Public Health Out Loud: Recent Episodes
Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan
Public Health Out Loud is a podcast that delves into the broader public health concerns and issues facing everyday Rhode Islanders. From discussions about safeguarding against future pandemics to actionable plans for families to help keep their loved ones safe from preventable diseases, Public Health Out Loud is a no nonsense resource for listeners who want to stick to the facts. With all that’s going on in the world at every hour of the day, podcast hosts Dr. James McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan promise to deliver accurate, light-hearted, and informative public health updates that matter to you. This podcast is brought to you by the Rhode Island Department of Health.
As the national cyclosporiasis foodborne outbreak continues to grow, so do questions and concerns. In this episode, Dr. Brendalee Viveiros, Chief of RIDOH’s Center for Food Protection talks about what we know, how foodborne illness investigations like this one work, and steps you can take to reduce your risk.
Rhode Islanders have been hearing frequent news reports about animals testing positive for rabies in heavily populated areas. While we are seeing an increase here in the Ocean State, there are steps you can take to protect yourself. In this episode, Chuck McGinnis,aRIDOH Public Health Nurse and Alexia Larson,a Public Health Epidemiologist, both from RIDOH’s Center for Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology, talk about what the data show, how to avoid animal bites, and more.
Rhode Island’s healthcare shortage, workforce gaps, and other challenges affect access to care for all who live here. But a movement has been underway for some time to ensure the State has a steady supply of dedicated, well-trained, and highly skilled workers.
In this episode, Rick Brooks, director of Health Workforce Transformation at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, talks about current initiatives and the importance of having a workforce that is reflective of the diversity of the communities - and individuals - whom they serve.
Viruses like Ebola, hantavirus, and measles are common in today’s news, and can be a cause for concern, especially during large events like the FIFA World Cup. As thousands of spectators travel to Rhode Island and other nearby states this month, should biothreats - or even bioterrorism - be on our radar? In this episode, Dr. Charles McKay, a retired physician trained in emergency medicine and medical toxicology talks about biological threats and gives practical information on how we can all be better prepared in our communities.
Drowning is a leading cause of death in childhood, especially for children age 1 to 4. But prevention measures are needed at all ages. In this episode, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Specialist, Rebecca Wingerter and Executive Director of Stages of Freedom, Ray Rickman talk about water safety measures, the disparities that exist among Black and low income people, and the skills everyone should know that could save a life.
In this episode, Yale School of Public Health’s Dean, Dr. Megan Ranney, talks about what the data show and what can potentially be done to address gun violence and mass shootings. Even here in Rhode Island, gun violence has made recent headlines. In December, an armed suspect killed two students at Brown University and wounded nine others. In February, an armed shooter killed two and injured three others before turning the gun on themselves at a high school hockey game in Pawtucket. But prevention is about more than making legislation.
A new, independent film coming to Rhode Island this weekend. The Chaplain and the Doctor follows ICU physician, palliative care doctor, and filmmaker, Jessica Zitter, and her collaboration with a hospital chaplain named Betty Clark. The film explores how compassion, curiosity, and interdisciplinary collaboration can transform the care of patients and families during some of the hardest moments of their lives. In this episode, Dr. Jessica Zitter talks about her film, her experience, and a new kind of care - one that honors the diverse backgrounds of patients, and the most human needs we all share.
When Rhode Island voted to legalize cannabis use for adults in 2022, it signaled a shift in public attitudes toward the drug. But as cannabis becomes more widely used, health and safety risks like impaired driving can be a serious concern. Make no mistake – driving under the influence is illegal and dangerous no matter the substance. However, studies have shown that cannabis may not be perceived in the same light as alcohol or other drugs. In this episode, Mark Schieldrop, of AAA Northeast, talks about the data surrounding cannabis and driving, as well as a program that AAA has spearheaded to shift gears in the perception of risk among young people.
They're in our air, our water, and even our bodies! Microplastics are tiny - even microscopic - but their impact on our health and our environment is anything but. University of Rhode Island’s, Dr. Vinka Craver joins Public Health Out Loud for this season six premiere to share some horrifying truths about microplastics in our world.
Learn more about the Socio-ecological Impact of Microplastics in Coastal Ecosystems Project.
Bullying is a major public health issue that can have a long-term impact on health and development. Unfortunately, despite its seriousness, the issue is common and widespread. About one in five high school students reported being bullied on school property in the past year. More than one in six high school students reported being bullied online or electronically.
In this episode, Stephanie Pagliarini, a school psychologist working hard to change the social norms among young students at the George J. West Elementary School in Providence, and Maria Garcia, School Psychology Practicum graduate student at Rhode Island College, share information and some real-world advice for parents and caregivers.
There’s no doubt that donating blood can save lives. But winter is one of the most difficult times of year to collect enough blood products. Holiday schedules, seasonal illnesses, and the recent extreme weather means that the folks over at the Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC) are scrambling to meet patient needs. In this episode, RIBC Vice President of Operations, Hunter Shaffer talks about the current shortage, challenges to maintaining the supply, and how we can all do our part.
For more information visit ribc.org and download the Rhode Island Blood Center App.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing our culture and the way we live our lives in so many ways. While we may not understand its full potential yet, we do know it can, and in many ways has already revolutionized many industries and fields of study.
In this episode, Dr. Atin Jindal, assistant professor of medicine and director of medical informatics at Brown University joins Dr. Philip Chan for a fascinating discussion on how AI technology is being used to improve health, what the future may look like in this area, potential challenges, and more.
It’s called “hygiene insecurity” and while you may not be aware of it, there is an overwhelming need for hygiene products in the state. An estimated 38% of Rhode Island families struggle to afford hygiene products, and 2 in 5 individuals struggle to purchase menstruation products. Amenity Aid, Rhode Island’s only hygiene bank, would like to eliminate this problem. In this episode, the organization’s Founder and Executive Director, Liz Duggan and Board Chair, James Rajotte talk about how they accomplish their mission.
Alcohol is the most used substance among adults in the United States despite being known to cause cancer, liver disease, cardiomyopathy, and more. Approximately 600 people die in Rhode Island every year from excessive alcohol use. In this episode, Linda Mahoney, associate director for the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals and Emily Ledingham, senior alcohol epidemiologist at the Rhode Island Department of Health talk about what people need to know and where to find help when it's needed.
The holidays are upon us but respiratory viruses like COVID-19, Flu, and RSV don’t make great gifts. In this episode, Dr. Suzanne Bornschein, State Epidemiologist at the Rhode Island Department of Health, shares the best ways to keep viruses from spreading to our friends, to our loved ones, and in our communities.
For more information and data, visit health.ri.gov/respiratoryviruses.
While much of the national conversation about overdose focuses on younger populations, a new campaign spearheaded by our state health and behavioral health agencies aims to prevent drug overdose deaths among middle-aged and older Rhode Islanders. In this episode, Steven Boudreau, director of equity and engagement and the public information officer at the Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging and Linda Mahoney, associate director for the RI Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals join Dr. Chan to explain that "No Matter Why You Use," help and resources are available in Rhode Island.
It’s not easy for adults and adolescents to know where to find accurate and trusted sexual and reproductive health information. In this episode, Karin Wetherill, co-director of Rhode Island Healthy Schools Coalition joins us to talk about a new app that might just make the learning process a little easier. It’s called “RIght to Know” and it connects young people and caregivers with the facts about their sexual and reproductive health.
RIght To Know is available on the Google Play and Apple App Stores or by visiting righttoknowapp.com.
For free promotional materials, visit righttoknowapp.com/about
To request a presentation or community event, please contact karin.wetherill@rihsc.org
There’s been a lot of talk about Acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol, in the news – specifically the claim that there is a link between this over-the-counter pain reliever and Autism. In this episode, Dr. Yvette Yatchmink, formerly the clinical director of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, shares what we know from the data and what it means for pregnant people.
Animal-assisted therapy - what is it and how effective is it in a therapeutic setting? In this episode, Kerri Lynch, Director of Occupational Therapy at Butler Hospital and Susan Parker, President and Founder of Paws From the Heart Pet Therapy share what they know based on their years of experience working with these unique and highly-trained pets.
Problem gambling - it's on the rise here in Rhode Island but it's not just happening at the casino or the racetrack. Online forms like sports betting have become a powerful draw for many. How does one know when it’s become a problem? What are the warning signs? In this episode, Dr. Samantha Rosenthal, a professor of Health Science at Johnson & Wales University and Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at Brown School of Public Health joins Dr. Chan to talk about what to look out for, who is most at risk, and much more.
September is suicide prevention month. It’s a time to raise awareness, dispel stigma, and take action around this urgent mental health issue. In this episode, the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Area Director, Kerrie Constant and Board Chair, Keely Taylor talk about how we can best look out for each other and take steps to prevent suicide in our communities.
To learn more about the work of AFSP, visit afsp.org.
For Rhode Island based suicide prevention resources, visit Preventsuicideri.org.
After losing his son to cancer five years ago, Dr. George Beauregard, a twenty-year internal medicine physician and life-long resident of Massachusetts, used his grief to spread an important message. In this episode he joins Dr. Philip Chan to talk about his new book, “Reservations for Nine: A Doctor's Family Confronts Cancer,” as well as important advice on prevention and symptoms that should not be ignored.
To learn more about Dr. Beauregard's book, visit www.georgebeauregard.com
August is National Breastfeeding Month – a time to celebrate and bring awareness to breastfeeding. In this episode, Mary Catherine or “MC” Curran, a WIC lactation consultant and nutritionist at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and RIDOH’s own Dr. Olutosin Ojugbele, a pediatrician at Hasbro Children's Hospital and assistant professor of pediatrics at Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine talk about why breastmilk is the perfect nutrition, how support is key to success, and how the Rhode Island is taking part in this annual observance.
It's National Health Center Week - a time to recognize and celebrate the role of health centers in our communities. These nonprofit clinics provide affordable, high-quality care to more than 200,000 Rhode Islanders. At a time when primary care is at a critical shortage in Rhode Island, the community health center model may be just what the doctor ordered. In this episode, Dr. Elena Kwetkowski, chief medical officer at Comprehensive Community Action Program in Coventry and Karen LaChapelle, medical director and nurse practitioner at Tri County Community Action Agency in Johnston fill us in on their critical work and how funding challenges and low reimbursement rates may hinder their ability to serve.
There has been a lot of talk about cannabis in the news lately and some people question whether cannabis is the answer to a wide variety of health conditions, including pregnancy-related morning sickness, anxiety, and sleep disorders. But what should you know about cannabis products if you are planning a family?
In this episode, Dr. Mara Coyle, a neonatologist at Women & Infants Hospital and professor of pediatrics at the Warren Alpert Medical School, joins Dr. Chan to share some of her clinical experience and research-based insight into the effects of cannabis on babies, both during, and after pregnancy.
Every community has its own story. These stories are shaped by it’s residents, as well as policies and systems that influence community well-being. Comparing data by neighborhood or zip code, can not only help tell that story, but can also help shape policies that better serve those communities. In this episode, RIDOH's Michelle Wilson, chief of the Health Equity Institute and JoAnna House, a manger on the COVID Data Team join Dr. Chan to give specific examples of why data is critically important, especially when it comes to health equity.
Resources: Rhode Island COVID-19 Tiers Data Brief
June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month – a time to raise awareness about the mental health challenges faced by men and boys. In this episode, Dr. Samantha Rosenthal, a professor of Health Science at Johnson & Wales University and adjunct professor of Epidemiology at Brown School of Public Health joins Dr. Chan to talk about why encouraging men to prioritize their well-being and seek help when needed is so important.
While there are studies that show cannabis may be useful in alleviating pain, nausea, and other symptoms associated with certain medical conditions, some doctors and researchers are seeing a rise in unexpected and serious health problems linked to its use – including cannabis use disorder, cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, and even psychosis. In this episode, Dr. Rachel Wightman, an emergency physician who has been at the forefront of treating patients affected by these conditions joins Dr. Philip Chan to help us understand these emerging issues.
Palliative and hospice care can both have a huge impact on one’s quality of life during serious illness. How do these types of care differ and when are they important? In this episode, Dr. Chan sits down with Diana Franchitto and Dr. Jennifer Ritzau of HopeHealth, a nonprofit palliative and hospice care organization in Rhode Island, to answer these questions and more.
May is Older American’s Month and a good time to think about our needs as we age and those of the older adults in our communities. In this episode, Deb Burton,a social gerontologist and executive director of RI Elder Info joins Dr. Chan to highlight some important considerations that everyone should be thinking about. Her message is clear: regardless of age, planning in advance is key.
Children often face a wide range of struggles like social challenges, difficulties at school, substance use, and so much more. As any parent or caregiver knows, helping a child can be overwhelming at times. Where can one turn for help? In this episode, Ashley Gingerella O’Shea, director of strategic communications at Rhode Island’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services joins Dr. Philip Chan to discuss a new and much-needed resource to help parents navigate children’s behavioral health.
For parents and caregivers, please visit kids.ri.gov/behavioral-health for information to guide you in finding support, resources, and answers to many of your questions.
Sexual violence affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men nationally - and it can happen anywhere, usually by someone you know. In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, RIDOH’s Dr. Staci Fischer, medical director and chief administrative officer for the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline and Angela Kemp, prevention coordinator for RIDOH's Violence and Injury Prevention Program join Dr. Philip Chan to talk about the types of sexual assault, what you need to know in general, and even how to handle it somewhere you may not expect - in the care of a healthcare professional.
