At the Core of Care

In this episode, Donna Bailey, CEO, guides us through the pivotal role of Community Behavioral Health (CBH). CBH funds crucial mental health treatment for Medicaid recipients in Philadelphia, ensuring accessibility and support. We focus on CBH's efforts in supporting pregnant or parenting individuals, including collaborations with the Joseph J Peters Institute (JJPI). We explore NNCC's successful collaboration with JJPI, connecting over 200 clients to essential therapy services. This highlights CBH's extensive provider network and its impact on mental health outcomes. The conversation emphasizes preemptive engagement in mental health services and overcoming systemic barriers, addressing social determinants of health crucial to tackling mental health challenges. As we observe Black Maternal Mental Health Week 2024 (July 19-26), this episode underscores the need for equitable mental health care access. Join us as we discuss fostering comprehensive care for all Philadelphians.

Content Disclaimer: This episode contains discussions about intimate partner violence that some listeners may find disturbing or difficult to hear. This episode marks the second part of our two-part series on intimate partner violence (IPV). In our previous episode, we heard from Kalena Brown, an IPV survivor who shared her journey of overcoming immense challenges and using her voice to educate and support others. In this episode, we dive deeper into the topic with Lizz Tooher, RN, MPH and Mac Taylor, who reference Kalena's story as they discuss IPV in Philadelphia and beyond. Lizz Tooher is a public health nurse and the Senior Director of Child Health and Education at the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC), working closely with families raising children under five years old. Mac Taylor is a Paralegal with the Health Education and Legal Assistance Project (HELP MLP) at Widener University, collaborating with NNCC to support families enrolled in home visiting programs across Philadelphia. Home visitors, like those in the Mabel Morris Family Home Visit program, play a crucial role in screening for IPV and providing support to survivors. It's essential to recognize that IPV extends beyond physical violence, impacting survivors psychologically, emotionally, and financially. Lizz and Mac share their insights into the challenges faced by survivors, the importance of building trust and community connections, and the systemic barriers to accessing resources. Through their discussion, they shed light on the complexities of IPV and advocate for improved support systems. Join us as we explore the multifaceted nature of intimate partner violence and the role of healthcare providers and communities in addressing this critical issue.

Content Disclaimer: This episode contains discussions about intimate partner violence that some listeners may find disturbing or difficult to hear. In this episode, we begin a powerful two-part series on intimate partner violence (IPV). In Part 1, Kalena Brown, an IPV survivor shares her story of overcoming immense challenges including physical and psychological trauma, systemic failures, and societal stigma. Kalena recounts her harrowing journey through custody battles, abuse, and the emotional aftermath of IPV. She reveals the persistent institutional problems survivors face and her efforts to advocate for change within the healthcare and judicial systems. Her story is a testament to resilience and the importance of reclaiming one's voice. Join us as we delve into Kalena's story, shedding light on the often-hidden aspects of IPV and exploring how healthcare providers and society can better support survivors. As we bring you this episode in May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month, it's crucial to recognize that IPV manifests in various forms beyond physical violence, including psychological, emotional, and financial abuse.

In this compelling podcast episode, we are joined by guest Shukriyyah Mitchell Hinton, BSN, RN, the Senior Director of Outreach and Advocacy from the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC) who leads a poignant conversation with Saleemah McNeil, CLC, MS, MFT, and Imani Davis. Together, they delve into the systemic challenges facing Black maternal health in Philadelphia and beyond. From personal experiences to community initiatives, they explore the multifaceted efforts to address disparities through advocacy, education, and support. As they navigate through discussions on mental health, home visiting programs, and legislative advocacy, they bring light to the ongoing struggles for maternal health equity. Imani Davis is a lived experience expert and community specialist for organizations including Strategy Arts and Community Action Network (CAN). Saleemah McNeil is a reproductive psychotherapist and founder of the Oshun Family Center in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. This episode coincides with Black Maternal Health Week. To learn more about virtual and in-person events scheduled in Philadelphia, please visit bmhwphilly.org for more information. 

Our partners at Obscured captured the insights of our distinguished panelists in two parts, each shedding light on the diverse facets of harm reduction and effective strategies for addressing trauma resulting from interactions with law enforcement. If you have not listened to Part 1, we recommend starting with that episode. Listen here! Continuing the dialogue in the second part of the panel discussion are moderators Stephanie Marudas from Kouvenda Media and Namaijah Faison, MPH from the Pennsylvania Action Coalition. Joining them is Talitha Smith, BSN, RN, a nurse navigator with the Allegheny Health Network’s Center for Inclusion Health Clinic, RIvER (Rethinking Incarceration and Empowering Recovery). Following Talitha, we delve into the experiences of Chad Bruckner, a retired police detective who now owns and oversees a private investigator firm, Intercounty Investigations & Solutions, Inc. and is a coach and recovery specialist. Wrapping up the discussion is Laurie A. Corbin, MSS, MLSP, who is the Managing Director for Community Engagement at Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC). She oversees a range of programs that provide social services, prevention, intervention, treatment, and education to at-risk individuals and their families.

In a special collaboration, the Pennsylvania Action Coalition joined forces with Kouvenda Media’s Obscured Journalism Initiative last year to host a thought-provoking panel discussion on law enforcement interactions within the community and the implementation of a harm reduction care model. Our partners at Obscured captured the insights of our distinguished panelists in two parts, each shedding light on the diverse facets of harm reduction and effective strategies for addressing trauma resulting from interactions with law enforcement. In this episode, we hear from Talitha Smith, a nurse navigator with the Allegheny Health Network’s Center for Inclusion Health Clinic, RIvER (Rethinking Incarceration and Empowering Recovery). Talitha shares her insights about harm reduction and her passion for RIvER’s unique programming, which rapidly, effectively, and compassionately addresses the health needs of individuals post-release from incarceration.  Following Talitha's insights, we delve into the experiences of Chad Bruckner, a retired police detective who now owns and oversees a private investigator firm and is a coach and recovery specialist. Closing the discussion is Laurie A. Corbin who is the Managing Director for Community Engagement at Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC). She oversees a range of programs that provide social services, prevention, intervention, treatment, and education to at-risk individuals and their families.

