Vitalyst Spark

E91: Elements of a Healthy Tribal Community

Today, we’re excited to share some exciting news about a long-standing project we’ve been working on with Tribal partners across Arizona. By now, most of this audience is likely familiar with the Elements of a Healthy Community (“The Wheel” as it’s come to be known).  It was developed in 2017 in collaboration with many community partners to depict the breadth of factors that ultimately impact health and well-being. Since then, The Healthy Communities Wheel has served as a framework for much of Vitalyst’s work and has taken on a life of its own across other organizations, coalitions and even within local governments. It is, however, a framework, and frameworks are often imperfect tools that can and should be adapted as needed.  So, in 2019 and 2020, in a partnership with the Arizona Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the Arizona Advisory Council on Indian Health Care and the Arizona Department of Health Services, we embarked on a series of meetings with the Tribes of Arizona to develop The Elements of a Healthy Tribal Community. These discussions produced an incredible amount of insight and wisdom into Tribal perspectives on community health, and ultimately manifested in the creation of a Healthy Tribal Communities Wheel.  Today’s podcast features the key partners who made this work possible. 

 

Link to Elements of a Healthy Tribal Community Wheel (Full version)

Link to Elements of a Healthy Tribal Community Wheel (Short version)

Link to Webinar

E90: Stigma & Affordable Housing

Today we’re joined by three bright and talented minds to talk about affordable housing in Arizona: what it means, what modern “affordable” housing actually looks like, and how outdated stigma and ideas about the American dream often hinders progress toward ensuring that everyone has a place to call home. Our guests include Denise Resnik, Founder and President/CEO of First Place AZ and co-founder of the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), Dave Brown, CEO of Valley Leadership and Chair of Home Matters to AZ, and Gabriel Jaramillo, Director of Healthy Communities for Vitalyst Health Foundation.

E89: COVID-19 Roundtable Update

Although many of us are still working remotely and living a large part of our lives through a computer screen, when we look outside, things look…dare I say, kind of normal.  Cars are on the streets, patrons are visiting restaurants and businesses, and we’re seeing our neighbors (real people) emerge from months of hibernating during the Arizona summer.  These are promising signs as more and more Arizonans receive the COVID-19 vaccine, use masks indoors and continue to protect themselves from the effects of COVID-19.  But as you’ll hear from our guests, this is not, and cannot, be the new normal.  Infection rates remain suspended at a stubbornly high level, and our healthcare providers – the same selfless, heroic people we once cheered and celebrated – are finding themselves nearly two years into a pandemic, battling not only a virus, but also fatigue and the challenges of workforce shortages. Today’s podcast is a reminder that the amount of fuel left for the pandemic may be diminishing, but there’s still a great deal of work to be done before we stop this fire. 

E88: Hispanic Heritage Month & Community Health

It’s National Hispanic Heritage Month, so today we’re speaking with three leaders working to improve the health and well-being of Hispanic communities in Arizona. Amanda Aguirre is the President and CEO of the Regional Center for Border Health, Floribella Redondo-Martinez is the Executive Director of the Arizona Community Health Workers Association (commonly known as AZCHOW) and Stephanie Parra serves as Executive Director for All in Education. What’s perhaps most memorable about this panel is that these leaders aren’t only working for Arizona’s Hispanic communities, but they are of Arizona’s Hispanic communities and work with their communities. Hispanic heritage may be officially “appreciated” for just 30 days each year in the US, but for these three women, there’s no question it is the fuel that drives them every single day.

E87: COVID-19 Roundtable Update

Today we’re back with our COVID-19 Roundtable. It’s almost Fall, and much like the temperatures in Arizona, COVID-19 numbers are starting to stabilize, but they’re still too high for comfort.  It’s been one month since we last spoke with our COVID-19 panelists, and in that time, we’ve experienced what seems to be a turn for the better. But will these improvements last? What effect will recent local and federal policies have on transmission?

To discuss those topics and much more, we’re speaking with Dr. Kara Geren of Valleywise Health, Dr. Joshua LaBaer from ASU’s Biodesign Institute and Will Humble from the Arizona Public Health Association.

E86 - Legislative Update

Today we’re joined by three trailblazing advocates who are focused on improving health and well-being in Arizona using a little tool called public policy. If you’re a frequent listener of these podcasts, the idea that ‘health is more than healthcare’ shouldn’t be a new concept to you. What may be less intuitive, however, is how this concept comes to life through public policy – specifically, through state legislation. So today, we’re reflecting on the 2021 legislative session in Arizona, with a particular focus on housing, food and children’s health.

