Vitalyst Spark

E51: COVID-19 Roundtable Update - 10/27

Our roundtable of experts returns as COVID-19 itself returns to a level of new cases that we haven’t seen since June. Commentators speak of COVID fatigue as a reason that new case counts are up, and many of us can relate. But October is NOT June, And November doesn’t have to be like July. Remember what we DO know: masks work, as does physical distancing, and avoiding higher-risk situations that could become super spreading events. In fact, new data on super spreading is part of today’s roundtable. And it continues to point to this fact: we’ve got to be as COVID-smart as is humanly possible. Stay-at-home as much as you possibly can; wash up; mask up; maintain physical distancing, and keep a heads up for your fellow Arizonans. Our actions today do make a difference. If you’re looking for reinforcement on why such COVID-smart community actions are needed, you’ll find it in this episode. Data from the latest large-scale epidemiological work, new insights into the realities of contact tracing, what ER treatments look like now compared to months ago, where we are headed with vaccines, and whether Arizona is on track to systematically get vaccine distribution right. It’s all right here, in the next 30 or so minutes. So let’s get to it. It’s time to dig into life with COVID-19 as of late October 2020.

E50: The Health Data Challenge, Pt. 2

Vitalyst welcomes you to our 50th podcast episode. Just when you thought we were leaving you hanging with only Part 1 of our Health Data Challenge conversation, it turns out that we’re back today with Part 2. In this episode, we’ll continue to voice the challenges of using health data to make change, but today we are doing it within the context of an audio tour of Vitalyst’s newly-launching statewide health data dashboard.

If you’re lucky enough to be at a computer for this episode, click the first link in our show notes below and follow along as our guests talk about the dashboard, what it took to get us here and what some of the pages have to say. Alright, let’s dig into part 2 of our Health Data Challenge dialog, including an introduction to Vitalyst’s Statewide Health Data Dashboard.

Links:

• Vitalyst Health Foundation's Statewide Health Data Dashboard
• mySidewalk e-book: How to Create and Unforgettable CHIP & CHA
• mySidewalk webinar: Public Health Storytelling

E49: COVID-19 Roundtable Update - 10/12

We’re back with another COVID-19 roundtable discussion at an awkward spot in our journey so far. We say “awkward” because in Arizona it isn’t quite clear what might happen soon, but there is a sense, based on other states, that another increase in cases could be coming. Depending on which data source you choose, up to 39 states are now experiencing an upward trend. In places like Bismarck North Dakota, hospitals are at capacity. Here in Arizona, there are indications, but not a clear trend as of this discussion’s October 12 recording date. This roundtable starts where most previous editions left off: with vaccines. As Phase 3 trials continue, we share what is known to this point about possible availability, and possible protocols for who gets access to vaccines when. There’s also a highly informative discussion about the pros and cons of Emergency Use Authorization vs. a full 3 phase trial approach. There’s a lot more than that to this episode. Listen in as we talk about vaccines, superspreaders, modeling, emergency use authorizations and more. In short, its time to talk about life with COVID-19 as of October 12, 2020.

E48: Emerging Leaders Network

Meet three transformative nonprofit CEOs and get introduced to the Emerging Leaders Network they are building statewide. Prepare to be inspired, challenged, and fired up by this dialog. For newer leaders and smaller nonprofits working hard to help their communities in the midst of a global pandemic and a social change movement, there’s a lot to talk about. And the truth is, many of us still need practice when it comes to talking about what lies at the root of both COVID and current calls to combat race and gender issues.

In other words, it’s time for you to hear about the Emerging Leaders Network that’s rapidly growing in Tucson, and it’s time for all of us to lean into the important insights, questions, and challenges that are offered up through this conversation. Because we need this group’s energy, experience, and expertise now more than ever.

Links:

• Family Housing Resources
• Sunnyside Foundation
• Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona

E47: COVID-19 Roundtable Update - 9/29

After a half-year of rapid response to what’s been going on in the previous two weeks, this episode takes time to take stock of the entire past six-eight months and what we’ve learned. From there, we spend time looking forward – based on what we're learning - to formulate a sense of what life might look like in the coming months. And of course, we can’t help but conclude this episode with a look at the vaccines, and some Vegas odds on when we will see those vaccines reaching Arizonans.

As our guests cover, masks are where it’s at. Be COVID Smart: Stay-at-home as much as you possibly can; wash up; mask up; maintain physical distancing, and keep a heads up for your fellow Arizonans. This virus doesn’t care what month it is or what holidays are coming up. If we want continued lower numbers 2-4 weeks from now, our actions today make that difference.

In a COVID Fall, Universities are models for testing, mitigation, and behavior change backed by enforcement, trick or treating is scarier than we’d like, and vaccines could be the subject of Vegas oddsmakers. Maybe. One thing we know about life with COVID is that you can’t be too surprised by new aspects of life with COVID. So let’s get to it. It’s time to talk about what we’ve been through, what we’ve learned, and what life with COVID-19 looks like as of September 29, 2020.