In this episode, we speak with Kim Trout, PhD, RN, CNM, FACNM, FAAN and Saumya Ayyagari, MSN, MPH about nurse-led research on the lived experiences of sex workers who identify as women and their healthcare needs. We also hear insights from Blue Laurano, a harm reduction professional and MPH candidate at Temple University. Trout and Ayyagari are two of the three researchers on the study, “In Our Own Voices: The Lived Experience of Sex Workers in Philadelphia who Identify as Women.” This study aimed to begin filling the gaps in our knowledge concerning how the lived experience of being a woman (i.e., a cisgender or transgender woman) sex worker affects her health, health preferences, health needs, and health care utilization.  Saumya Ayyagari is the Nursing Workforce Development Manager for the Pennsylvania Action Coalition. Prior to this, her nursing career focused on reproductive health and parental and child health. She is passionate about expanding access to health care in a manner that is empowering to communities. Dr. Trout is an Associate Professor at the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing at Villanova University where she conducts research on health promotion, health equity, and maternal morbidity reduction through nursing and midwifery care. Blue Laurano has worked in harm reduction for more than seven years. They are deeply committed to uplifting the voices of persons who use substances & educating people about the benefits of utilizing harm reduction in all spaces. They are currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health at Temple University. Trout and Ayyagari hope their findings will inform health care and public health professionals about how to improve health care services for sex workers who identify as women. Read their published research article here: In Our Own Voices: The Lived Experience of Sex Workers in Philadelphia who Identify as Women

In this episode, we are closing out our special vaccine confidence coverage with Letha Joseph, DNP, APRN, AGPCNP-BC and Adeline Kline, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, NCSN who are members of the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium’s Vaccine Confidence Advisory Committee. Kline and Joseph discuss the importance of relationship-building with community members to help promote health and wellness goals. Letha Joseph is a nurse practitioner from Durham, North Carolina. She is also the Director of the Geriatric and Extended Care Nurse Practitioner Residency program at the Durham VA Healthcare System and consulting associate at the Duke University School of Nursing. Adeline Kline is a family nurse practitioner and clinical educator for Hawai’i Keiki, which is a partnership between the University of Hawai’i Mānoa School of Nursing and the Hawai‘i Department of Education. 

Our special vaccine confidence coverage continues as we discuss the latest vaccine confidence trends and lessons learned as we enter the third year of the COVID-19 public health emergency. In this episode, we speak to Monica J. Harmon, MSN, MPH, RN and Jayatri Das, Ph.D. about the role that non-traditional health settings and partnerships have played in recent years to promote vaccine confidence.   Harmon and Das have been involved in educational and public health outreach within the community since the beginning of the pandemic. Jayatri Das is the Chief Bioscientist at the Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia that leads education programming and research efforts. She is also the Executive Producer of the Franklin Institute’s So Curious! Podcast. Das has helped oversee the Franklin Institute’s involvement with a nationwide initiative called Communities for Immunity to help educate and engage the public during the pandemic. Monica J. Harmon is a public health nurse and holds various leadership roles. At Drexel University she is the Executive Director at the College of Nursing and Health Professions (CNHP) Community Wellness HUB in addition to being an assistant clinical professor. She is also the Interim CNHP Services Director at the Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services. Harmon serves as the Co-Chair for the Pennsylvania Action Coalition’s Nurse Diversity Council and is the chapter president of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Area Black Nurses Association (SEPABNA).

Our special vaccine confidence coverage continues as we discuss the latest vaccine confidence trends and lessons learned along the way. In this episode, Annette Gadegbeku, M.D joins us for a community-health focused conversation about her work and active role in various vaccination and testing initiatives that helped serve the community at Drexel University. She shares some of the key community health lessons learned after rolling out these initiatives specifically at the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships. Annette Gadegbeku is a family physician and holds various leadership roles at Drexel University in addition to being an associate professor. She is the Chief of the Division of Community Health in the Department of Family, Community, & Preventive Medicine, the Associate Dean for the Office of Community Health & Health Equity, and the Medical Director of the Healing Hurt People Program in the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice.

In 2021 we rolled out a six-part vaccine confidence series featuring nurse champions who shared their experience with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, addressing nursing burnout, and much more. We are continuing the conversation about vaccine confidence with a four-episode special focusing on vaccine confidence trends and lessons learned so far. In this episode we follow up with Melody Butler, who we previously talked to in 2021 from our first vaccine confidence series. She explains where we are in the pandemic and addresses the simultaneous surge of COVID, RSV, and the flu. Butler also shares her perspective on whether we are more prepared to prevent cases of infectious disease than in previous years. Melody Butler, BSN, RN, CIC is an Infection Preventionist at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center on Long Island and the founder of Nurses Who Vaccinate.

In this episode, we speak to Kathleen Metzker and Sara Reid about centering trauma literacy in the health center medical home and how health systems can cultivate trauma-aware practices as part of their delivery of care. Metzker and Reid are interviewed by Jillian Bird, Director of Training and Technical Assistance at the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium to support providers working at community health centers across the country.  Kathleen Metzker is the Director of Integrative Health and Mind Body Services at the Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services of Drexel University. In this multidisciplinary health care setting, more than 6,000 patients access a range of services, including: primary care, behavioral health, dental services, and health and wellness programs. Sara Reid is a health educator, support group facilitator and consumer board member for the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless. She is a public speaker and delivers trainings on transgender priorities, including teaching medical and behavioral health providers how to provide gender-affirming healthcare. Support for this episode comes from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is part of an award totaling $550,000 with zero percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

In this episode, we have a conversation with two community health professionals about the role community health centers play in addressing community violence. Cheryl Seay and Wayne Clark share how they are working to improve access to health care and reduce violence in their communities. Seay and Clark are interviewed by Jillian Bird, Director of Training and Technical Assistance at the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium to support providers working at community health centers across the country. Cheryl Seay is the Program Manager for the Center for Community Health Workers at Penn Medicine at Home and is the founder of the Jarrell Christopher Seay Love and Laughter Foundation, a nonprofit focused on addressing gun violence and community health. Wayne Clark is a Health Navigator at Roots Community Health Center, Inc. He is also the founder and executive director at Oakland Impact Center, which provides innovative counseling, mentoring, skill building, violence prevention training, and more. Support for this episode comes from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is part of an award totaling $550,000 with zero percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