This episode of Public Health Out Loud covers topics related to sexual violence that some listeners may find difficult to listen to. Listeners are encouraged to reach out to the RI Victims of Crime Helpline for support and advocacy as needed at: 1-800-494-8100 or helplineri.com.
March is National Sleep Awareness Month. Sleep is a precious commodity when there is a newborn in the home - but did you know that HOW an infant sleeps is very important to their safety? In this episode, RIDOH’s Chief of the Safe Sleep Program, Margo Katz joins Dr. Philip Chan to talk about what parents and caregivers need to know to keep babies healthy during their slumber.
Alexandra Dowding and her family nearly died from a silent killer - carbon monoxide. The odorless, invisible gas made them very sick and forced them out of their West Warwick home. In this episode, Dowding joins Dr. Philip Chan, along with Jason Rhodes, RIDOH's Chief of the Center for Emergency Medical Services to talk about what you need to know and how you can protect yourself and your loved ones from carbon monoxide poisoning.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan talks about measles with Dr. Suzanne Bornschein, RIDOH's infectious disease state epidemiologist. From recent outbreaks to risk factors and symptoms, download and listen to find out the best and safest way to protect yourself.
Imagine if there was a way to help create supportive, stigma-free environments for people living with substance use and mental health conditions, especially in the workplace. The Rhode Island Recovery-Friendly Workplace Initiative aims to do just that. Jeffrey Wolfsberg, program director for the Recovery-Friendly Workplace Program at the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, & Hospitals (BHDDH) joins Dr. Philip Chan in this episode to talk about how the initiative not only supports the workforce but can also boost a business's bottom line.
In this episode, Jonathan Lucero McKinney, a physician assistant at Care New England Medical Group’s Internal Medicine Center in Pawtucket, Rhode Island and co-host of the Outloud YouTube channel, joins Dr. Philip Chan to discuss the Rhode Island Department of Health's PrEP Champions Network. The network helps connect people with PrEP - a medication that can help prevent the spread of HIV. Download and listen to find out how anyone in the state can find a participating PrEP Champions Network clinic near them to access this medication, as well as trusted, stigma-free, sexual healthcare.
January is Radon Awareness Month - a time to call attention to the dangers of this silent killer. What is radon and how common is it? How do you know if you have radon lurking in your home? In this episode, Alex Yelle, an industrial hygienist for RIDOH's Radon and Asbestos Control Programs joins Dr. Chan to answer these questions and talk about how you can protect yourself and your family.
It's a new year and many people are setting resolutions for better health. If you are looking to make time for weight loss, healthier eating, physical activity, and even prevention and management of chronic diseases like Diabetes – then you won't want to miss this episode. Download and listen as Erica Hanson, the Rhode Island Department of Health's Community Health Network manager and Ana Almeida-DoRosário, community outreach coordinator at the Brown University Health, Community Health Institute join Dr. Philip Chan to discuss the no and low-cost resources available to help with a new you, in the new year.
RIDOH Oral Health Program Dental Director, Dr. Samuel Zwetchkenbaum joins Dr. Philip Chan in this episode to talk about a subject that’s gotten some recent media attention – fluoride. Why is it added to some public water systems and how does it benefit oral health? While there has been quite a lot of discussion following the release of a major study on fluoride in drinking water, Dr. Zwetchkenbaum shares what he knows on the subject and sets the record straight.
November 21st is the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, an annual event that encourages people to quit smoking or reduce their tobacco and nicotine use for at least 24 hours to live a healthier life and reduce their cancer risk. Ámbar Delgado, Manager of Advocacy at Tobacco Free RI Statewide Network, talks about why reducing tobacco and nicotine use should still be on our radar and highlights the resources available to all Rhode Islanders who want to quit.
Every landlord in Rhode Island is now required by law to register their residential rental properties in a new Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH)-managed database, which was launched in September. RIDOH’s Deputy Director, Seema Dixit joins us to answer your questions about the Rental Registry. Why does this registry exist and what is required? What happens if a property owner doesn't register? How can landlords obtain the required lead certificate? Download and listen to get answers to these questions and more.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Often referred to as intimate partner violence, it affects roughly 48 percent - nearly half- of all women and about 41 percent of all men at least once in their lifetime. In this episode, Dr. Chan is joined by Dr. Cynthia Roberts, senior evaluator from the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Dr. Samantha Rosenthal, a professor of health science at Johnson & Wales University and adjunct professor of epidemiology at Brown School of Public Health, for a conversation about how data are used to understand some of the causes of intimate partner violence, effective prevention strategies, and the importance of raising awareness.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the 24-hour Rhode Island statewide helpline at 1-800-494-8100 or visit RICADV.org and click on the “Need Help” tab.
Additional Resources:
Pregnancy-Associated Violence in Rhode Island: The Data Landscape
RIDOH's Violence and Injury Prevention Program
September is Suicide Prevention Month. It’s an important time to remember lives lost and acknowledge the huge impact suicide has had on our communities. It’s also a time to bring awareness to the suicide prevention efforts in Rhode Island. In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Chan is joined by the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Area Director, Kerrie Constant and Board Chair, Keely Taylor. They share their own personal experiences and discuss how everyone can have a role in preventing suicide.
Additional resources:
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline – If you or someone you know are having thoughts of suicide; experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis; or are in emotional distress, you can call or text 988 or chat with 988 at 988lifeline.org. Trained crisis counselors are available 24/7.
- Bradley Hospital’s Kids’ Link -. Kids’ Link is a behavioral health triage service and referral network. The program is offered in collaboration with Gateway Healthcare, Lifespan, Hasbro Children's Hospital and Bradley Hospital. Kids’ Link RI is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help triage children and youth in need of mental health services and refer them to treatment providers. 1-855-543-5465
- Parent Coach RI is a free 30-day text messaging service that provides parents/caregivers with helpful tips and information to support the youth in their lives through mental and behavioral challenges. tinyurl.com/3fekw78w
- PreventSuicideRI.org for additional state and national resources, training opportunities, and suicide data.
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that can follow an injury or infection and can affect anyone, regardless of age. There is treatment, but it's critical to act fast. In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Chan is joined by Tara Cirella, a local mom who tragically lost her daughter, Gianna, to sepsis a few years ago and Dr. Lee Polikoff, a pediatric critical care specialist at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. He was one of the physicians in charge of Gianna’s care and is an expert on sepsis. They'll talk about understanding the signs and symptoms of sepsis and the importance of asking questions and advocating for our loved ones if there is a chance they could be suffering from sepsis. It could save a life. This is an episode you won't want to miss.
September is National Preparedness Month. It's also the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane season! In this episode, Dr. Chan talks with Andrea Creach, from RIDOH's Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response, about how hurricanes and other weather events can impact our health, and what we can do to prepare and protect ourselves from the effects of these types of emergencies.
National Community Health Worker Awareness Week is August 26-30, 2024 but in truth, Community Health Workers, or CHWs, could easily be celebrated all year. That's because they serve as trusted community leaders, expert problem solvers, and culturally competent subject matter experts-- often bridging the gap between their community's needs and important health or social services. In this episode, Dr. Philip Chan sits down with certified CHWs Rachel Young of the Rhode Island Alliance for Community Health Worker Employers, and Kinzel Thomas, from Family Services-RI. As we celebrate, commemorate, and collaborate with CHWs for National CHW Awareness Week, there's no better time to discuss the CHW profession's impact, what unique skills CHWs bring to care teams, certification, and why their roles are so important in clinical or community settings. For more information and support, we also recommend: * Video for Employers: Rhode Island CHWs ~ Your Bridge to Better Health * Rhode Island Alliance for CHW Employers: ripin.org/allianceforchwemployers/ * Family Services-RI: familyserviceri.org/ * Rhode Island Department of Health, CHW Program: health.ri.gov/chws * Community Health Worker Association of Rhode Island: chwari.org/ * Caring Careers-RI: caringcareers.ri.gov/ * National Association of Community Health Workers: nachw.org
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan talks with Dr. Jerome Larkin, the new Rhode Island Department of Health Director about his background, what led him to accept this position, and a look ahead at his top priorities for the Department. He also covers a topic that happens to be one of his specialties - ticks and the diseases they carry.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud we are talking about a program whose motto says it all: “We’re here for you.” The Rhode Island Department of Health's Family Visiting Program has provided prenatal support and services for infants and toddlers to improve outcomes for many years. Download and listen in as Dr. Chan is joined by Sara Remington, the Family Visiting Program Manager and Roxanne Leite, Co-chair of the Rhode Island Parent/Caregiver Advisory Council and former Family Visiting Program graduate. Together, they detail all the program has to offer, attest to its success, and share information on who qualifies for these important visits and how to get started.
Dr. Omar Bah, a former journalist, fled his home in The Gambia when he became a wanted man for criticizing the country’s then-dictator. Inspired by his own experience, Bah founded the Refugee Dream Center in Providence to offer post-resettlement support to other refugees in the state. He joins Dr. Chan in this episode to talk about his motivation for starting this valuable resource, and much more. What are some of the biggest hurdles facing those seeking asylum? What services are helpful in bridging the cultural gaps? Download and listen to find out.
You’ve probably heard about avian influenza or bird flu in the news recently, as it has made the jump to other species, like dairy cows. What is the risk to the general public? Is it safe to drink milk? In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, local experts, Dr. Suzanne Bornschein, State Epidemiologist at the Rhode Island Department of Health, and Dr. Scott Marshall, State Veterinarian at the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management fill us in on what we do know about the currently circulating strains and what we can do to reduce the risk of infection.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan is joined by a guest with over 40 year's experience working to change the way we care for older adults and people with dementia. In honor of Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, Brown University Researcher, Dr. Vincent Mor talks about his research, steps we can all take to improve our brain health, and more.
For more information, check out The Rhode Island Department of Health's Guide for People Living with Dementia and Their Caregivers.
May is Older American’s Month, a time when we recognize the contributions of the older adults in our lives and revisit our commitments to serve them in our communities. But how can we best support them and ensure they are aging in a healthy way? In this episode, Dr. Chan is joined by Maria Cimini, Director of the Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging, to talk about how healthy aging differs for everyone and the importance of connecting our elders to the services they may need.
May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. Being physically active is essential for staying healthy but what role does physical therapy, or PT, play? In this episode, Dr. Paul Ullucci, director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Johnson and Wales University joins RIDOH's Dr. Philip Chan to talk about the benefits of PT, what to expect from a physical therapist, and insights for anyone considering a career in this in-demand field.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Chan sits down with psychiatrist and professor, Dr. Paul Wallace, to talk about mental health – from a few of the common types of mental health conditions, to when it may be best to seek treatment – and from whom. Download and give a listen. #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #NMHAM
April is not only World Autism Month but also Autism Acceptance Month. Here in Rhode Island, the Autism Project has provided quality support, training, and programming - for children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD, since 1997. In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Chan talks with the organization’s Executive Director, Joanne Quinn about what everyone should know about individuals on the spectrum and their eye-opening campaign to help first responders, and others, understand how best to help people with ASD during an emergency.
There’s a lot of talk these days about the benefits of being mindful. But a recently published study led by Brown University researchers suggests mindfulness isn’t just good for one’s mental and emotional well-being. It’s also beneficial for our physical health. In this episode of Public Health Out Loud Dr. Philip Chan is joined by Dr. Eric Loucks, director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, to explain how being mindful - about what we eat - can help dramatically lower blood pressure.
WIC - which is short for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Education Program for Women, Infants, and Children - is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month. In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan is joined by RIDOH’s own Ann Barone, Chief for the Office of Women, Infants, and Children to talk about the program’s history and the positive impact it has had on so many families over the years.
The CDC recently released data showing that nationally, there has been a sharp rise in congenital syphilis. Cases have more than tripled in recent years in the US, with 3,700 cases reported in 2022 alone. Here in Rhode Island we’ve seen several cases of congenital syphilis after over a decade of having none. What is causing this increase and what can be done to prevent it from happening? On this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan is joined Dr. Erica Hardy, Director for the Division of Infectious Disease at Women & Infants Hospital and Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Obstetrics, and Gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University to discuss the answers to these questions and more.
Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease among children but it is also completely preventable. In honor of National Children’s Dental Health Month, Dr. Philip Chan sat down with Katherine Linwood, communications manager at TeethFirst!, a group that provides educational resources on the importance of early dental care. Download and listen in as she touches on the importance of dental care from a very young age and what parents, healthcare, and dental professionals can do to help ensure children are getting the care they need.
In public health, the term “emergency preparedness” has become linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. But public health emergency preparedness encompasses so much more. In fact, Rhode Islanders all over the State come into contact with people who work in public health emergency preparedness, they just may not know it. In this episode Alysia Mihalakos from the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response talks with Dr. Philip Chan about public health emergency preparedness, recent responses to emergencies, why preparedness is important to health, and what Rhode Islanders can do to protect their health in emergencies.