E46: Minisode 9/23/20 - Census, Vote, COVID

Today, we’re asking for moments of your time to talk about this moment. The moment that is Fall 2020. A somewhat staggering list of events has led us to this point. It’s difficult sometimes to process them all. Things feel overwhelming, and give many of us a more heightened sense that there isn’t much we can do. But there are a few things we strongly recommend this Fall – and we are definitely not talking about new TV shows. In short, this Fall is about standing up, leaning into our challenges, and being counted for actions.

You may find it hard to believe, but 2020 can actually still be more pivotal and more impactful than it has already been. As much as some would have you believe otherwise, there is both time and opportunity to act. There are three key aspects of community health, well-being and vibrancy that you can affect in the near future. So let’s get to it. It’s time to talk about what we all can do between now and the end of September, between now and the beginning of November, and between now and the end of the December.

E45: Education, Equity& Health

Make time for this Education, Equity & Health episode because it cuts to the heart of the promise to our communities for learning, growth, pathways to success and well-being. Make time for this episode because it’s not just about education, it’s about something so surreptitiously American that people will challenge you for being un-American when you take about it openly.

Here’s the thing: the education conversation is typically caught up in opposing views on just how broken it is and by what means we should fix it. This episode asks you to consider whether it is even broken at all, and whether a fundamentally different examination is needed in order to create the changes require to ensure that every student experiences equitable opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive.

Even though we’re talking about education, you’re not going to hear a word about Red for Ed or the upcoming ballot initiative. What you ARE going to hear are key insights and experiences from three passionate people who are dedicated to a brighter educational future for all.

So let's get to it. It’s time for a deeper discussion about education’s role in community health and well-being, and it’s to do that, by looking at root causes.

E44: COVID-19 Roundtable Update - 9/1

When it comes to COVID, we could all use as much good news as we can get. And guess what, we got some on August 27, when eight of Arizona’s 15 counties moving to “moderate spread” status, while Greenlee County graduated to “minimal spread.” Since this is our first pandemic in over 100 years, it’s a good idea to know how to process this news, drawing from a breadth of expert perspective. That, and more, is what you’ll hear in this episode of our COVID-19 Roundtable.

We’ve got two brand-new and intriguing guests that we’re excited for you to meet. But before we do, remember that rate of spread got to these levels, and can only aspire to stay at these levels, if we are all COVID Smart: Stay-at-home as much as you possibly can; wash up; mask up; maintain physical distancing, and keep a heads up for your fellow Arizonans. If we want continued lower numbers 2-4 weeks from now, our actions today make that difference.

Only with a topic like COVID can you get health experts to combine schools and bars, policymaking and college partying, or even the airing of droplets and the airing of misinformation. But we’ve got all of that here today as we talk about what life with COVID-19 looks like as of September 1, 2020.

E43: The Health Data Challenge, Pt. 1 - 8/25

The conversation we’re entering into today is both new and one we’ve been having together for a long time on this podcast. It’s a conversation about how to understand what makes community health more possible – and conversely what makes it far less possible.

Henry David Thoreau – yes, the Walden guy – once wrote “not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” Thoreau, while sitting on the shore of a secluded pond in the 1800s, clearly had the story of 21st Century health data in mind when he wrote this. OK, maybe he didn’t, but that quote fits the quest that Vitalyst has been on to share actionable, and equitable, data insights on community health so well that we’re going to repeat it: “not that the story needs to be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.”

Here we are, in 2020, when it seems like everyone is an amateur epidemiologist thanks to COVID-19, yet we all still struggle to find accessible, understandable data; we struggle when that data contradicts dominant narratives; and we struggle to reconcile what the numbers can tell us about how communities can live better and thrive. Well, as the stoic philosophers like to say, the obstacle may be daunting, but the obstacle is the way. So today, we have two great guests who are involved in the health data struggle every day, and who lead a company that is helping Vitalyst, and six of Arizona’s County Health Departments, work through data obstacles so that we all can make better sense of the data and help formulate actions and solutions for communities to thrive.

So let’s get to it. It’s time to dig more deeply into the fascinating trials and tribulations of public health data, the rise of a series of local and statewide health dashboards that you can access to learn much more about what is affecting community health, and how we all can build a more insightful, actionable, better understanding of health historically, presently, and in the years to come.

E42: COVID-19 Roundtable Update - 8/18

In the midst of one of our hottest summers ever, Arizona’s new confirmed COVID-19 case rate is starting to cool off. But as we should all know by now, actions and decisions today don’t become measurable numbers for weeks. It’s important to look back at what we’re learning, look ahead using that knowledge, and think carefully about the challenges we face together. You’re going to hear a lot of that processing of data, knowledge, and new opportunities in this week’s compelling COVID-19 roundtable conversation – one that we will top off with some emergent hope about testing.

Here's your weekly reminder: Don’t stop being smart when it comes to COVID-19. Stay-at-home as much as you possibly can; wash up; mask up; maintain social distancing, and keep a heads up for your fellow Arizonans. If we want continued lower numbers 2-4 weeks from now, our actions today make that difference.

It’s time to talk about the data, policymaking, the importance of getting your flu shot, the great school reopening dilemma, coming bar and nightclub reopening decisions, vaccines, and new hope for faster, cheaper testing. In other words, it’s time to talk about what life with COVID-19 looks like as of August 18, 2020.