In recognition of November being National Diabetes Month, this episode is about equitable diabetes prevention services for special and vulnerable populations, specifically Pacific Islanders. We speak to Jen Lee from Atlanta, Georgia and Cecilia Sigrah from Kosrae, an island in the Federated States in Micronesia about the rollout of their Pacific Islander Diabetes Prevention Program (PI-DPP) – now entering its fifth year. Interviewed by Jillian Bird, Director of Training and Technical Assistance at the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium, Lee and Sigrah talk about PI-DPP and the outcomes of providing a tailored prevention program to the communities they serve.  Jen Lee is the Deputy Director for the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) and Cecilia Sigrah is the Operations Manager, Coordinator and Lifestyle Coach for the Kosrae Community Health Center. Support for this episode comes from the Health Resources and Services Administration (or HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (or HHS). It is part of an award totaling $550,000 with zero percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents of this podcast are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

In this episode, we hear about the impact of chronic stress on personal and community health from two longtime community health professionals, Uzuri Pease-Greene and Jeneen Skinner. Interviewed by Jillian Bird, Director of Training and Technical Assistance at the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium, Pease-Greene and Skinner share their experiences working at the community level along with the lessons they have learned and the importance of trust to relationship building. Jeneen Skinner works in Camden, New Jersey and is the Senior Clinical Manager for care management initiatives for the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers and Uzuri Pease-Greene is the Executive Director of Community Awareness Resource Entity (C.A.R.E.) in San Francisco. To learn more about the issues discussed in this episode, check out a related training webinar available online: Chronic Stress, Housing, and Health: Patient Experiences and Strategies for Comprehensive Care.

This episode is part of an ongoing series about mental health integration services as part of the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium’s (NNCC's) work through the Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership and Mabel Morris Family Home Visiting Program. Home visiting nurses from at NNCC identified the growing demand for mental health care for clients. In response, NNCC onboarded two therapists to provide counseling directly to parents in the home visiting programs at no cost to the client. In this episode, we speak to two mothers currently receiving therapeutic services through the Joseph J. Peters Institute. Both mothers share their experience, including changes in how they view their role as a parent, learning to cope with childhood trauma, and the impact that access to therapy has made in their lives so far. *Content Warning: Child abuse is briefly discussed in this episode.

Currently, 26 states across the United States grant full practice authority for NPs, with Kansas and New York modernizing their laws most recently. In this episode, we hear more about how these two states moved towards full practice authority and what this could mean for other states, such as Pennsylvania, where reduced practice regulations exist. Joining us for this conversation are Pennsylvania State Senator Camera Bartolotta and Dr. Tay Kopanos. Topics covered include current obstacles to full practice authority and the future of primary care needs. Senator Camera Bartolotta is a Republican State Senator representing southwestern Pennsylvania’s 46th District. Dr. Tay Kopanos is a nurse practitioner and the Vice President of State Government Affairs for the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.  In case you missed it, listen to Part 1 of our special coverage with Dr. Lynn Heard, a longtime nurse practitioner who has been unable to find new collaborative agreements with a physician for two years now. Two of her patients also share their perspective with us about the change in their primary care.   To learn more about full practice authority, listen to our previous episode, The Fight for Full Practice Authority in Pennsylvania, which features various NPs who are advocating for themselves and their patients. 

Full practice authority permits nurse practitioners, who are nurses with advanced degrees, to deliver healthcare without unnecessary barriers or restrictions. Currently, 26 states across the United States grant full practice authority for NPs. In this episode, we hear from Lynn Heard, a family nurse practitioner and longtime school nurse. She’s based in Pennsylvania, a reduced practice state, meaning NPs must have a collaborative agreement with two physicians in order to prescribe medicine and provide their full spectrum of care. At the start of the pandemic, Heard lost her collaborative agreement after the physician she worked with closed down their practice. Since then, she’s had trouble finding new physicians to collaborate with and has scaled back her family practice considerably. We also hear from Bonnie McFarland and Susan Donces, two of Heard’s longtime patients. Since Lynn does not have a collaborating physician, McFarland can no longer see her and refuses to choose a new primary care provider. Donces continues to see Heard as her primary healthcare provider, but she cannot receive prescribed medication. Part 2 of our special coverage will discuss the broader scope of practice trends across the country. Joining us for that conversation are Pennsylvania State Senator Camera Bartolotta to talk about removing barriers to care here in Pennsylvania, along with nurse practitioner and state policy expert Tay Kopanos from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.  To learn more about full practice authority, listen to our previous episode, The Fight for Full Practice Authority in Pennsylvania, which features various NPs who are advocating for themselves and their patients.

In this episode, we speak with Garrett Chan. He’s the nurse leader behind HealthImpact, which is a California-based organization that has driven workforce development innovations within nursing. Over the course of the pandemic, HealthImpact has been behind two major initiatives to help promote vaccine confidence: VaxForce and Trust a Nurse, Ask a Nurse. VaxForce was launched to recruit skilled volunteers who could perform vaccinations, while the Trust a Nurse, Ask a Nurse program relies on volunteer nurses to field vaccination questions from community members. Garrett Chan is the president and CEO of HealthImpact, and also an associate adjunct professor at the University of California San Francisco. Previously, he served as Director for the Center for Education and Professional Development, and Director of Advanced Practice at Stanford Healthcare. And check out our previous related episode with Lizett Leandro. She’s worked as a consultant for the Trust a Nurse, Ask a Nurse program.

As part of our Special Report series, we shift our focus from nursing burnout to an innovative nurse-based initiative to build vaccine confidence in California. In this episode, we speak to Lizett Leandro about her work as a consultant for the Trust A Nurse, Ask A Nurse program, a telehealth platform created by HealthImpact. The program relies on volunteer nurses to field vaccination questions from community members. Lizett helped create the initiative’s informational template and shares her experience with this type of public health outreach. Lizett Leandro is the Director of Clinical Services and Quality for a senior living non-profit in Southern California and a Gerontology Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Consultant at HealthImpact. She oversees nursing education policy and procedures and quality improvement for skilled nursing facilities and assisted living communities.