A blood transfusion occurs in the US every two seconds. Some examples of those in need include cancer patients; accident, burn, or trauma victims; newborn babies and their mothers; transplant recipients; or surgery patients. Despite blood being critical to saving lives, only 4% of Rhode Island's eligible population actually donates blood. In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan talks with Caitlin Grimaldi-Flick, marketing and communications manager at the Rhode Island Blood Center about the importance of donating blood.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, RIDOH's Dr. Philip Chan sits down with colleagues Nathaniel Fuchs and Sarah Edwards. Nathaniel is an epidemiologist who works with data about non-fatal opioid overdoses. Sarah Edwards is from RIDOH’s Drug Overdose Prevention Program, and her focus is on working with communities. Together, they explain how the Department’s enhanced data tracking system identifies upticks in drug overdoses that allow Rhode Island communities to respond in real time.
In 2022, 75% of overdose deaths involved illicit fentanyl, a highly potent opioid. In this episode, Dr. Philip Chan is joined by Bryan Volpe, a Drug Intelligence Officer at The New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and Dr. Louis Marchetti, Chief of Operations at the Center for Clinical Toxicology and Laboratory Support, at the Rhode Island State Health Laboratories for a look at what's being done to keep Rhode Islanders safe from a deadly drug supply.
Dr. Jan Carney, Associate Dean for Public Health and Health Policy and Professor of Medicine at the University of Vermont and author of the book Public Health: From Past to Present joins Dr. Philip Chan for a candid conversation on the topic of public health. With workforce shortages and professional burnout, what does the future look like for the field? What are some of the biggest lessons learned from past events? What challenges lie ahead? Check it out on this episode of Public Health Out Loud.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, the Rhode Island Department of Health's Dr. Philip Chan is joined by Dr. Jeffrey Borkan to explore a problem that affects everyone – a shortage of primary care physicians in RI. It’s causing long waits for appointments and the inability, in many cases, for doctors to take on new patients. What's causing the shortage, why should we care, and can anything be done to remedy this issue? Download this latest episode to find out.
As unusual weather patterns, heat waves, floods, and other catastrophic events in unlikely places seem to be on the rise, climate change continues to be a hot topic. In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan is joined by climate scientists Dr. Gaurab Basu, Director of Education and Policy at the Harvard School of Public Health’s Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment and Rachel Calabro, Climate Policy Specialist with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for a frank discussion on some of the alarming changes we are seeing around the world. Is climate change responsible for some of the unusual weather we’ve been seeing? How does it directly impact public health, and are there positive steps we can take to reduce those impacts here in the Ocean State? Download this episode for the answers to these questions and many more.
In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Krista Cunningham and Dr. Cynthia Roberts from the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence sat down with the Rhode Island Department of Health's Dr. Philip Chan for a serious look at the causes of domestic and intimate partner violence, how they can be addressed for prevention, and the work that still needs to be done, both in Rhode Island and nationally.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Chan discusses the importance of oral health with local dentists, Dr. Sam Zwetchkenbaum and Dr. Jeff Dodge and their role in the Rhode Island Mission of Mercy. This two-day, annual event, has provided thousands of Rhode Islanders, who may not have regular access, with free dental care. Download and listen in as the conversation also explores the need for more oral health professionals in Rhode Island, and how young people interested in going into the profession have the opportunity to help eliminate dental health inequities and, in Dr. Dodge's words, "make the world a better place."
Seventy five percent of mental illness begins before the age of 25 and 50% before the age of 14.In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan sits down with Erik Ewers, a documentary filmmaker whose recent film "Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness” sheds light on these startling mental health statistics through the lens of 23 young people growing up in America. They bravely shared their deeply personal stories with the goal of helping others. Download and listen in for some of the details behind the scenes, the common threads those featured in the film shared, and where you can check out this remarkable, four-hour documentary.
In this episode, Dr. Philip Chan sits down with Johnson and Wales University's Korina Ramsland Short and Roger Williams University's Dr. Jen Stanley to discuss a serious topic before the start of the fall semester. It can be difficult and uncomfortable to discuss, but it is important to talk about it openly and honestly. The topic? Sexual violence prevention. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted. What conversations can parents and other adults have with young people to help them avoid becoming a statistic? What is being done to make college campuses safer for students? How can we normalize conversations around consent? Download this episode of Public Health Out Loud to hear what some local experts have to say.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan takes a deep dive into the world of acupuncture with Providence Community Acupuncture's Cris Monteiro. What is the science behind acupuncture? What's being done to make this centuries-old practice more available to everyone? Download this latest episode for the answers to these questions and many more.
After a mild winter, more ticks than usual survived into the spring. Because of this, the Rhode Island Department of Health and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management have warned Rhode Islanders that this year could be a bad year for the transmission of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. On this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan sits down with infectious disease expert Dr. Jerome Larkin to discuss how tick-borne diseases can impact human health, some ways to minimize your risk, and much more.
One in every three cancers diagnosed is a skin cancer and one in every five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. Are you playing it safe this summer? Dr. Philip Chan explores the best ways to protect yourself with local skin cancer expert Dr. Abrar Qureshi, Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the Warren Alpert Medical School and Professor of Dermatology and Epidemiology at Brown University. What should you look for in an effective sun block? Does a hat with a wide brim really work? Find out in this latest episode of Public Health Out Loud.
During the Public Health Emergency (or PHE), the federal government paused annual renewals for the Medicaid Program to ensure no one lost access to health insurance coverage during the pandemic. Now that the PHE has ended, the Medicaid recertification process began again in Rhode Island on April 1. In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan is joined by Kristin Sousa, Director of the Medicaid Program, at the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services to share some important information about the program. Why is Medicaid so important? What do Rhode Islanders need to know about the renewal process and how many people will be affected? Download this week’s episode to find out.
The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the already significant rise in depression and anxiety, for everyone, but especially for youth. In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan is joined by Dr. Joseph Trunzo, practicing psychologist, incoming president of the Rhode Island Psychological Association, and chair of the Department of Psychology at Bryant University. What factors contribute to a person’s mental well-being and how does physical health play a role? How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect mental health in Rhode Island? How is a shortage of mental health workers fueling a growing healthcare crisis? Download this week’s episode to find out.
It’s been a couple months since the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, but many people still have questions about its environmental and health impacts. What do we know about the chemicals that were being transported on that train? What can we learn about crisis communications from this event? How concerned do we need to be about chemical exposure in general and how do we evaluate our risk? Download the latest episode of Public Health Out Loud to get answers from our local experts Dr. Mike Byrns, the principle environmental health risk assessment toxicologist at the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH; Joseph Wendelken, the public information officer at RIDOH; and Mike Healey, the public information officer at the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
In this week’s episode of the Public Health Out Loud podcast, Dr. Philip Chan is joined by Dr. Kara Cucinotta and Mallory Sullivan from Johnson and Wales University. They’re talking about all things diet and nutrition. How does what we eat and drink impact our health? How can we improve education about healthy eating habits? What role has social media played in promoting harmful diet culture? Download this week’s episode to find out.
With national and local headlines about overdoses, fentanyl, and xylazine, it’s important to know about the risks of substance use and the local drug supply. In this week’s Public Health Out Loud podcast, Dr. Philip Chan is joined by Dr. Alexandra Collins and Dr. Rachel Wightman, who are leading a new research study at the Brown University School of Public Health and Warren Alpert Medical School called testRI.
The research team tests drug residue samples from used paraphernalia collected at overdose hotspots and donated from individuals or community organizations across Rhode Island. The results of the toxicology testing are shared via near-real-time updates including harm reduction mobile outreach teams, the State’s overdose data and resource website, Prevent Overdose RI, social media, and direct communications to primary care and behavioral health providers to help people understand what’s in the supply and how it may be impacting overdose rates in Rhode Island.
Listen to the episode to also learn about how to recognize the signs of an overdose and what you can do to respond. To learn more about this innovative research and Rhode Island’s drug overdose epidemic, visit PreventOverdoseRI.org.
We’re back for season 3! In the season opener, Dr. Philip Chan from the Rhode Island Department of Health talks about the rising number of sexually transmitted infections in Rhode Island and nationwide. He’s joined by Kathleen Roosevelt, the director of STD prevention and HIV surveillance at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and Dr. Kathy Hsu, the medical director for that division at MDPH. The three experts focus their discussion on gonorrhea: what is it? How is it treated? How does it spread? They also talk about two recent cases in Massachusetts that are getting nationwide attention after showing evidence of reduced susceptibility to antibiotics.
Download the season 3 premiere to learn more about gonorrhea and local resources for STI prevention, testing, and treatment in Rhode Island.
Do you have questions about monkeypox? Download the season 2 finale of the Public Health Out Loud podcast to get answers. Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk about the origins of monkeypox, how it’s spread, and how to protect yourself. They also talk about the JYENNOS vaccine, and how Rhode Island is administering it. Get the facts about monkeypox from our public health experts so you can recognize misinformation when it’s circulating online.
To learn more about Rhode Island’s monkeypox vaccination strategy or to sign up for the Vaccine Interest Notification List, visit health.ri.gov/monkeypox. If you’re listening outside of Rhode Island, visit your local health department’s website for information about vaccination.
Thank you for listening to season 2 of Public Health Out Loud! Subscribe to the podcast and follow the Rhode Island Department of Health on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates on season 3.
This week’s guest expert on the Public Health Out Loud podcast is Ana Bess Moyer Bell, a drama therapist and executive director of 2nd Act. 2nd Act is a Boston-based non-profit organization that uses drama therapy to support healing and recovery for people who have experienced trauma, substance use disorder, a family member living with substance use disorder, or the death of a loved one.
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask their guest about how the experience of writing, acting in, or even viewing a play about substance use and recovery can be cathartic. It can help people work through their own ideas about, connections to, or experiences with substance use disorder, and can open up a dialogue about a topic that may sometimes feel like it’s hard to address.
To learn more, download this week’s episode and visit weare2ndact.org.
This week’s guest expert on the Public Health Out Loud podcast is Dr. Patricia Cioe, an Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University. Dr. Cioe’s current research is focused on the effects of cigarette smoking on one’s health, and the development of innovative smoking cessation interventions for people living with HIV.
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask Dr. Cioe about the difference between combustible cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and vapes. They also talk about the health effects of smoking tobacco and different methods for decreasing or quitting smoking.
Quitting tobacco is a journey. Whether you’re thinking about quitting, aren’t yet ready to quit, or have already quit, the Rhode Island Nicotine Helpline can help you each step of the way. Call 1-800-Quitnow, visit quitnowRI.org, or talk to your healthcare provider about quitting smoking.
This week’s guest expert is Dr. Amy Cameron, a clinical psychologist in the VA Healthcare System in Providence, Rhode Island and a faculty member of the Department of Psychology and Human Behavior at Brown University. Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask her about the most common health concerns among veterans, including chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, and treatment options that are available to veterans. Download this week’s episode to learn more.
Are you a veteran in crisis or concerned about one? You're not alone. The Veterans Crisis Line is available 24/7. Call 1-800-273-8255 and press option 1, or visit veteranscrisisline.net to chat online. To learn more about local resources, visit vets.ri.gov.
This week’s guest expert on the Public Health Out Loud podcast is Dr. Scott Rivkees, the former surgeon general for the State of Florida. As the state’s leading public health officer from June 2019 to September 2021, Dr. Rivkees oversaw the state’s COVID-19 response. Now, Dr. Rivkees is a professor of practice of health services, policy, and practice and vice chair of the Department of Health Service, Policy, and Practice at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Co-hosts Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald ask Dr. Rivkees about his experiences leading the COVID-19 response in Florida, and opportunities for research and collaboration now that he’s at Brown University. Download this week’s episode to learn more.
There are a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to Long Covid, which refers to the prolonged symptoms that some patients experience after an initial COVID-19 infection. People experiencing Long Covid have reported symptoms ranging from fatigue to brain fog to difficulty breathing. For some, the symptoms last a couple weeks after their initial infection with COVID-19. For others, the symptoms have lasted much longer. This week on the Public Health Out Loud podcast, find out what we do and don’t know about Long Covid, and what local researchers are doing to get more answers.
This week’s guest expert is Dr. Francesca Beaudoin, the chair of epidemiology at Brown School of Public Health and director of the Long Covid Initiative there. Dr. Beaudoin talks about who is most at risk of experiencing Long Covid, and the effect that Long Covid is having on some patients’ mental health.
Co-hosts Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald also talk about local resources that are available to help people experiencing symptoms of Long Covid, including the Long Covid Clinic at Lifespan. Download this week’s episode to learn more.
This week’s guest expert on the Public Health Out Loud podcast is Dr. Carol Lewis, a general pediatrician at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and the director of the Refugee Health Program there. Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask her about pediatric health trends and common health issues among the refugee community. They also ask her about how Rhode Island has welcomed recent waves of refugees arriving from Afghanistan and Ukraine. Download this week’s episode to learn more.
What did COVID-19 teach us about pandemic preparedness? How concerned should we be about monkeypox? Download the latest episode of the Public Health Out Loud podcast to get the answers from Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist, pandemic preparedness expert, and the director at the new Pandemic Preparedness Center at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk about their experiences as local public health officials throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and ask Dr. Nuzzo what Rhode Island, the nation, and the world could do to better prepare for another pandemic.
Did you know 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have experienced domestic violence in their lifetime? Listen to the latest episode of the Public Health Out Loud podcast to learn more about the patterns of behavior that can occur in abusive relationships and local resources that are available to Rhode Islanders.
