to ensure their insights and their input become part of the Foundation’s action plans to create equitable outcomes.
Melissa Fox is the Chief Operating Officer for Acenda Integrated Health. Acenda is an integrated health care organization dedicated to world-class prevention, treatment and wellness services. Their care is compassionately delivered to ensure that every individual, family and community achieves their greatest potential.
Fox’s dedication to serving communities who are typically denied adequate levels of care and services stems from her childhood. She speaks of the challenges she encountered growing up, “There weren't really good systems in place to help people. When you saw people dying and getting really ill, people just accepted it because there was nowhere to send them and no way to really treat them.”
Inspired by the women role models in her life, including her mother who worked as a nurse, Fox brings a sense of urgency to her work. She says, “The longer we take to get these programs in place and get the communities help, the more people are dying and the more people are hurting and we can't have that on us. So, that's what's really driven me. And that's what continues to drive me every day.”
Randy Oostra, the CEO of ProMedica, a nationally-recognized, mission-driven, not-for-profit health and well-being organization with services in more than 25 states, discusses the need to address the social determinants of health in America. Oostra says “We need to call on health organizations to really begin to look at data and really start to make people aware of biases in healthcare. We know many, many, many people can't afford care. What are we doing about it? I would argue, not enough. We're making progress but it can't come fast enough.”
Oostra also told host Barbara Petee, “We have to commit ourselves to a national dialogue to think about the future of health and well-being. It is now time to have a different dialogue, a different discussion. And given what's happened over the last three or four years now is the perfect time to do that.”
Lisa Marsh Ryerson, former president of the AARP Foundation, discusses how the health of older Americans is being negatively impacted by social isolation. We know from research that social isolation has very devastating health outcomes,” says Ryerson. “Everyone can take steps to ensure that individuals have a reliable social network and connections to the community resources and supports that help them thrive. [This] has been some of my most important work.”
Ryerson and host Barbara Petee, also examine the importance of optimism when addressing some of the nation’s most pressing health care crises.
Barb Petee, the president of The Root Cause Coalition, previews the organization's new podcast highlighting conversations with health equity leaders across the country to provide common sense solutions to the underlying injustices that prevent all Americans from living a life of health and well-being.