As part of our Special Report series, we continue with our coverage of different nursing views on the impact of burnout and how to address it.  In this episode, we hear from Dr. Dewi Brown-DeVeaux about burnout at a systems-level and how it influences vaccine confidence at this point in the pandemic. Dr. Brown-DeVeaux shares her perspective on what she thinks are the major causes of burnout in the healthcare space and what we can do to address it.  Dr. Dewi Brown-DeVeaux is the Director of Nursing Services for Interventional Radiology/Infusion/Family Group Practice at a major academic Medical Center in New York City. 

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Ali Tayyeb, a registered nurse and Assistant Professor at California State University, Los Angeles. Dr. Tayyeb is also a United States Navy veteran who specialized in combat trauma and is host of the podcast, RN Mentor.  When discussing his views on the impact of burnout, Dr. Tayyeb uses the word “burndown” instead. Dr. Tayyeb explains that the term "burnout" implies that healthcare professionals instigate through their personal actions, whereas the term “burndown” focuses on systemic issues embedded in the healthcare field.

Continuing our Special Report series with COVID-19 pandemic coverage, we speak with Dr. Paula Milone-Nuzzo about the current workforce crisis in health care. Discussing the continued need to reframe training and education for health professions, we explore potential solutions that could help cultivate more support, resilience and retention. Dr. Paula Milone-Nuzzo is currently a professor and President of MGH Institute of Health Professions, a graduate school started by Massachusetts General Hospital. Leading an extensive career in academia, her research interest includes workforce development, careers in health care and care for the elderly.

As part of our special COVID-19 pandemic coverage, we are continuing with a Special Report series that can be helpful to nurses and the communities they serve. In this episode, we hear from Carl Hinson and Maria Saldiva. They share their latest insights, lessons learned, and current approaches to navigating vaccination efforts in Texas and Hawai’i. Carl Hinson is the Director of Workforce Development for Hawai‘i Pacific Health. The organization leads mobile vaccination efforts across Hawai’i by recruiting high school students to vaccinate community members and converting motor coach buses into mobile vaccine clinics. Maria Saldiva is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Health San Antonio School of Nursing and a Family Nurse Practitioner at the university’s Wellness 360 Clinic. She is also a member of the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium’s Vaccine Confidence Advisory Committee. Maria shares issues that she and her colleagues are facing at this point in the pandemic, like determining when positive COVID-19 patients can return to work or school.

Continuing our coverage on housing and health, we speak with Rhonda Pfenning and Janet Wanek from the Coal Country Community Health Center in North Dakota. Coal Country is a federally qualified health center, providing services in four clinics throughout the state. In this episode, we learn about Coal Country’s best practices around telehealth and patient education for diabetes prevention and self-management, as well as barriers patients might encounter around technology and transportation within a rural health care setting. Rhonda Pfenning is a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator, and Janet Wanek is a licensed registered dietician nutritionist.

In this episode, we focus on community-based hepatitis interventions for the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and learn more about one of Philadelphia’s efforts where nurses and patient navigators collaborate to test and treat HCV. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, injection drug use accounts for up to 70% of new HCV cases in the United States. If treated, however, most HCV cases clear up in eight to twelve weeks through medication and primary care provider oversight. Prior to 2011, that was not the case. HCV treatment was managed by an infectious disease or liver specialist and required 24 to 48 weeks for a combination of weekly injections and oral medication with severe side effects.  To dive into this topic, we’re joined by Bibbi Stokes, an Infectious Diseases Nurse Manager and experienced Population Health Manager at Public Health Management Corporation. Our conversation touches on the game changers within HCV treatment, including the switch to an all-oral antiviral treatment allowing for more community-based HCV treatment.

In this episode, we speak with registered nurses, JoAnne Ivory and Dora Loya from TCA Health. They share how they set up and have run COVID-19 vaccination clinics at various public housing community sites in Chicago. They also discuss how they are adapting to the growing demand for COVID-19 testing. JoAnne Ivory is TCA Health’s Clinical Manager and Dora Loya is the Director of Clinical Services. They both specialize in community health work with public housing residents in Chicago. TCA Health started as a private clinic in 1970, within one of Chicago’s public housing developments, and later became a non-profit health care center and a Section 330 Community Health Center and Public Housing Primary Care grantee. 

As part of our Access to Care series, our coverage continues with a special focus on housing and health. In this episode, we speak with Zara Marselian and Javier Rodriguez from La Maestra Community Health Centers in San Diego. Zara Marselian is La Maestra’s President and Chief Executive Officer, and Javier Rodriguez is the Chief Medical Officer. La Maestra is a Public Housing and Special Populations Federally Qualified Health Center that has 18 primary care sites operated by more than 600 staff and many volunteers. Each year, La Maestra provides services to more than 45,000 people, specializing in care for mainly immigrants, refugees, low-income individuals and the homeless. Throughout this episode, Zara and Javier highlight how La Maestra supports various housing needs ranging from programs for people living in public housing, experiencing homelessness, and human trafficking to counseling for renters and residents receiving public assistance. 

In this episode, we delve into a range of issues related to clients from the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium’s (NNCC) nursing initiatives, Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) and Nursing Legal Partnership (NLP), including pregnancy work discrimination, the absence of paid parental leave, challenges with accessing COVID-era unemployment assistance, and the impacts of these factors on maternal and child health. We hear from Rachel Mark and Susanna Greenberg, two legal aid attorneys, and public health nurse, Erin Blair about the complicated lives of the growing families they directly serve during the pandemic. NNCC consists of various nursing initiatives including the Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) and Nursing Legal Partnership (NLP), which reach between 600-800 families impacted by economic and other social barriers. NFP links first-time low-income mothers with a nurse home visitor during pregnancy and until the baby turns two. Staff attorneys for the NLP are from HELP: MLP, the legal aid partner in our Nursing Legal Partnership. They are fully integrated into NNCC’s programs and services to help clients and nurses. Both programs shifted services to telehealth through most of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our speakers highlight the critical gap in relief for clients who were pregnant but unemployed before the pandemic and who were not eligible for any of the pandemic-era unemployment expansions. At the same time, they highlight many other families who were able to receive assistance that ultimately helped them save money and take care of their new babies during the pandemic.