This week’s guest expert is Vanessa Volz, the executive director at Sojourner House. The mission of Sojourner House is to promote healthy relationships by providing culturally sensitive support, advocacy, housing, and education for victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking; and to effect systems change.
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask Vanessa about the red flags that people should look out for in their relationships. They also talk about how Sojourner House is empowering victims to become survivors.
Download this week’s episode to learn more.
This week’s guest expert is Erin Bertoldi, the state breastfeeding coordinator at the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH). Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask Erin about the health benefits of breastfeeding, the challenges that parents may face, and the resources that are available to support parents through their breastfeeding journey.
Why does the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that infants be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life? Has the national formula shortage increased interest in breastfeeding support and training programs in Rhode Island? To learn more, download this week’s episode and visit health.ri.gov/breastfeeding.
Did you know about 10 million people a year develop an active infection of tuberculosis? Although cases in the United States are rare, tuberculosis continues to be prevalent in other areas of the world. And since there isn’t an effective, long-term vaccine, cases can be fatal. In fact, before COVID-19, tuberculosis was the leading infectious disease killer in the world.
This week’s guest expert is Dr. Natasha Rybak, the director of the RISE Clinic for Tuberculosis in Rhode Island. She describes how tuberculosis spreads, how it’s treated, and who’s most at risk. She also talks about her work with the Brown University Ukraine Collaboration, which works with Ukrainian health providers to address the challenges of the HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis epidemics for children, women, and their family members in Ukraine.
How has the war impacted tuberculosis research in Ukraine? Download this week’s episode to find out.
Ending homelessness is a public health issue. One possible solution? More housing.
This week’s guest expert on the Public Health Out Loud podcast is Karen Santilli, the CEO of Crossroads Rhode Island. Crossroads is the leading provider of housing and homeless services in Rhode Island. Santilli talks about how rates of homelessness have increased not just in the state, but throughout the country during the pandemic. She also shares stories about how something called a “housing first” model can help homeless or at-risk individuals and families get on a path to stability.
Hear co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk about the difference between providing shelter and having a home, and how that difference can impact someone’s health physically, mentally, and emotionally.
How can we improve access to healthcare and resources for people experiencing homelessness? What is Crossroads doing to solve the housing crisis in Rhode Island? Download this week’s episode to find out. For more information about Crossroads, visit their website at crossroadsri.org.
This week’s guest expert on the Public Health Out Loud podcast is Dr. Andrew Saal; a family physician and the chief medical officer of the largest community health center in Rhode Island, Providence Community Health Centers (PCHC).
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask Dr. Saal about the difference between reactive and proactive healthcare. They also ask him about how transforming primary care to a team-based approach could relieve crowded emergency rooms and reduce burnout among healthcare workers.
How has PCHC implemented a team-approach to care? Download this week’s episode to find out.
Pharmacists do a lot more than dispense medication. Pharmacies have become a major hub for people to access health care services—like testing, vaccine, and treatment—during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, roughly 75 percent of the country’s eligible population got their COVID-19 vaccine from a pharmacy. How has the role of the pharmacist evolved over time? This week’s guest experts, Dr. Jeffrey Bratberg and Dr. Sabrina Silveira, will explain just that.
Dr. Bratberg is a clinical professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy, the academic collaborations officer at the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Academic Institute, and associate editor for the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. Dr. Silveira is a newly graduated pharmacist from URI’s College of Pharmacy with experience as a hospital outpatient pharmacist.
What kind of training is required for pharmacists? What additional opportunities are there to expand pharmacists’ role in healthcare delivery? Download this week’s episode to find out.
This week’s guest expert has been managing outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics throughout her career. Meet Dr. Utpala Bandy, the Medical Director for the Division of Preparedness, Response, Infectious Diseases, and Emergency Medical Services at the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH). Dr. Bandy gives a tour of her healthcare experiences from around the globe, including her education and the onset of her career in India, and the front-line training she received throughout the United Kingdom and America.
At RIDOH, Dr. Bandy has played a critical part in managing outbreaks and epidemics throughout the state’s recent history. Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask her about a rabies outbreak that threatened Rhode Island’s domestic animals and wildlife in the 90s, a salmonella outbreak in 2010 that changed the food industry’s equipment standards nationwide, and, what many call the outbreak most comparable to COVID-19, the H1N1 virus.
Dr. Bandy has also been an invaluable "healthcare hero behind the scenes" at RIDOH during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. How does the COVID-19 response compare to previous outbreak responses? How long could we be living with COVID-19 as an endemic disease? Download this week’s episode to learn more.
Trauma-informed care shifts the focus from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” A trauma-informed approach to health acknowledges that physicians and healthcare organizations need to have a complete picture of a patient’s life situation — past and present — in order to provide effective healthcare services with a focus on healing.
This week’s guest experts are Dr. Catherine DeGood; a physician in family and addiction medicine, medical director of CODAC Behavioral Healthcare, and a physician at Butler Hospital; and Linda Hurley, the chief executive officer at CODAC Behavioral Healthcare, which is a non-profit organization in Rhode Island that has provided treatment, recovery, and prevention services to individuals and families within local communities for more than 40 years.
How come some people can manage stress and trauma better than others? What are some coping skills to help manage stress so that we react in a way that’s helpful to us? Download this week’s episode to learn more.
This week’s guest on the Public Health Out Loud podcast is an expert on housing instability, the eviction crisis, and related impacts on health outcomes. Dr. Gracie Himmelstein is a resident in internal medicine at the University of California Los Angeles with a PhD in demography from Princeton University. She has also conducted research with The Eviction Lab at Princeton University, which creates data, interactive tools, and research to help neighbors and policymakers understand the eviction crisis.
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk about how COVID-19 shed light on housing instability, and what Rhode Island is doing to address it. They also ask Dr. Himmelstein about long-term solutions to promote housing stability in Rhode Island and nationwide.
Download this week’s episode to learn more.
In July of 2021, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed legislation allowing for a two-year harm reduction center pilot program in the state. This means Rhode Island will be among the first in the nation to license and establish harm reduction centers, which are places where people can go to use drugs safely.
What will a harm reduction center in Rhode Island look like? How effective have harm reduction centers been at preventing overdose deaths in other countries?
Learn more about Rhode Island’s pilot program from guest experts: Dr. Liz Samuels, an emergency and addiction medicine physician, researcher at the Brown University Department of Emergency Medicine and the School of Epidemiology at the Brown School of Public Health, and the consulting assistant medical director for the Overdose Prevention Program at the Rhode Island Department of Health; Sarah Beister, policy and evaluation lead for RIDOH’s Overdose Prevention Program; and Lauren Conkey, community program lead for RIDOH’s Overdose Prevention Program.
Download this week’s episode and visit PreventOverdoseRI.org to learn more about harm reduction initiatives in Rhode Island.
In this week’s episode, you’ll hear co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk about their roads to becoming doctors, and their journeys into public health. What did Dr. Chan’s time as an ambulance driver teach him about medicine? What made Dr. McDonald decide to drop his undergraduate major in photography? Download this week’s episode to learn more.
When we think about vending machines, we imagine sugary drinks and candy bars. But in Rhode Island, vending machines are being used to dispense harm reduction tools that can help prevent overdose and reduce the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis C. Through these vending machines, individuals can access free, sterile syringes, rapid tests for sexually transmitted infections, naloxone (Narcan®), wound care and hygiene kits, and fentanyl test strips any time of day or night.
In this week's episode, you’ll learn about this innovative harm reduction strategy thanks to our guest experts from the Rhode Island Department of Health and AIDS Care Ocean State, a local non-profit connecting adults, families, adolescents and children who are affected by or at risk of HIV infection to quality housing, case management services, medical and nursing care, and prevention resources. Our guest experts are Katie Howe, the Prevention Program Manager for the Center for HIV, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Epidemiology; Katelyn Case, a Harm Reduction Case Manager at AIDS Care Ocean State; and Vanessa Perez, the Lead Prevention Worker for AIDS Care Ocean State.
Where are these harm reduction vending machines located? How are the machines helping to link people who use drugs to critical resources and wraparound services to improve health and well-being? Download this week’s episode to learn more.
Research shows that adverse childhood experiences, like abuse or parental abandonment, can negatively impact a person’s health outcomes later in life. This week’s guest expert, Dr. Robert Sege, is determined to flip pediatrics upside down by asking the question: Can positive childhood experiences foster better health outcomes for children later in life?
Dr. Sege is a pediatrician at Tufts Children’s Hospital in Boston, Mass. In this week’s episode, he talks with co-hosts Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald about how positive relationships, environments, engagements, and opportunities for emotional growth play a critical role in a child’s life. He also gives advice to parents on how to foster these positive experiences in their household. Download this week’s episode to learn more.
Many Rhode Islanders living in specific geographies have experienced higher rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths throughout the pandemic. For example, in the seven hardest-hit ZIP codes, people of color as young as 25 are experiencing higher hospitalization rates than white people over 60 years old. Such differences are directly connected to the social conditions in which some communities of color are more likely to live and work every day, and to systems of structural racism and discrimination that have historically undermined the health and well-being of these communities.
This week’s guest experts, Dr. Katrina Byrd and Jennifer Bandy, talk about their personal and professional experiences working with some of the harder hit communities of Rhode Island throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Dr. Byrd is an adult and pediatric infectious disease specialist. She is a fellow at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, RI. Bandy is a professor of critical race theory at Providence College and the education director at West End Community Center, which includes an early learning center, youth center, and food bank that serves families in Providence, RI.
In this week’s episode of the Public Health Out Loud podcast, co-hosts Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald ask: how can public health advocates and physicians alike foster trust between themselves and Black and Brown communities? Download this week’s episode to find out.
People who are incarcerated have a constitutional right to quality healthcare services. This week’s guest expert, Dr. Justin Berk, is responsible for ensuring every person who is incarcerated at Rhode Island’s correctional facilities has access to, and receives, quality healthcare.
Dr. Berk is medical director at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections and a faculty member at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University. He is a staunch advocate for increased access to medications, such as buprenorphine and methadone, for people who are incarcerated and living with opioid use disorder.
In this episode, Dr. Berk expands on how Rhode Island is a national leader when it comes to providing treatment and recovery support services for incarcerated individuals. How is support for opioid use disorder and recovery delivered in Rhode Island’s correctional settings? What health conditions are common in correctional settings and how are they addressed? How did COVID-19 impact healthcare delivery in these settings? Download this week’s episode to find out.
This week’s guest expert is Dr. Tom Bledsoe, a general internist and chair of the Rhode Island Hospital Ethics Committee. Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask him about how medical ethical issues are handled in Rhode Island.
Do physicians have a different ethical responsibility from the average person? What were some of the ethical conundrums that arose during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic? Download this week’s episode to find out.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved, Rhode Island has relied on data and science to help guide its response. At the Rhode Island Department of Health, the COVID-19 Data and Analytics Team is responsible for collecting and organizing statewide data that has informed decisions about reopening businesses and schools, and protecting people from the virus. This week, you’ll hear from some of those team members.
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan get into the nitty gritty of COVID-19 data, asking our guest experts to clarify the difference between reporting deaths from COVID-19 and deaths with COVID-19 and talk about the importance of reducing hospitalization rates due to COVID-19.
This week's guest experts include Leanne Lasher, the chief data officer at RIDOH for the COVID-19 response; Dr. Katy Donovan, an infectious disease epidemiologist; Mark Freeman, lead data scientist; and Shivani Arora, COVID-19 quantification team lead. They’ll talk about data on COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations, and vaccinations, which reveal where Rhode Island is in its COVID-19 response, and where it should go next. They also talk about the level of protection that the COVID-19 vaccines and booster dose provide. Download this week’s episode to learn more.
At the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Medical Countermeasures Distribution Program is responsible for giving out things like medicine, vaccine, and personal protective equipment to healthcare professionals and members of the public in response to an outbreak.
The program has detailed plans prepared for responding to various emergency public health scenarios. In recent years, the program has responded to measles cases among international travelers, a meningitis outbreak at a university, and the arrival of flu strains like H1N1. But nothing they’ve responded to so far compares to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This week’s guest expert is Brittan Bates-Manni. In her role as the director of RIDOH's Medical Countermeasures Distribution Program, she played an integral role in recent outbreak responses and Rhode Island’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
What are some of the challenges that made the COVID-19 vaccine rollout different from other emergency responses? As we enter year three of the pandemic, what does the future of the COVID-19 response look like? Download this week’s episode to find out.
According to co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan, this week’s episode is long overdue. We’re talking to a nurse!
This week’s guest expert is Erin Abrahamsen. She is a nurse and team lead on the Rhode Island Department of Health’s COVID-19 Prevention Field Team. She also works in the emergency department at Rhode Island Hospital and serves as a nurse in the Rhode Island Air National Guard.
Erin shares stories that highlight the versatility and adaptability of nurses working in emergency response scenarios. She talks about her experiences being deployed to Afghanistan as a trauma nurse in 2019, working in an emergency department during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and working with RIDOH to ensure that nursing homes, corrections facilities, and shelters have access to supports and resources that prevent the spread of COVID-19.
What is it like wearing full PPE while treating someone who is positive for COVID-19? How do healthcare workers like Erin who’ve been a part of the response since the start stay motivated for the long haul? Download this week’s episode to find out.