This episode contains content that may be alarming to some listeners including descriptions of sexual assault and traumatic events. Listener discretion is advised Continuing our special series highlighting access to care, this episode features conversations with sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) across the country about new national standards under development to improve care for victims. This summer the National Institute for Standards and Technology launched the effort with support from the Department of Justice and the International Association of Forensic Nurses. We will learn from nurses how important this initiative is to advance and sustain care for victims of sexual assault. We start with Vikki Vodosia, a SANE at Children's Hospital Intervention and Prevention Services in Birmingham, Alabama. Vikki explains how rape kits can be different from state to state and what that means for survivor care, evidence collection, and more. Caitlin Yerkes is a Forensic Nurse Examiner in Virginia and a telecine expert consultant at Penn State’s SAFE-T Center. SAFE-T stands for Sexual Assault Forensic Examination - Telehealth. This initiative pairs more experienced SANEs with less experienced providers to team up on exams using telehealth, including across state lines. Caitlin virtually supports Pennsylvania-based providers from her home outside Washington, D.C. Later, we'll hear from SANE Kayce Ward, a Forensic Nurse Program Manager at the Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing College of Nursing at Texas A&M University and of the Texas Teleforensic Remote Assistance Center (Tex-TRAC). Kayce shares how rape kits have been standardized across Texas in recent years and how this has improved care for survivors This episode builds from a previous episode where we highlighted Penn-State’s SAFE-T Center’s innovative program to close a gap in services offering telehealth support medical practices in rural and underserved areas. We encourage you to learn more about their work on our feature here: https://www.paactioncoalition.org/about/podcast/item/524-episode-1.html

This is the second episode of our special coverage about equitable access to healthcare, specifically LGTBQ+ inclusive care. Part 2 features an in-depth conversation with Dr. Rachel Levine, United States Assistant Secretary for Health and Adrian Shanker, Founder and Executive Director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center. As part of their conversation Dr. Levine and Adrian Shanker address common disparities that exist for racial, ethnic and gender minorities. They also discuss how our healthcare system could be better designed to promote equitable access to care and well-being. This includes what happens when providers adopt cultural competency and humility in their practice, and the roles that health education and research can play. Dr. Levine is the 17th Assistant Secretary for Health for the United States Department of Health and Human Services or HHS. Prior to serving in this position, Dr. Levine was Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health.  Adrian Shanker is the Founder and Executive Director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is the editor of the book, Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health.

This is the first of two episodes highlighting access to culturally competent care, specifically LGTBQ+ inclusive care. In this first episode, we’re featuring an in-depth healthcare consumer panel focused on strategies to improve LGBT health outcomes. Adrian Shanker moderated the panel during Pennsylvania’s Healthcare Mosaic Conference: Advocacy and Equity in Action from earlier this year. Panelists Alisa Bowman and Preston Heldibridle share the lived experiences of LGBTQ people accessing healthcare. Adrian Shanker is the founder and Executive Director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is the editor of the book, Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health. Alisa Bowman is an advocate for trans youth of all ages and the trans community in general. She is a parent of a trans child and co-author of the book, Raising the Transgender Child. Preston Heldibridle is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Youth Congress (PYC). He is an advocate in Harrisburg and across the state for issues of importance to LGBTQ+ youth, especially for trans and non-binary youth.

In this episode, we venture to Pennsylvania’s Coal Region to learn how some health systems are working to expand access to dental care and improve oral health for children in underserved areas. The shortage of pediatric dentists has underscored the need for preventative care since long before the pandemic exacerbated it. We’ll hear from nurses and dentists delivering care in rural counties, as well as advocates working on the issue across Pennsylvania. Family nurse practitioner Tammy Lobach shares the challenges faced by her patients. Most of them rely on Medicaid or state insurance for medical coverage, but relatively few dental practices accept public insurance. Internet accessibility is another hurdle. Kelly Braun is a dental hygienist and the dental delivery systems coordinator for the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, where she manages trainings for primary care providers and other initiatives to improve dental health. She also oversaw the Medical Oral Expanded Care initiative (MORE Care) to train nurses and other primary care providers in preventative dental care. Launched by the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement, MORE Care programs have been implemented in rural Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Colorado, and Oregon during the past several years. Jessica Brennan, a public health dental hygiene practitioner, and Dr. Soumaya Bendjilali, are part-time specialists at the St. Luke’s Miners Hometown Federal Rural Health Clinic in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. They relate their experiences working at the clinic’s relatively new dental office, which opened in 2019. Helen Hawkey is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health. She explains how the coalition’s mission expanded from increasing access to fluoridated water to working with a diverse group of leaders on multiple initiatives to improve oral health across the state. A statewide coalition has documented successes in recent years in provider recruitment, running mobile clinics, school-based sealant programs, expanding dental screenings in primary care settings and more. With COVID-19 compounding the shortage of dentists, those solutions have taken on more significance but might not be enough to head off the crisis some say could lie ahead. Our producer Emily Previti recently talked to providers about how they’re navigating obstacles from transportation to water supply and food insecurity to cultural norms to broadband availability.

In this episode, we speak to Andrea Vettori, a nurse practitioner, and Executive Director of Sanctuary Farm. Sanctuary Farm consists of several growing lots that were previously abandoned and neglected in the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Sharswood. The organization helps meet a wide range of needs around nutrition, wellness, social and economic justice, and community safety. Andrea shares how she got into nursing and how Sanctuary Farm is a form of community-based health care.

In this episode, we spend time with Dr. Barbara Todd to discuss the role of mentorship and education in nurse practitioner training. Dr. Todd shares her personal clinical and teaching experience and emphasizes the importance of diversity in the workforce to support nurse practitioners who work in underserved communities. Dr. Barbara Todd is an experienced nurse practitioner certified in both family practice and acute care. She currently holds a leadership position as the Director of Practice and Education Advanced Practice at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). Dr. Todd also teaches at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research.

At the Core of Care is back with a new special series highlighting access to care. In this episode, we continue our coverage of school nursing as it remains an under-recognized and under-resourced field. Erin Maughan, a former school nurse, and leading school nurse researcher, shares her perspective with us. Erin is the Director of Research at the National Association of School Nurses (NASN). She previously taught public health nursing at Brigham Young University. As Research Director at NASN, she is working to build up the research infrastructure around school nursing to advance the field, including efforts to increase and standardize data collection that will ultimately help shape future practice and policy.

At the Core of Care is back with a new special series highlighting access to care. In this episode, PA Action Coalition Executive Director Sarah Hexem Hubbard speaks with three school nurses in Pennsylvania about their experience as a school nurse during the pandemic. Tracey Glynn-Roulinavage, a registered nurse with more than twenty years of experience, works within the Wilkes-Barre Area School District in northeastern Pennsylvania. She transitioned from acute care hospitals to school nursing four years ago and currently works at Heights Murray Elementary School. Wendy Robison is a certified school nurse within the Western Beaver County School District in western Pennsylvania. She is the recipient of the 2021 School Nurse Excellence Award from the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners (PASNAP). In addition to working as a school nurse, she serves as a nurse practitioner in an urgent care clinic during weekends, holidays, and the summer. Diane Shannon is a school nurse at Kennett Middle School in southeastern Pennsylvania and has been a school nurse the past 23 years. She is also the nurse coordinator for the Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester County and served as the district’s pandemic coordinator this past year, having recognized for her work as a nurse leader with the 2021 School Nurse Excellence Award from PASNAP. Throughout this episode, these three nurses disclose how their experience from this past year and their work before becoming a school nurse helped them respond to the pandemic’s demands on schools.

We are excited to announce that At the Core of Care is launching a new access to care special series. In this episode, PA Action Coalition Executive Director Sarah Hexem Hubbard speaks with Regina Cunningham and Marcus Henderson. Regina Cunningham is the Chief Executive Officer at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an adjunct professor and assistant dean at Penn School of Nursing. Marcus Henderson is a psychiatric mental health nurse and serves as the charge nurse of adolescent services for the Fairmount Behavioral Health System. He's also a lecturer at Penn School of Nursing. Regina and Marcus served on the committee for the recently released Future of Nursing 2020 to 2030 report from the National Academy of Medicine. During their conversation with Sarah, they highlight some of the key findings and recommendations to come out of the seminal study dedicated to charting a path to achieve health equity.

Vaccine Confidence: Identifying Trusted Messengers is the final episode in our six-part COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence series hosted by At the Core of Care. In this episode, we hear from nurses across the country about what it means to be a trusted messenger and how to address vaccine hesitancy in the communities they serve. We talk to nurse practitioner, Dr. Meriam Caboral-Stevens and nurses, Opeyemi Ogunniyi and Reglita Laput. Dr. Meriam Caboral-Stevens is a researcher and faculty member at Eastern Michigan University in the School of Nursing and faculty at the university's Center for Health Disparities Innovations and Studies. She shares with us what her vaccination rollout experience has been like so far in developing outreach efforts within Michigan's Asian and Arab American communities. We also speak to registered nurses Opeyemi Ogunniyi and Reglita Laput. Opeyemi Ogunniyi is a registered nurse in Houston, Texas, and is currently working in the medical-surgical unit. She shares her experience navigating vaccine hesitancy with patients and what she is hearing from family and friends in her hometown, Lagos, Nigeria. Reglita Laput is a community health nurse in Michigan and Director of Clinical Services for a homecare program. She also serves as the current president of the Philippine Nurses Association of in Michigan and has been active in helping organize community-based vaccination events. This project was funded in part by a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (grant number NU50CK000580). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this resource center do not necessarily represent the policy of CDC or HHS and should not be considered an endorsement by the Federal Government.

Sharing Your Vaccination Experience is the fifth episode in a six-part COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence series hosted by At the Core of Care. In this episode, we hear from nurses across the country about their own vaccination experience and how they’re supporting vaccination efforts in their communities. We talk to registered nurse Melody Butler from Long Island and two nurse practitioners Deepika Goyal and Melina Moran from the West Coast. Melody Butler is an infection preventionist at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center and runs Nurses Who Vaccinate, a nurse-driven organization she founded ten years ago. We also speak to nurse practitioners Melina Moran and Deepika Goyal. Melina Moran is a family nurse practitioner at a clinic in Redmond, a rural community in Central Oregon. She walks us through the conversations she’s been having with patients who are unsure about getting vaccinated. Dr. Deepika Goyal is a professor at San Jose State University in San Jose, California, and a family nurse practitioner specializing in OB-GYN care at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. She shares vaccination concerns specific to reproductive health and her research on the impact of the pandemic on maternal mental health. This project was funded in part by a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (grant number NU50CK000580). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this resource center do not necessarily represent the policy of CDC or HHS and should not be considered an endorsement by the Federal Government.

Vaccine Confidence: Community Partnerships & Accessibility is the fourth episode in a six-part series of the At the Core of Care podcast about COVID-19 vaccine confidence efforts. In this episode, we talk to three nurse practitioners based in Topeka, Kansas, and Milford, Massachusetts, about the role of community partnerships and vaccine distribution. Patrick Muchina is the family nurse practitioner manager at Pine Ridge Family Health Center in Topeka. Nurse practitioner Amanda Hartman was part of the team that started Pine Ridge, where she currently works part-time caring for patients, and teaches at Washburn University School of Nursing. Pine Ridge serves as a clinic for Topeka Housing Authority residents and as a training site for student nurses. We also speak to nurse practitioner Sydney Engel from Milford, Massachusetts, about how she and her colleagues are addressing vaccine accessibility issues facing their patients, many of whom are new immigrants. This project was funded in part by a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (grant number NU50CK000580). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this resource center do not necessarily represent the policy of CDC or HHS, and should not be considered an endorsement by the Federal Government.