In this week’s episode, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk about something that impacts the health of every person living on this planet: climate change. Learn more about what climate change actually means and how it’s already impacting Rhode Island from guest expert Dr. Stephen Porder.
Dr. Porder is a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, a Fellow in the Institute at Brown University for Environment and Society, and the Assistant Provost for Sustainability at Brown University.
How do the subtle, slow-moving impacts of climate change threaten our health? What are some practical solutions that can help slow the effects of climate change? Download this week’s episode to find out.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic events that can undermine a child's sense of safety and well-being. They can include emotional abuse, exposure to substance use, sexual abuse, having a member of the household be incarcerated, and having separated or divorced parents. According to research, including studies published by this week’s guest expert, ACEs may have a negative impact on a person’s health and behavioral outcomes later in life.
Our guest this week is Dr. Tracy Jackson. She is an epidemiologist at the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), and analyzes the State’s data on young people’s risks, behaviors, and health issues. Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk about how ACE’s have impacted some of their patients and ask Dr. Jackson about the most common trends of ACEs here in Rhode Island.
What effect do ACEs have on a person's health once they reach adulthood? What can be done to prevent ACEs from occurring? Download this week’s episode to find out.
Note: RIDOH has a variety of programs and partnerships that are aimed at preventing adverse childhood experiences through support for communities, parents, and families and improving health outcomes in adults. Click here for more information.
This week’s guest expert, Dr. Mitchell Levy, is a member of the National Institutes of Health’s panel on COVID-19 treatment guidelines. He is also the medical director of the Medical Intensive Care unit at Rhode Island Hospital, and a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Dr. Levy is joined by co-hosts Dr. Philip Chan and, the newly appointed Interim Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, Dr. Jim McDonald. They ask their guest expert about the increased availability of safe and effective treatments for COVID-19 and address the impact that misinformation on faux treatments like Ivermectin have had on their patients and clinical staff.
What kind of treatments are available for people with mild symptoms of COVID-19? What does a local intensive care unit do to treat people experiencing a more severe case of COVID-19? To learn more, download this week’s episode and visit covid.ri.gov/treatment.
Understanding the American healthcare system can be complicated. This week on Public Health Out Loud, we’re joined by guest experts Dr. Robert Hackey and Dr. Todd Olszewski, two healthcare policy experts from Providence College. Co-hosts Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald ask them about the good, the bad, and the ugly of national and state-level healthcare policies. What do our guest experts think works well about the American healthcare system? What do they think works less well? Download this week’s episode to find out.
Caring for infants can be difficult for one, very obvious reason: they can’t talk. Sometimes drawing blood or preventatively prescribing antibiotics are the only courses of action for pediatricians looking to fend off a possible infection among their youngest and most vulnerable patients. Wouldn’t it be easier if pediatricians could diagnose and accurately treat infants based on a drop of their saliva, instead? This week’s guest expert, Dr. Jill Maron, may have the answer to that question.
Dr. Jill Maron is the chief of pediatrics at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, RI; vice-chair of pediatric research at Tufts Medical Center; and executive director of Mother Infant Research Institute. Dr. Maron is at the forefront of research on the clinical use of non-invasive saliva assays. How may this research open the door to personalized preventative healthcare for infants? What are the ethical considerations around medical advancements like this one? Download this week’s episode to find out.
On this week’s episode of the Public Health Out Loud podcast, co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan are talking about natural immunity. What level of immunity does someone have after getting infected with COVID-19? Are they at risk for getting infected again?
Our co-hosts are joined by Dr. Joseph Hogan and PhD candidate Nick Lewis from the Brown University Biostatistics Department. Our guest experts discuss their research findings on how many people in Rhode Island have gotten infected with COVID-19 and then got infected again. They also talk about how COVID-19 vaccines have protected patients from reinfection and the importance of staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccinations.
Download this week’s episode to learn more.
There are about 1.6 million people in the United States right now living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Cases range from mild to severe, and can impact people of all ages. In this week’s podcast, co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan are talking about all things related to IBD and gut health.
This week’s guest expert is Rhode Island native Dr. Jason Shapiro. He’s a pediatric gastroenterologist and director of the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Hasbro Children's Hospital, and an associate professor of pediatrics and medicine; and clinician educator at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
What treatment options are available for people living with IBD? Are there steps people can take to support a healthy gut? Download this week’s episode to find out.
Dr. Ewa King, director of Rhode Island’s State Health Laboratories, returns in this week’s episode to talk about COVID-19 variants.
In Rhode Island, the State Health Labs coordinate the SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance program in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and clinical and academic laboratories. This means the State Health Labs are sequencing and analyzing a representative selection of samples of the virus circulating in the state to identify differences between these samples and the genetic material of the original virus.
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask Dr. King about the evolution of COVID-19 testing and the State’s variant sequencing program. How reliable are COVID-19 tests? How pervasive has the Delta variant been in Rhode Island? Should people be more worried about the Omicron variant? Download this week’s episode to find out.
In this week’s episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald recap public health highpoints from 2021 and share their hopes for the new year. They also talk about what you can do to protect your household from COVID-19 this holiday season, and throughout the upcoming winter months.
To learn more, download this week’s episode of Public Health Out Loud, and visit covid.ri.gov/prevention.
Our guest expert this week is Dr. Jonathan Kurtis, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the Brown University School of Public Health. Dr. Kurtis studies various neglected tropical diseases, including malaria, and is working to identify and define possible vaccines for them.
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask Dr. Kurtis about his research findings, the history of neglected tropical diseases, and why malaria case rates continue to increase.
According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest malaria report, there were an estimated 627,000 malaria deaths worldwide in 2020, which is a 12 percent increase over 2019. Although case rates in the United States are low—about 2,000 a year—malaria is the top killer of children younger than 5 across the world.
How do neglected tropical diseases spread? Why isn’t there already an effective vaccine against malaria? Download this week’s episode to learn more.
This week’s guest is Rhode Island State Senator Joshua Miller, who represents State Senate District 28. He is Chair of the State Senate Committee on Health and Human Services and is actively involved in the Governor's Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force.
In this episode, Senator Miller talks about what local representatives are doing to address two major public health concerns: the COVID-19 pandemic and the drug overdose epidemic.
Co-hosts, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan, talk with Senator Miller about issues that made the impact of COVID-19 in some communities much worse—like lack of access to affordable healthcare, transportation, and housing. They also talk about how Rhode Island is among the first in the nation to pass legislation allowing a two-year pilot program for harm reduction centers, also called “overdose prevention sites” or “supervised consumption centers.”
What does Senator Miller share about strategies to address health inequities in Rhode Island? How did Rhode Island pass a bill allowing a two-year pilot program for harm reduction centers? Download this week’s episode to find out.
This week on Public Health Out Loud, we’re joined by guest expert Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Rhode Island Hospital and Miriam Hospital. She is also the Associate Dean of Strategy and Innovation for the School of Public Health, founding Director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health, and co-founder and Senior Strategic Advisor to the American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine at the Aspen Institute. Her full biography is available on this web page.
In this episode, co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask Dr. Ranney about her experience working on the front lines of a local emergency department since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It has been a series of ups and downs. I was actually in the emergency department the night that the very first identified COVID-19 patient in our state came in,” Dr. Ranney says. “I remember the feeling that night knowing that it finally hit us here in Rhode Island.”
Dr. Ranney also talks about her work with Dr. Ashish Jha on the Long COVID Initiative, which is a coalition of clinicians, researchers, and public health communicators working together to shed light on the long-lasting impacts that a COVID-19 diagnosis has had on some patients' health.
Download this week’s episode to learn more.
Co-hosts Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald celebrate the start of the holiday season in this minisode by sharing what they’re grateful for. They also talk about what you can do to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy this holiday season.
This holiday season, make sure to remember the three Vs: Vaccinate, Ventilate, and Visit Safety. To learn more, download this week’s episode and visit covid.ri.gov/prevention.
This week on Public Health Out Loud, co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk about the health effects of PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a group of chemicals that have been used since the 1940s to make products water-, grease-, and stain-resistant.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS can be found in the blood of people and animals all over the world. And scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects, like increased cholesterol levels or developmental and growth delays in children.
Our guest expert this week is Dr. Joseph Braun. He’s an environmental epidemiologist and a professor at the Brown University School of Public Health. Why are PFAS called “forever chemicals?” What can people do to reduce their risk of exposure to harmful chemicals? Download this week’s episode to find out.
Join Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan as they celebrate the authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11. They’re joined by guest expert Dr. Sabina Holland, a pediatrician who specializes in infectious diseases. According to Dr. Holland, pediatricians have many reasons to be excited about expanded vaccine eligibility.
“COVID-19 does impact children and they are being hospitalized,” she said. “This vaccine is another piece of armor that can help us end this pandemic and protect our communities.”
Children ages 5-11 will receive a smaller dose that is only one-third the size of the same Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Just like older children, those age 5-11 will receive two doses of the vaccine, given three weeks apart. For more information, visit C19vaccineRI.org
When may there be a COVID-19 vaccine for children younger than 5? How does Dr. Holland talk to parents who may be hesitant to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19? Download this week’s episode to find out.
In New England, the flu season typically runs from October to May. Last winter, the number of flu-related hospitalizations and deaths was historically low. Community mitigation measures; like physical distancing, frequent hand washing and sanitizing, indoor mask wearing, and staying home while sick; weren’t just keeping people safe from COVID-19. They were preventing the spread of other viruses like influenza, too. But as people return to work, school, and social gatherings, will we see a particularly harsh flu season this winter?
Our guest expert this week is Dr. Leonard Mermel, an infectious diseases specialist and medical director of the department of epidemiology and infection control at Rhode Island Hospital. Dr. Mermel talks about how the influenza virus spreads and offers his predictions on the severity of the 2021-2022 flu season.
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan also chat with Dr. Mermel about the importance of getting your flu shot and your COVID-19 vaccine to protect yourself and those around you from getting sick this winter.
Flu shots are important for everyone older than six months. But they are especially important for certain people who are at higher risk, like older adults, younger children, healthcare workers, pregnant women, people with a weakened immune system, and people with chronic medical conditions like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and asthma. Download this week’s episode to learn more.
While anyone can get lead poisoned, lead is most dangerous to children younger than six years old and pregnant people. Even small amounts of lead in the blood during childhood can have life-long consequences. Until the level of its toxicity was fully recognized, lead was used in products like gasoline, pipes, and household paint. Lead-based paint was common until 1978, when the federal government banned it from consumer use. Today, it is still frequently found in homes that were built before then.
In Rhode Island, more than 80% of the housing stock pre-dates 1978. But lead paint can’t be spotted with the naked eye. So, the State and some local municipalities have programs devoted to identifying lead hazards and supporting healthy, lead-safe homes.
Our guest experts this week are Cindy Singleton, the Lead Hazard Mitigation Program manager at the Rhode Island Department of Health; Bianca Policastro, Director of Planning and Development for the City of Woonsocket; and Joseph Ferri, the Lead Hazard Reduction Program manager for the City of Woonsocket.
What resources are available to address household lead hazards in Rhode Island? And how can parents protect their kids from lead poisoning? Download this week’s episode to find out.
While influenza and respiratory viruses can spread year round, cases occur most frequently between fall and spring. This week, Dr. James McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan are talking about respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and how it compares to flu and COVID-19.
RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild symptoms similar to those of a cold. Most people recover in a week or two. But RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, RSV leads to approximately 58,000 hospitalizations on average each year in the United States.
Our guest expert this week is Dr. Michael Koster. He’s the division director for pediatric diseases at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and an associate professor of pediatrics at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Koster’s research interests include viral respiratory illnesses, osteoarticular infections, and pneumonia in children.
How has COVID-19 impacted the infection season for RSV and flu? How can parents protect themselves and their kids from viral infections? Download this week’s episode to find out.
Hear from a Rhode Island congressman about how the federal government is responding to COVID-19. The pandemic moved quickly and impacted every part of people’s lives. How did the State’s congressional delegation balance the importance of thorough public health measures and the need to maintain a healthy economy? How quickly did federal support get to states, municipalities, and individuals?
Our guest this week is Congressman David Cicilline. Congressman Cicilline is in his sixth term representing the first congressional district of Rhode Island in the US House of Representatives. He chairs the House Antitrust Subcommittee and the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, and is Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask the Congressman about the impact COVID-19 has had on the economy, his opinion on the nationwide vaccine rollout, and about the ongoing battle against public health misinformation. Cicilline also talks about the programs that were established to support small businesses, unemployed individuals, and families in need throughout the pandemic.
“COVID-19 revealed what has existed for a long time in this country in terms of housing inequality, health care inequities, economic inequality,” Cicilline said. What can the federal government do to address the pandemic’s long-lasting impacts and support Americans through recovery? Download this week’s episode to hear more.
In Rhode Island, about 100 babies are born each year with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a condition in which a baby experiences symptoms of withdrawal due to the cessation of opioids or other substances they were exposed to in utero. Some babies with NAS receive medication in the hospital and may not be able to go home right away. Exposure to drugs like heroin or fentanyl may result in the baby going into foster care.