Vaccine Confidence: Building Trust is the third episode in a six-part series featuring conversations about vaccine confidence and public health on the At the Core of Care podcast. The National Nurse-Led Care Consortium is producing this special series as part of its efforts to support nurses and our communities. In this episode, we discuss behavioral techniques nurses are adopting at this time to build confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and how trust and empathy are crucial to the process. Our conversation begins with nurses Dr. Stephen Perez and Jasmine Nakayama from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and concludes with Dr. Gloria Jones, a family nurse practitioner in Silver Spring, Maryland. Dr. Stephen Perez is a lieutenant in the US Public Health Service and nurse epidemiologist with the Transmission and Molecular Epidemiology Team in the Division of HIV Prevention at the CDC. Recently he served as the clinical lead for the CDC Vaccine Confidence Team. He is succeeded by Jasmine Nakayama, Epidemic Intelligence Officer at the CDC National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. We also speak to Dr. Gloria Jones, a Maryland-based family nurse practitioner, about her strategies for bolstering vaccine confidence in the community where she provides care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This project was funded in part by a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (grant number NU50CK000580). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this resource center do not necessarily represent the policy of CDC or HHS, and should not be considered an endorsement by the Federal Government.

Vaccine Hesitancy: Is Healthcare Listening? is the second episode in a six-part At the Core of Care podcast series about building confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines. During this series, the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium hopes to support nurses and our communities participate in conversations to promote vaccine confidence and support public health. We’ll hear from nurses across the country sharing their experiences with vaccine rollout and vaccine hesitancy in the communities they serve. In this episode, we start in Boston, Massachusetts, and move to east-central Kansas, and talk with nurses, Dr. Deborah Washington and Ashley Beying. Dr. Washington is the Director of Diversity for Nursing & Patient Care Services at Massachusetts General Hospital since 1995. She also serves on diversity advisory committees for multiple nursing schools and led diversity committees for the National Black Nurses Association and the Future of Nursing: Campaign For Action. Ashley Beying is a nurse practitioner primarily caring for patients across the lifespan at the Waverly Medical Clinic, associated with the Coffey Health System in east-central Kansas. She also works at the Coffey County Health Department and provides well-woman care in that setting.

Vaccine Confidence: Nurses Turn Skepticism Into Action is the first episode in a six-part At the Core of Care podcast series about building confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines. During this series, the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium hopes to support nurses and our communities participate in conversations to promote vaccine confidence and support public health.   During this series, we’ll hear from nurses across the country about their experiences with vaccines and vaccine deployment. In this episode, we start in our hometown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and talk with local nurses Monica Harmon and Maria Mazzocchi.   Monica brings her expertise as a public health nurse to many arenas, which include including a school nurse, adjunct faculty at Thomas Jefferson University and Lincoln University, and co-chair of the Nurse Diversity Council at the Pennsylvania Action Coalition. Maria is a public health nurse supervisor for the Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership at the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium, where she supports their public health nurse home visiting programs for families with children under the age of five.    Monica and Maria walk us through their decision-making process about why they decided to get vaccinated, including their initial hesitation. They also outline the steps nurses can take to become a vaccine ambassador.

The National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC) is leading a two-year patient-centered initiative to cultivate a community of nursing stakeholders around substance use disorder care. The goal is to better understand optimal care delivery for individuals experiencing challenges related to substance use and persistent pain who have a heightened risk for infectious disease. In this episode, we speak with two patient advocates, Ivy Clark and Shelley Bastos, who share their perspectives on the role of nurses to address substance use disorder. We also hear from Kristine Gonnella, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at NNCC about the goals behind this project.

Last year, nurses joined with other advocates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to successfully advocate for a new law that protects children from lead poisoning. In this episode, we speak with Erin Blair, a home visiting nurse of the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium, who shared a testimony with City Council on her firsthand experience working with families affected by lead exposure. We also hear from Colleen McCauley, the health policy director for Public Citizens for Children & Youth (PCCY), who helped shape the new lead legislation in the city. Colleen uses her experience in nursing and public health to advocate for better public policy. Finally, we hear from Katie Huffling, executive director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments on how nurses can create systemic change.

During Part 2 of our series highlighting community health centers' response during the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue our journey outside of Pennsylvania to speak with Jeannie McIntosh, a family nurse practitioner at Community Health Center Inc. (CHC) in Connecticut. Jeannie provides primary health care to seasonal agricultural workers through a partnership with the Connecticut River Valley Farmworker Health Program. Jeannie shares with us how CHC, Inc. and the Connecticut River Valley Farmworker Health Program have adapted their methods of outreach, engagement, and education to provide care during the pandemic. In Part 2 of our series, we also hear from Kristine Gonnella, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC) about the critical role community health centers play in emergency response and how NNCC is working to ensure health centers have the resources necessary to provide care during the pandemic.

This is the first of two episodes highlighting community health centers response during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this first episode, we venture outside of Pennsylvania to speak to two members of the nursing team at Callen-Lorde, a New York City community health organization that specializes in LGBTQIA healthcare. Nursing team members, Lara Comstock and Sime Phillips, discuss the specialized care they provide to the LGBTQIA community and the pandemic's impact on Callen-Lorde. We also hear from Kristine Gonnella, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium about how their organization is working with partners nationally to make public health preparedness resources more readily accessible to community health centers.

In this episode, we learn how nurses play a key role in helping families develop safe sleep practices for their babies to prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and SUID (Sudden Unexpected Infant Death). We speak to Devon George, who has a nursing background and is the Director of Education Outreach at Cribs for Kids. This Pittsburgh based organization has been a national leader in the effort to promote and institute safe sleep practices, along with creating systems to provide families in need with free or low-cost portable cribs. Visit Cribs for Kids to learn more about their efforts and to access educational materials.

In this special episode, we speak to Ana Pichardo, a recent BSN graduate from LaSalle University and a full-time certified Spanish-speaking medical interpreter at Temple University Hospital in North Philadelphia. Ana shares with us the impact the pandemic has had on her family, nursing education, her work as an interpreter and the way it has shifted her approach to health care. Specifically, that health care workers and institutions need to recognize racism as a public health crisis in order to eliminate the health care inequalities occurring every day.

This story is the second of two episodes that focus on refugee healthcare and how nurses are improving their healthcare experience. In this episode, we travel to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to get a first-hand look at the city’s system for delivering care to refugees and how community stakeholders collaborate to address public health issues among refugees. We also learn about the challenges and rewards of delivering care to refugees and hear from nurses about the enormity of the responsibility they feel to deliver effective, culturally congruent care to patients who have endured so much.