Parent Support Network of Rhode Island’s Healing Mother and Baby Program helps mothers and babies stay together. Peer recovery support specialists (also called “coaches”) with lived experience connect pregnant and parenting people to local treatment and recovery services; help them develop a long-term, individualized plan; and support them on their path to recovery.
This week’s guest experts are Katie Gonzalez, a certified peer recovery support specialist supervisor at PSNRI, and Margo Katz from the Division of Community Health and Equity at the Rhode Island Department of Health. Gonzalez shares her personal story of recovery, as well as some of the success stories she has seen in the Healing Mother and Baby Program. Download this week’s episode to learn more.
Being prepared for a public health emergency requires planning, training, and exercising. But how could anyone prepare for something like COVID-19? That’s the topic of our conversation this week on Public Health Out Loud.
Our guest is Alysia Mihalakos, chief of the Center for Emergency Preparedness at the Rhode Island Department of Health. Mihalakos discusses how RIDOH’s response to COVID-19 has been different from previous public health emergencies like Ebola, H1N1, Zika, or flu outbreaks. She also talks about what her team learned from those previous emergencies that left them better prepared to address this pandemic.
It’s no secret that there have been many challenges during the COVID-19 response. How did Rhode Island respond to supply shortages related to COVID-19? What was it like setting up the state’s two field hospitals? Download this week’s episode to learn more.
Dr. Colby Zongol, a sexologist who specializes in sexual health and communication, is back for part 2 of our conversation on sexual health. This week, the topic switches from kids to adults.
Even when we grow up, sex can still seem like an awkward, uncomfortable, or even shameful topic. As a result, adults of all ages may not feel comfortable talking to their partner about it. Having conversations about sexual history, needs, boundaries, and desires helps ensure that everyone feels safe, experiences pleasure, and remains healthy.
What kinds of conversations should partners have about their relationship and sexuality? How can someone broach these topics with their partner, even if they’re uncomfortable? Download this week’s episode to learn more.
Talking to the young people in our lives about sex can be awkward and uncomfortable. But it doesn’t need to be. This week on Public Health Out Loud, co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan are talking about how parents and pediatricians can have age-appropriate conversations to raise sexually healthy children.
Our guest expert this week is Dr. Colby Zongol, a sexologist who specializes in sexual health and communication.
According to Dr. Zongol, having honest conversations with adolescents about sex, sexuality, and relationships demystifies and destigmatizes a very natural part of our lives. It also ensures they get accurate and age-appropriate information from a trusted source.
How does sex education support self-confidence and healthy relationships? Download this week’s episode to learn more.
As adolescents return to school and all the activities they love, it’s important to keep them safe from COVID-19 and variants of concern. Getting people age 12 and older vaccinated is one of the best ways to protect them from COVID-19.
This week, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan are talking about COVID-19 vaccination among adolescents. Our guest expert is Dr. Penelope Dennehy, director of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and a professor of pediatrics at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Adolescents 12 or older are eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and more than 48,000 adolescents age 12-18 in Rhode Island have already gotten fully vaccinated. Both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have started clinical trials for their COVID-19 vaccines in younger children, too. What does the trial and approval process look like? When might children younger than age 12 be eligible for vaccine? Download this week’s episode to find out.
Learn more about how to get vaccinated in Rhode Island at C19vaccineRI.org.
The waiting area of an emergency department (ED) might be an unpleasant experience for anyone with a medical condition. But waiting for care while experiencing symptoms of opioid withdrawal can be even worse.
Rhode Island’s Buprenorphine Hotline - 401-606-5456 - bypasses the ED waiting room altogether and connects patients to treatment and local recovery support services.
Through this 24/7 hotline, people with moderate to severe opioid use disorder can talk with a healthcare provider over the phone, get evaluated for care, and start on buprenorphine, a medication for opioid use disorder.
Our guest expert this week is Dr. Caroline Wunsch, a general internist who helped establish the state’s first Buprenorphine Hotline. Other founding members of the hotline include Dr. Elizabeth Samuels, Dr. Rachel Wightman, and Dr. Seth Clark. “We want people to be able to reach us when they’re at the peak of their motivation. In some situations, it’s a life or death call," Dr. Wunsch explains.
How is this hotline transforming access to treatment in the state? Download this week’s episode to find out.
How many people do you live with? What does your work environment look like? How close to your home is the nearest clinic? These questions may seem mundane. But the answers can provide insight into why COVID-19 is impacting certain communities across the country at a higher rate than others.
In this week’s episode, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan take a hard look at the social and economic conditions that allowed COVID-19 to spread so rapidly in densely-populated communities. Our guest expert is Julian Drix, co-lead for the Health Equity Institute at the Rhode Island Department of Health. Drix is also the coordinated COVID-19 response lead at RIDOH for the cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls, two communities in Rhode Island that have been hit hard by the pandemic.
But the conversation isn't limited to COVID-19. Drix talks in detail about the need for long-term solutions and structural changes to address health inequity. Download this week’s episode to learn more about social determinants of health and what RIDOH is doing to promote health equity.
What better time to talk about children’s health than back to school season? For children, families, and educators across the country, COVID-19 will be remembered, in part, as the time of remote learning. But little is known about the possible long-term impacts remote learning may have had on children’s health.
This week, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan are joined by two pediatric experts, Dr. David Bourassa from Thundermist Health Center and Dr. Peter Pogacar from East Greenwich Pediatrics. The doctors discuss the themes of what they did (and what they didn’t) see in their offices in the past year.
“Physically, one of the benefits was that we saw less colds and less strep. But we also saw a lot of falling behind in preventative care, like less vaccinations or lead screenings,” Dr. Bourassa said.
What advice do the doctors have for families who’s children may have missed a wellness check-in, immunization, or screening during COVID-19? Listen to part one of this two-part series on children’s health to learn more.
Rhode Island is getting ready to return to 100% in-person learning this fall. How can families, schools, and pediatricians prepare?
In part two of this week’s discussion on children’s health, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk about preventative measures that can help keep students learning in person safely. Our co-hosts are joined again by guest experts Dr. David Bourassa from Thundermist Health Center and Dr. Peter Pogacar from East Greenwich Pediatrics.
Vaccination and masking indoors is especially important for everyone 12 years of age and older who are in school communities. For children younger than 12 who aren’t yet eligible for vaccination, other preventative tools like masks, physical distancing, and testing are critical.
The State is requiring that schools ensure all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to pre K-12 schools wear a mask indoors, including those who are fully vaccinated. Listen to part two of this week’s episode to learn more about how masking and other preventative measures support a healthy learning environment for Rhode Island’s students.
For information about the return to 100% in-person learning in Rhode Island’s schools, districts’ mitigation plans, and Pre K-12 outbreak response protocols, visit back2schoolri.com.
The overdose and addiction epidemic is a national and local public health crisis. Rhode Island saw a 25% increase in drug overdose deaths last year, with 384 lives lost. The increase in fatal overdoses first occurred in December 2019 and accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This week, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk with our guest expert about how the stressors and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic might be factors in this increase.
Our co-hosts are joined by Tom Coderre, the acting deputy assistant secretary for mental health and substance use at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Coderre talks about the importance of forging personal connections through peer-based recovery support services and evidence-based harm reduction strategies. He also shares a candid story about his own recovery journey.
As a longtime Rhode Islander and former state senator and gubernatorial advisor, we also ask Coderre about the legislation Governor Dan McKee recently signed allowing Rhode Island to pilot harm reduction centers. Download this week’s episode to hear the doctors unpack what those centers may look like and what this pilot program could mean for overdose prevention and harm reduction agencies around the country.
In the second and final part of our episode with Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, the doctors talk about COVID-19 and why it spreads so quickly in densely populated communities.
“We immediately knew that the pandemic was caused by close contact, and people who live in high-density communities or work in meat packing plants or fish packing plants would be at risk,” Dr. Rodriguez said. “It’s the living conditions, not individual behaviors, that put people at higher risk.”
With our co-hosts Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald, Dr. Rodriguez discusses one of Rhode Island’s towns that was hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, Central Falls. With an area of only 1.29 square miles and a population of more than 19,000, it’s Rhode Island’s most densely populated municipality. It also had some of the highest rates of COVID-19 cases.
Download this week’s episode to learn more about social determinants of health and the importance of nurturing trust and personal connections to advance public health
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan are back for season 2 of Public Health Out Loud!
In this two-part season opener, our co-hosts are joined by Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, a longtime physician, former medical director of Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island, and an advocate for public health in the local and national Hispanic community. He’s also a longtime radio show host who describes himself as a “relentless surveyor of the truth” on social media.
In this part-one episode, Dr. Rodriguez talks about his experience as a medical professional and public health spokesperson battling misinformation through the years. “What’s different now is social media,” he says. “People used to have to pick up the phone or see someone in person to share misinformation. Now you can just share it with a click.”
The doctors give advice on how to identify "fake science" on social media and what to do when you spot it. They also talk about how to frame discussions with family members or friends who may be spreading misinformation. Download this week’s episode to learn more and stay tuned for part two of our discussion with Dr. Rodriguez coming next week.
New episodes of Public Health Out Loud will be back on July 30. Stay tuned for more guest experts and timely information on the public health topics that matter to you. Don't want to miss an episode? Subscribe to Public Health Out Loud wherever you listen to podcasts.
It’s the season one finale, and our co-hosts are feeling nostalgic. Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan reflect on Rhode Island’s journey through COVID-19. They share personal stories about how they adapted to remote work, supply shortages, and swirling misinformation.
The doctors also talk about the uphill battle that Rhode Island’s healthcare workers and agencies faced at the onset of the pandemic. “We were fighting with two hands tied behind our back. No one had masks and no one had testing, either,” Dr. Chan said.
As the pandemic evolved, thousands of masks were distributed in hard-hit communities and a highly effective treatment became available. Rhode Island consistently led the nation in testing rates per capita and the State’s vaccine rollout hit national milestones.
With recovery on the horizon and preventative tools more available than ever, Rhode Islanders can start to focus on how to heal from the social and economic impacts of the virus. But we need to remain vigilant, especially against variants of concern. According to Dr. McDonald, “We are still going through this social trauma. And not everybody is in the same space. People need to process what happened in the last year in order to move on.” Download this week’s episode for more.
Maintaining consistent access to shelter and services can be difficult for people who use drugs, due to factors like housing policies and availability of shelter beds. But safe, reliable housing is also a critical part of a recovery journey. How can public health agencies put an end to this vicious cycle? That’s the topic up for discussion in this week’s episode of Public Health Out Loud.
Guest expert Dr. Alexandra Collins, a medical social scientist and ethnographer from the Brown University School of Public Health, will talk about the relationship between housing, substance use, and treatment and recovery services. Dr. Collins will also discuss her years of ethnographic research, including findings from her observations of and interviews with people who use drugs.
What are some harm reduction strategies that can be integrated into housing policies? What are major barriers to recovery for people experiencing homelessness? How has fentanyl affected the overdose crisis in Rhode Island? Listen to this week’s episode to learn more.
The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and highly effective. But to some, the arrival of the vaccine raises questions. In this week’s episode, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan explore how healthcare professionals should approach patients who may be taking the “wait and see” approach when it comes to getting vaccinated.
The doctors also take a hard look at ethical questions surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine. Should colleges and hospitals require vaccination? Should America be doing more to address vaccine supply shortages in other parts of the world?
Guest expert, Dr. Tom Bledsoe, a general internist and chair of the Rhode Island Hospital Ethics Committee, will help answer some of these questions. Dr. Bledsoe also discusses his experience as a member of the COVID-19 Vaccine Planning Sub-committee at the Rhode Island Department of Health.
What did Rhode Island do well in the vaccine rollout and what could have gone better? Download this week’s episode to find out.
Living with a substance use condition can feel isolating. But it doesn’t have to feel that way. Peer recovery support specialists are working to break through that isolation by tapping into something no medical training can provide: lived experience with addiction and recovery.
In this week’s episode, we hear from Ines Garcia, a peer recovery support specialist at the East Bay Recovery Center. Garcia talks about the strategies she uses to help people who are living with substance use conditions find a path to recovery. And for Garcia, like many peer recovery specialists, this work is personal.
Listen to this week’s episode of Public Health Out Loud to learn more about the role of peer recovery support specialists. You’ll also hear co-hosts, Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald, talk through the changes medical professionals can make to eliminate the biases and barriers people with substance use conditions face in the healthcare provider’s office. “Whatever your story is when you enter my exam room, I want to make you feel welcome,” Dr. McDonald says. “It’s a safe space.”
In Rhode Island, there is just one laboratory that conducts all public health, environmental, and forensic crime testing for the State. It all happens in one inconspicuous building near Downtown Providence. In this week’s episode, we hear from the director of the State Health Laboratories, Dr. Ewa King.
Dr. King takes us behind the scenes to find out what exactly the State health lab does, and the role her team played during COVID-19. Hear what it was like to find the first positive case of COVID-19 in Rhode Island, and learn about the risks and safety measures for employees.
Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan refer to Dr. King as one of the “public health heroes behind the scenes.” Listen to this week’s episode to find out why.
Substance use and overdoses are an epidemic in this country, and Rhode Island is not immune. But efforts to combat substance use are often highly misunderstood. This week’s episode sheds light on some of those efforts, commonly referred to as harm reduction and overdose prevention strategies.
Our guest expert is Dr. Brandon Marshall, a professor of epidemiology from Brown University’s School of Public Health who’s research covers substance use, infectious diseases, and the social determinants of health of urban populations. Dr. Marshall leads the development team at the Brown University School of Public Health for Prevent Overdose RI, the statewide overdose data dashboard.
With our co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan, Dr. Marshall directly addresses some of the common misconceptions that people have about prevention efforts like safe injection sites, needle exchange programs, and the availability of naloxone, which is a medication that can reverse the effects of a drug overdose.
Listen to this week’s episode to learn what Rhode Island is doing to address substance use, and find out how local efforts compare to what’s going on around the globe.
In this week’s episode, Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald are joined by Dr. Amy Nunn, the executive director of the Rhode Island Public Health Institute. Dr. Nunn talks about food insecurity and the obstacles low-income people face when it comes to nutritional diet.
Dr. Nunn also discusses a pair of recently introduced bills that would place a 1.5 cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks sold in Rhode Island. The tax revenue would support healthy eating incentives for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Download or stream this week’s episode to learn which drinks would get taxed and where the revenue would go.
Misinformation is everywhere. And it has long-lasting implications for public health. In this week’s episode, we’re talking about the threat of fast-spreading, factually inaccurate information.
During COVID-19, Americans saw just how far misinformation could spread when national leaders began touting unproven remedies for COVID-19. The aftermath of misinformation can mean confusion, distrust, and, in the most serious circumstances, death.
Learn more about misinformation and the attack on science from our guest Tom Nichols, PhD, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College and Harvard Extension School. He is also the author of “The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters.”
It only takes a quick internet search to find an answer to your question. But what happens when that answer isn’t correct? Listen to this week's episode to find out.
COVID-19 variants. What are they and how do they spread? Learn about it from this week’s guest Dr. Rami Kantor, a professor of medicine at the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brown University.
Viruses change all the time—this is normal and expected. But variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have had a profound impact around the world and right here in Rhode Island. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is keeping track of these variants and posts updates to a web page about COVID-19 variants.
In this episode, Dr. Kantor talks about different variants of concern, and the importance of getting vaccinated to prevent spreading the virus. Join Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan as they break down what exactly the presence of variants means for Rhode Island as we enter a new stage of the pandemic.
Let’s talk about another epidemic: the overdose crisis.
With social isolation at an all-time high, overdose rates have been on the rise during COVID-19. It’s being called the “twindemic,” and public health leaders are advocating for more prevention measures, education, and resources to address it.
In this week’s episode, we are joined by Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, an addiction psychiatrist and the former chief medical officer at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Along with our co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan, Dr. Katz talks about the connection between mental health and substance use conditions. What does Dr. Katz say is key to addressing discrimination and bias surrounding these topics? Download this week’s episode to learn more.
“Vaccines should not be withheld from women,” says Dr. Erica Hardy, an infectious disease physician at Women & Infants Hospital. She joins healthcare leaders across the country who are raising awareness about COVID-19 vaccine safety and pregnancy.
New self-reported data gathered from the vaccine rollout suggests there is no additional risk for pregnant women who take a COVID-19 vaccine. The latest information from the CDC helps address several sources of misinformation that concerned pregnant women — a group that is usually susceptible to more severe respiratory illnesses.
In this week’s episode, Dr. Hardy discusses COVID-19 outcomes among pregnant women and the potential risks of not getting vaccinated. She also dispels some of the false rumors that have discouraged at-risk women from protecting themselves and their families.
Tune in to learn about the latest data on pregnancy and vaccines with Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan. You won’t want to miss the important takeaways surrounding this topic.
Any parent can tell you that welcoming a new baby to the family is a magical moment. Amidst the avalanche of information that new parents are offered, safe sleep is one important aspect that should never be overlooked.
Every year, there are 3,500 sleep-related deaths among babies in the United States. Many of these tragic and heartbreaking events could have been prevented through safe sleep strategies.
In this episode, Margo Katz of the Rhode Island Department of Health shares the ABCs of safe baby sleep and the potential health risks posed by everyday items. Is your baby using blankets and bedsheets? Are you sharing your bed? This episode tackles these questions head-on and makes a strong case for keeping babies in their cribs.
Join Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan to learn about the key strategies to help reduce sleep-related risks for babies. If you’re a new parent or know someone who has a newborn, you won’t want to miss this episode!
It is estimated that roughly 40 percent of Americans in the mid-1960s smoked cigarettes. Tobacco use saw a steep decline in popularity when the U.S. surgeon general issued a report that famously concluded that smoking was a probable cause for lung cancer.
Today, most people understand that smoking is harmful to their health. Over the last decade, however, vaping has emerged as an alternative nicotine product that could pose significant health risks for younger people — especially in the era of COVID-19.
In this episode, Daniel Fitzgerald of the American Lung Association shares the compelling reasons adults and adolescents should be cautious about vaping. He describes the public health challenges regarding vaping and discusses the cycle of addiction that could linger with users for years.
Fitzgerald, who started as a youth advocate, also gives a personal story that highlights the far-reaching consequences of using nicotine at an early age. A spokesperson for the TRUTH Initiative, Fitzgerald has contributed to Rhode Island’s efforts to reduce the impact of tobacco.
Tune in for another exciting episode that explores an emerging public health concern. You’ll hear Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan raise important questions that parents and teens may be wondering.
For free, confidential, and personalized resources to help teens ages 13-17 quit smoking or vaping nicotine, please visit mylifemyquit.com. Teens and adults may also call the free Rhode Island Nicotine Helpline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) to get customized quit coaching sessions by phone at times convenient to them (day or night) and more free resources to help them quit for good.
Youth sports took a big hit in the fall because of the pandemic. For many kids, the decision from public health leaders to implement COVID-19 related restrictions nationwide meant playing with a mask on or postponing the season altogether.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Michael Lunney of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIIL) discusses the strategies that helped keep sports activities open and kept kids safe while remaining active.
The executive director of RIIL, Lunney worked with public health leaders to keep coaches, teams, and families safe and informed about sports restrictions.
What are the risker sports? Why do some sports have more restrictions? What can kids and coaches do to keep COVID-19 out of the locker room?
Listen in for answers to these questions! You wouldn’t believe who has a connection to a former San Antonio Spurs basketball player.
A medical assistant who had to rely on the support of their older kids. A family physician based in the South who spoke out very publicly in support of teachers at a tumultuous time. A school nurse who had to tackle new challenges at work and at home.
These are the stories of frontline workers who got up every morning to provide essential services despite whatever was going on in the world— a pandemic in this case.
While COVID-19 is the disease that tied these stories together, resilience and hope are the recurring themes that emerge when chronicling their setbacks and triumphs.
In this episode, Dr. Therese Zink shares some of the stories she heard from essential workers since the start of the pandemic. The author of COVID Chronicles: How Essential Workers Cope, Dr. Zink also shares insights on what it was like to leave the West Bank just when international airports started closing their terminals.
Join our podcast hosts for another exciting episode as they reflect on what’s been lost over the past year. You won’t want to miss it!
STIs and the pandemic are two issues that are rarely discussed in the same room. One is a global pandemic that has disrupted entire economies, and the other is a public health issue that’s rarely talked about outside of the doctor’s office.
From the perceived restrictions on freedoms to the preventative measures to stop the spread of infectious disease, Dr. Ina Park breaks down some of the parallels between these two distinct issues in American households.
Dr. Park, the author of Strange Bedfellows: Adventures in Science, History, and Surprising Secrets of STDs, joins our podcast hosts to discuss STIs in 2021 and what data suggests we can expect to see in the future.
An associate professor at UC San Francisco and a consultant for the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, Dr. Park has worked to address the stigma surrounding STIs through her research and patient care. She also reveals a pop-culture secret for one of America’s favorite TV shows that's all about finding love.
Tune in to learn about the different ways STIs can spread, and the ways you can protect yourself.
In the early 20th century, Americans were facing another public health crisis that challenged medical staff and engineers like never before.
City leaders and public health officials of that time likely asked themselves something eerily familiar, “How can we prevent the spread of infectious disease?” While today’s public health crisis is different, one of the strategies applied in 1918 has made a comeback. We’re talking about indoor ventilation.
In today’s episode, Jeremy McDonald of Guth DeConzo and Dr. Michael Byrns of the Rhode Island Department of Health weigh-in on easy and practical solutions to improve air quality. They look to the past, revisit current strategies, and explore the public health implications of improved ventilation.
Tune in for another relaxed conversation with Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan. If you like the episode, please make sure to share it with your friends and family to help them stay safe too.
Scientists across the world sprang into action when it was evident we had a pandemic on our hands. In the race to help prevent hospitalizations and deaths, researchers turned to convalescent plasma as a treatment candidate against COVID-19.
While doctors and medical professionals have since turned to other treatments and strategies to curb the spread of COVID-19, many were left wondering, “what happened with convalescent plasma?”
In today’s episode, Dr. Shmuel Shoham of Johns Hopkins University joins our hosts to discuss just that. Dr. Shoham is an infectious disease specialist who primarily worked with transplant patients before the pandemic. He was among the countless medical professionals who grew increasingly concerned about the pandemic’s impact on patients with comorbidities.
Tune in with Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan to learn about what happened with this experimental treatment, and what the data and science say about its future.
The United States of America may be recognized as the ‘home of the brave and land of the free,’ but now that reputation could be coming back to bite the nation.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan discuss the factors that may have contributed to the country’s COVID-19 response.
Currently, about 1 in 5 deaths from COVID-19 are attributable to the United States. These statistics are further compounded when the country’s population only accounts for a fraction of the global population. Now, many are asking themselves, 'what happened?"
Could a national plan have prevented the outcome for hundreds of thousands of Americans? Was a cultural mindset to blame for non-compliance to COVID-19 safety guidelines? Should Americans be concerned about states easing mask mandates prematurely?
Join our podcast hosts to hear about all of this and more! To be the first listener when new episodes drop, make sure you hit the subscribe button.
While all eyes are on the vaccination efforts in the United States, one religious leader from Rhode Island reflects on the things he hopes people will cherish once the pandemic has run its course.
OceanPointe Christian Church, a non-denominational Christian church in Middletown, Rhode Island, has had to adapt like any other organization to serve its members and meet its mission.
Jeff Stalnaker, the church’s lead minister, opens up about the challenges COVID-19 presented to its members and the looming concerns his community has post-COVID.
Stalnaker also details some of the strategies the church deployed to help support families and school children.
“Absence makes the heart grow founder,” said Stalnaker, referring to what’s been lost and gained during the pandemic.
Join Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan for an honest and transparent conversation on the impact of COVID-19 on faith communities.
States in New England have so much in common. Eagle eyed travelers will notice that Rhode Island and New Hampshire —in particular — share similar histories, architecture, and climates. Another easily missed similarity could be their responses to COVID-19.
Leaders in both states have worked aggressively to curb the spread of COVID-19 since it arrived on our shores. From testing to community mitigation strategies to vaccination programs, both states have faced similar challenges in their response to the ongoing pandemic.
In this episode, Dr. Benjamin Chan discusses New Hampshire’s progress against COVID-19. A New Hampshire state epidemiologist, Dr. Benjamin Chan highlights policy and communications strategies that have aided in reducing hospitalizations and helped save lives.
Listen in for another exciting conversation with our podcast hosts. You’ll also hear about the unknown factors that could pose hiccups for fully reopening the economy.
What happened to the flu?
Researchers and public health officials have seen an intriguing decline in influenza cases across the United States and most of the world. After countless awareness campaigns, it seems like the ongoing pandemic may have played a role in helping squash this wintery nuisance — at least for this season.
In this Public Health Out Loud episode, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan highlight the factors that could be contributing to the decline of flu cases. They also take a step back and reflect on the rise of the first modern pandemic.
Tune in to hear a thorough breakdown of the similarities and differences between the flu and COVID-19. Most importantly, hear why COVID-19 has been so successful in spreading to communities and the significance of keeping our guard up in these challenging times.
It was evident early on in the pandemic that incarcerated individuals were at an increased risk for COVID-19. Many prisons, including facilities in Rhode Island, were simply not designed to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19.
Based on the data available, Rhode Island joined other states in providing lifesaving medicine to this marginalized population. It wasn’t a popular decision, but it is one that the Rhode Island Department of Health continues to support.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Justin Berk outlines the driving reasons for the decision and how it benefitted the broader community.
“People are coming in and out. No jail is an island. Individuals are incarcerated and released, but we also have people coming in: correctional officers, social workers, physicians, dentists, and lawyers,” said Dr. Berk, who was named the acting medical director at the Department of Corrections in December.
Join Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan for another episode that sheds light on one of the most hotly debated issues in the state and the nation.
Rhode Island recently reached an important milestone in its vaccine rollout. At the start of February, the state counted over 100,000 vaccines administered to Rhode Islanders.
Reaching this point has not been easy. State and public health leaders have poured countless hours and weekends working with community stakeholders to develop a vaccine program that is fair and equitable.
During a January press conference, Dr. Nicole Alexander Scott reiterated the immense logistical challenge of coordinating vaccinations for one of the most densely populated states when there continues to be a limited supply of vaccines.
Eventually, the state would like for everyone who wants the vaccine will be able to get one. But it is important to understand the reasoning for decisions being made today on who is getting vaccinated.