In this special episode, we speak to Jillian Bird the RN training manager for the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium. Jillian emphasizes wellness and self-care as part of her role as the RN training manager, and she’s bringing a high level of compassion to how nursing can respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also shares how nurses across the country are coping during these times and how they are innovating along the way.

It is an unprecedented time to be entering the field of nursing, as our country grapples with George Floyd's murder, widespread protests, and the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this special episode, we hear from Andre' Bennett, a graduate from Lincoln University, who shares his outlook on what's happening in our country, the need for social justice, and how that relates to his interest in mental health nursing. He reiterates that nurses are advocates that can make meaningful change not only with COVID-19, but with the way the country is dealing with racism. Andre' also shares how COVID-19 is affecting new grads and scheduling for the NCLEX exam. We are occasionally coordinating our coverage with the Amplify Nursing podcast and will release related episodes around the same time. Each of our shows will cover the same topic but from various perspectives to give a full view of the issue at hand. Amplify Nursing is produced by the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing and explores nurses leading the way in nursing science, policy, and innovation. Make sure to listen, subscribe, and rate At the Core of Care and Amplify Nursing so you won't miss our coordinated coverage.

In this special episode, we hear how school nurses are supporting their students and each other during this pandemic. First, we speak to Lori Kelley, a school nurse in southwestern Pennsylvania and the current president of the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners (PASNAP). In response to the pandemic, the organization has been supporting its members around the state with regular regional Zoom meetings, free online continuing education resources, and advocating for their members to be part of the planning process in their communities to help reopen schools. We then speak to Lynn Heard, a school nurse in northeastern Pennsylvania and PASNAP’s 2019 School Nurse of the Year. Lynn shares what her job was like pre-pandemic and her thoughts and concerns about returning to school. We are occasionally coordinating our coverage with the Amplify Nursing podcast and will release related episodes around the same time. Each of our shows will cover the same topic but from various perspectives to give a full view of the issue at hand. Amplify Nursing is produced by the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing and explores nurses leading the way in nursing science, policy, and innovation. Make sure to listen, subscribe, and rate At the Core of Care and Amplify Nursing so you won't miss our coordinated coverage.

In this episode, we travel to Erie, Pennsylvania to spend time at the Multicultural Health Evaluation Delivery System (MHEDS). MHEDS is the primary care provider for incoming newly resettled refugees and immigrants, and effectively provides culturally competent care because of their unique staff. We meet refugees working as medical assistants, patient coordinators, and interpreters and hear from the organization’s nurses and healthcare administrators about what it takes to run a clinic that addresses the specific needs for a population with limited resources. This story is the first of two episodes that focus on refugee healthcare and how nurses are improving their healthcare experience. We are occasionally coordinating our coverage with the Amplify Nursing podcast and will release related episodes around the same time. Each of our shows will cover the same topic but from various perspectives to give a full view of the issue at hand. Amplify Nursing is produced by the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing and explores nurses leading the way in nursing science, policy, and innovation. Make sure to listen, subscribe, and rate At the Core of Care and Amplify Nursing so you won't miss our coordinated coverage.

In this special episode we speak to Jennifer Gil, an emergency trauma nurse in Philadelphia. She contracted and recovered from COVID-19, and is now returning to work. Hear what her experience was like and how the pandemic has furthered her commitment to health leadership and public health. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re devoting some episodes on At the Core of Care to hear from nurses who have volunteered to share their personal experiences with us. We hope you’ll consider sharing your story too. You can do so by recording a voice memo on your smartphone about your experience or observation. For more information about how to create and submit a voice memo, visit our website at paactioncoalition.org

More than ever, we’re hearing stories about nurses at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re currently working on new At the Core of Care episodes to share some of those experiences with you. And for all of you out there who are nurses, we hope you’ll consider sharing your story with us. You can do so by recording a voice memo on your smartphone about your experience or observation. For more information about how to create and submit a voice memo, visit our homepage at paactioncoalition.org. We are also coordinating coverage with Amplify Nursing, a podcast from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing.

This episode features stories of migrant farmworkers in Kennett Square, Chester County, Pennsylvania, and the unique challenges of delivering quality, culturally competent care to the men and women who do this work. We speak with José Maciel and Antonio Renteria, winners of the University of Pennsylvania's 2019 President’s Engagement Prize and founders of Cultivando Juntos.

Listen to our interview with Adrian Shanker, Founder & Executive Director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, PA and editor of Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health. Adrian and Sarah talk about LGBT health, how healthcare providers can provide culturally competent care, and Adrian's new book.

This episode takes a look at Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners in Pennsylvania. Few healthcare providers are trained to do this work, which requires a timely and skilled healthcare response that addresses physical and mental health. Examiners must also be trained on the forensic and legal component so they can collect evidence that can hold up in court. An innovative program out of Penn State University, the SAFE-T Center, closes a gap in services offering telehealth support medical practices in rural and underserved areas.

The Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership is an evidence-based home visiting program that serves new mothers and families. They offer support for new mothers who are struggling with breastfeeding. In this episode we hear from nurses and the moms who were in this program about their challenges, and how their nurse helped them.

This episode focuses on the unique challenges of pediatric home care for medically complex children. The work can be complex, and retaining nurses in this field can be difficult. This episode takes us to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and features one of the most interesting interviews of the series with a nurse who was inspired to pursue pediatric care because she is also the mother of a child who needs 24-hour care. She works tirelessly as a nurse, mother, and advocate for families like her own.

Nurse practitioners are educated and trained to provide primary care services, but state law creates barriers for them to care for patients. Pennsylvania has some of the best nursing schools in the country. Why doesn't the state allow graduates to practice to the full extent of their education? Nurse practitioners across Pennsylvania have fought for years to modernize the state's nursing law. In this episode we spoke to nurses as they gathered in Harrisburg to meet with lawmakers and advocate for themselves and their patients.

Nurses have a bigger impact in our lives than most people realize. At the Core of Care shares the stories of nurses across Pennsylvania and the people they support. Our first season highlights the work of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, public health nurses in Philadelphia, nurses working with medically complex children across the states, and nurses advocating for better healthcare in Harrisburg. At the Core of Care is created by the Pennsylvania Action Coalition. Subscribe now to hear more episodes soon.