Join Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan of the Rhode Island Department of Health for a discussion on the guiding principles driving vaccination prioritization in Rhode Island.
There are many questions swirling around the B-117 variant of COVID-19—also dubbed the UK variant—that has appeared in more than 30 countries including the United States.
As of right now, Rhode Island has not identified a single case of the new variant on Wednesday, January 27. While it may come as a welcome update, public health officials in the state warn it is only a matter of time before it is detected.
To understand this medical perspective, it is important to know that this strain was first detected late in 2020 and it quickly became the dominant strain in the United Kingdom. A few places across the United States have already detected this strain.
Listen to this week’s episode with Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan as they define the meaning of a variant, and breakdown what it all means for vaccines. Tune in for a discussion that highlights the public health tools and strategies that will help protect Rhode Islanders in the coming months.
Imagine—for a second—being one missed payment away from experiencing homelessness. While that very thought can be unsettling, it is a reality for many Rhode Islanders who now also need to think about staying safe during an ongoing pandemic.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Rahul Vanjani discusses what the state has done to support this at-risk population and his involvement in helping these individuals get the resources they need.
An assistant professor of medicine at Brown University, Dr. Vanjani is a co-author of “An Isolation Hotel for People Experiencing Homelessness.” The paper, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, describes an innovative response to COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic.
Join Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan for another insightful conversation on the challenges of addressing homelessness during a global crisis.
Over the last 100 years, vaccines have become an important tool for helping prevent the spread of disease. Smallpox and polio claimed countless lives in the 1900s and were just a few of the diseases that devastated American households prior to the development of effective vaccines.
Today, the World Health Organization estimates that 2-3 million lives are saved every year. That means that more kids get to grow old, more parents are able to see their children graduate college and become independent, and grandparents are able to enjoy retirement for longer than any previous generation.
With countries around the world, including the United States, working against the clock to administer COVID-19 vaccines safely and equitably, a growing number of misconceptions and myths are coming into focus. Join Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan for another insightful conversation as they wade through the lies, misinformation, and false statements made about COVID-19 vaccines.
In this episode, you’ll learn more about the diseases we’ve overcome by using vaccines, some of the myths that have become more common, and the rigorous process COVID-19 vaccines went through before becoming more widely available.
It is estimated that roughly 1.8 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States. While there are several treatments for cancer available today, outcomes will vary because of family history, early screening, and the type of cancer detected.
This Public Health Out Loud episode will focus on something that’s not always talked about from a medical perspective: the personal stories of survivors.
Gail McDonald’s story begins at a retail store when her family noticed her sudden weight loss, eventually leading her to see her doctor. Listen to her recall those memories —as if they happened yesterday— and the thoughts that were racing through her mind.
Joining Gail as a recent cancer survivor, Dr. Amy Nunn describes what it was like being diagnosed with cancer in the middle of a pandemic. Dr. Nunn is a professor of behavioral and social sciences at the Brown University School of Public Health and the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Public Health Institute.
Tune in for another episode with Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan as they help the speakers piece together their uplifting and poignant stories.
While scientists and researchers worked relentlessly throughout 2020 to understand and respond to COVID-19 effectively, the general public at times had to navigate an avalanche of information that seemed to change with the pandemic.
Today, public health experts know more about COVID-19 than they did in March and April, but they now have to contend with misinformation hitting social media platforms too.
We know masks work. We know that K-12 schools aren’t major spreaders of COVID-19. And we have a good understanding of how the disease spreads. But these statements were met with discord in the first half of the year.
In this episode, Emily Oster, a professor economics at Brown University, an economist and author, discusses what she has observed throughout the pandemic. She also sheds light on some of the more nuanced concerns and questions people have about COVID-19.
Earlier this year, Oster joined a team of medical experts and data scientists to support an online hub called COVID Explained, where visitors can find ‘no non-sense’ guidance and information about COVID-19.
Join Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Phillip Chan for another exciting episode featuring a nationally recognized author who decided to use her talents to help address the ongoing pandemic.
College enrollment projections for Fall 2020 were expected to be around 19.7 million students nationally. Most of the students arriving on college campuses this year, however, would find a very different campus. In many cases, a campus that was shaped to help prevent COVID-19 outbreaks.
As administrators worked around the clock to start the academic year safely — alongside health officials in their respective states — faculty were tasked with nurturing intellectual curiosity in novel ways. Through distance learning, outdoor classes, bubbles, and virtual events, students have experienced college life like no generation before them.
In this week’s episode, Gordon College student Luis Raoul Villalta-Santana joins our podcast hosts to discuss what it’s like to start college during a pandemic. He is part of a global cohort of students who have had to contend with unique challenges reflective of the times we live in.
Join Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan for a conversation that’s happening across American households!
Testing positive for COVID-19 is a scary thought for most Americans. From the barrage of information on what to do next to the act of isolating in a separate room, the pandemic has changed the way people live that would have been inconceivable just a year before.
While there are effective vaccines available, there are still many questions lingering about COVID-19 that has puzzled the medical community.
One area under the microscope is people who are experiencing ‘Long COVID’ or ‘COVID Long Haulers.’ These are the individuals who continue to experience COVID-19 symptoms — sometimes debilitating — for weeks to months on end.
In this episode, Dr. Jennie Johnson joins our podcast hosts to share what the medical community knows about Long COVID, the frequency of this condition, and its similarities to other diseases that lead to post infectious syndrome.
Dr. Johnson is an infectious disease physician and an assistant professor of medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. A specialist in vector borne diseases, Dr. Johnson is also the Associate Medical Director at Lifespan’s Infectious Diseases and Immunology Center.
Join us for another exciting and informative episode with Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan as they dig deep into some of the most common questions surrounding COVID long haulers.
From Rhode Island to California, the reverberations of the pandemic has forced musicians and artists to consider other career opportunities or adapt to the new reality we find ourselves in today.
Some have found success through the popularity of social media apps like TikTok — jumpstarting a wave of content creators in the race to get more followers. A task that’s easier said than done.
In this episode, podcast hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan have a candid conversation with Casey Cook and Marc Trachtenberg on what’s it like to be a musician today.
Cook and Trachtenberg are independent artists who made most of their discretionary income from music pre-pandemic. While these inspiring artists live nearly 3,000 miles apart, their stories of perseverance and resilience is an eerily familiar one that is resonating with millions of households in America.
Join us for a somber look at what the music industry is facing. You won’t want to miss the outlooks our guests have for the year ahead and their thoughts on the future of the music industry.
About Our Guests
Casey Cook
Casey Cook is a Los Angeles based singer and songwriter.
A Rhode Island native who grew up singing in choirs and earning countless leading roles in musical theatre, she would eventually attend Belmont University and took her love of songwriting to the City of Angels upon graduation.
Cook’s songs have been placed in movies, television and film festivals around the world, and in 2019 she earned an international cut with Eurovision winner Lena-Meyer Landrut, co-writing the single “Boundaries” which became the official campaign song of Marvel's X-Men Dark Phoenix in several European countries.
Learn more about Casey by visiting iamcaseycook.com.
Marc Trachtenberg
Marc Trachtenberg is a Rhode Island based pianist, singer, composer, and educator.
After graduating from New York University with a degree in music education, Trachtenberg became a piano teacher by day and keyboardist at night. His interest in enriching kids’ lives through music led him through a remarkable journey to the creation of Rock-a-Baby — a popular infant and toddler music class that he would bring back to Rhode Island.
Trachtenberg and his wife, Stephanie, have started streaming a piano bar on Facebook. The duo play live from their living room, and it’s steadily gaining more support.
Learn more about Trachtenberg here:
https://www.facebook.com/welldoitlivepiano/live_videos/?ref=page_internal [facebook.com]
It’s that time of year again when most Americans have to navigate the health insurance landscape, either through their employer or through the state’s health exchange.
But something is different this year, and it’s looming large over swaths of people who have seen COVID-19 spill into their lives in one way or another.
As more people turn to testing to help stop the spread, health insurance has become a topic of discussion that will certainly be even more important heading into the next year.
Join us for a special discussion with HealthSource RI Director Lindsay Lang as she unwraps some of the nuances of health insurance, and shares important information for folks who might need additional health insurance services and support.
Open enrollment ends on January 23, 2021, for health insurance plans available on healthsourceri.com.*
There is no denying that moms have it tough. If the pain of bearing a child isn’t enough, moms may also have to address a whirlwind of neurological and psychological changes that can impact their overall well-being.
In this episode, Dr. Jessica Pineda of Women’s Behavioral Health at Women & Infants Hospital joins our podcast hosts to spotlight a program that has helped improve the lives of women across Rhode Island.
As the medical director of the Women’s Day Program — a partial hospitalization program that’s become an increasingly important anchor for women during the pandemic — she digs into the services and resources available to expectant moms before and after pregnancy. Dr. Pineda also shares insights into the inequities women are facing that have become more pronounced as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on.
Join us for another episode with Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan to find out some of the options available for new mothers, and coping strategies to get through these troubling times.
Rhode Island is one of four states selected to pilot the distribution of Pfizer’s vaccine candidate to treat COVID-19. While the development is welcome news for many, there is still a sense of restlessness to find a cure that could help end the ongoing pandemic.
Since March, a few treatments intended to reduce deaths associated with SARS-CoV2 made headlines around the world. Overnight, remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, and corticosteroids drew attention for their potential to help save COVID-19 patients who were experiencing more severe symptoms.
In this episode, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan go into the types of treatments available, how they work, and what we’ve learned from these treatments and others. And now we are hearing about infusion centers?
Don’t miss what’s sure to be another insightful episode as the need for an effective treatment becomes even more urgent heading into winter.
As countries around the world contend with a second wave of COVID-19 infections, people have grown increasingly curious about one of the key cornerstones of pandemic responses. Luckily, Rhode Island has been a national leader in incorporating testing across the board.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. James McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan discuss the different types of tests available as more people find themselves anxiously waiting for their results.
Tune in to hear the public health duo take a hard look at the strengths and drawbacks of tools like antigen and PCR tests — both of which have played an outsized role in identifying positive cases and minimizing the spread of COVID-19. They also go in depth on the first testing challenges Rhode Island faced; the differences between diagnostic and screening tests; and what this all means for the broader public.
If you’re looking for answers, you’ve come to the right place.
Vaccines seem to be top of mind several months into an evolving pandemic that has disrupted nearly every facet of everyday life. Few, if any, contagious diseases in recent memory have managed to shutdown concert venues, business sectors, sporting events, and religious and seasonal gatherings like SARS-CoV-2.
As the world holds its breath for an effective vaccine against COVID-19, researchers are finding that more people are expressing concern over the safety of a potential vaccine so soon.
Historically, vaccines remain in development for much longer than any of the COVID-19 offerings currently on the table. So, what's the deal here? What actually goes into the development of a vaccine? Why does it matter? Why do vaccines work the way they do?
Listen in to this episode with Dr. James McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan as they unfold what makes a vaccine safe and effective. They’ll breakdown the science behind different types of vaccines, talk about notable vaccine achievements, and offer hope for what’s to come.
Despite countless recommendations on the use of face masks, the scientific community ran into an unexpected hurdle that might have been inconceivable just a few years ago. Specifically, how the use of face masks became a political issue.
Across the United States, Americans will find inconsistencies in the adherence of safety precautions. Fortunately, in the Ocean State, most residents are following the recommendations put forth by the state and that has led to a change in everyday life.
Today, nearly everyone can mention a time when they were out the door only to realize they forgot something as important as their wallet – a face mask that would’ve let them enter a store and shop guilt free.
Another surprise comes from the forward-thinking business leaders who saw opportunities in accessorizing essential items like masks. We’re looking at you Major League Baseball!
As the country looks to a more positive year, Dr. James McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan discuss how our lives have changed since COVID. They also place their sights on some of the challenges that businesses have had to overcome.
As the world buzzed along at the start of 2020, trouble was brewing in other parts of world that would eventually arrive in the United States. We’re talking about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
While everyone knows how that story played out, the novel disease is continuing to shape the political, social, and medical landscape in unexpected ways. In the face of adversity, businesses and people in the United States — and abroad for that matter — have adapted to what is now the new normal.
One greeting of yesteryear that’s been put out to pasture is the handshake. In this episode, Dr. James McDonald and Dr. Phillip Chan of the Rhode Island Department of Health dig deeper into COVID-19 and take a historical look at greetings.
Who decides when we have a pandemic? When will handshakes return? What should people expect in the future? And what other alternatives do we have? Tune in for insights into these questions and more.
Everyone has heard the word ‘pandemic’ by now. Whether you’re waiting in traffic or checking out the safety posters at your favorite restaurant, you’re probably going to hear or see ‘pandemic’ mentioned again.
Not all contagious viruses and diseases are called pandemics though. In the case of COVID-19, the World Health Organization didn’t raise the alarm bells until March – about three full months after the first reported case appeared in Wuhan, China.
In this episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. James McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan of the Rhode Island Department of Health breakdown the meaning of all of these ‘demics’ and they touch on the health disparities being observed in our nation’s communities.
Why did it take so long to be called a pandemic? When did it change from an epidemic to a pandemic? And now you’re hearing about endemics and syndemics? What does it all mean? This year has been full of unpleasant surprises, and if we’re not careful, 2020 can still give us another hard dose of reality.