 

If, upon hearing the word “legislation,” you felt your eyes start to roll into the back of your head, don’t worry, for you are not alone. It’s no secret that the very idea of legislation or working with a state legislature can cause many of us to shy away, yawn or stare blankly into the distance, but our guests today highlight inspiring real-world experiences that demystify lawmaking and show the great power of policy to improve community health.

 

If there’s one thing to take home from this conversation, it’s a reminder that health isn’t simply determined by what’s within us, it’s also governed by what’s around us. Let’s dive in.

E85: COVID-19 Roundtable Update

Today, after more than a two-month hiatus, we’re back with our COVID-19 Roundtable. And my how things have changed in the past two months. You know it from your daily experiences, you’ve heard it from our guests, the COVID-19 rollercoaster continues. We’re well into our third wave of COVID-19 infections, this time largely due to the Delta variant, and hospital COVID-19 metrics are following suit. The CDC has recommended that all people, vaccinated and unvaccinated, wear a mask indoors in public when in an area of substantial or high transmission (which is the status of nearly every county in the United States). Our kids, most of whom are still too young to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, are headed back to in-person learning inside of schools that are battling new laws which remove schools’ abilities to require masks and vaccinations. Without question, this pandemic is not over.

But there’s always hope. The latest research shows that vaccines are safe and effective. They’re good at slowing the spread and great at preventing sickness and death.

Our first guest serves our eyes and ears on the medical frontlines. She’s an emergency medicine physician at Valleywise Health, Dr. Kara Geren. Next, he’s the reason that many of us were able to spit into tubes and avoid those annoying nasal swabs when getting tested for COVID-19, Executive Director of ASU’s Biodesign Institute, Dr. Joshua LaBaer.  And finally, the common thread that stretches all the way back to the very first CV19 Roundtable in March of 2020, he’s the Executive Director of the Arizona Public Health Association, Will Humble.

Here is what we know as of August 16, 2021.

E84: Health Coverage Open Enrollment Revisited

We are revisiting our Health Coverage Open Enrollment podcast. There are just a few more days to enroll in Marketplace health coverage!

 

Today our topic is health coverage - specifically open enrollment for the health insurance marketplace, aka the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. If you or anyone you know currently do not have health insurance coverage – during a pandemic no less – now is your time!

Between November 1 and December 15, you can get free help from impartial, certified counselors who will help you get no-cost, low-cost, or the most affordable coverage options available.

We’re going to get into revealing details of who doesn’t have coverage and how accessible no-cost or low-cost coverage might be for many currently uninsured Arizonans. We’re also going to talk about what the Affordable Care Act really gave us – and what we could all lose out on if it were to go away. And we’re going to get into those details because, honestly, it is a reality of U.S. health care that some type of insurance coverage is needed in order to get healthy and stay healthy. And here’s the thing: the Affordable Care Act is an expansive law that benefits all of us in ways we might even be starting to take for granted. Ending it will negatively affect everyone’s well-being, yet somehow there are many misleading messages are out there trying to discourage people about its very existence and functions.

Our guests today have a lot to say about all of this, so let’s get to it. It’s time to talk about access to coverage and care, in particular just how accessible 2021 health insurance coverage is between right now and December 15, 2020.

E83: The Opioid Crisis Revisited

We are revisiting our Opioid Crisis podcast from May 3, 2021 as a report was released that overdoses surged in 2020.

 

As we have throughout the pandemic, it’s time to check in on a community health issue that pre-dated COVID and has only become more pressing since. As you’ll hear more about from our guests, 2019 was supposed to have been a peak level of opioid addiction and misuse, but things look much different now. There is a pernicious shift from dirty heroin to clean prescription drugs, but that clean perception is deceptive, given the power and peril that an opioid like Fentanyl delivers. In basic grade school economic terms, we are witnessing more supply and more demand than ever before. Opioids are a nearly ubiquitous threat to Arizonans, and this crisis is very much worthy of deeper discussion.

You’re about to hear from two long-term warriors in the fight against addiction and overdose – one from an innovative and lifesaving recovery center, and one from the center of Arizona’s acute care and addiction medicine leadership. So let’s get to it. Together, we’re about to get updated on the opioid and opiate landscape, its frustrations and surprises, treatment options, and even a couple of drop the mic moments regarding the Opioid Crisis, as of May 3, 2021.

E82: Arizona's Eviction Crisis Revisted

We are revisiting our Eviction Crisis episode from January 11, 2021 as the eviction moratorium comes to an end in just a few days.

 

We’re taking a look at the potential powder keg of pending evictions in Arizona. Even as the pandemic is putting an enormous strain on health care systems, its economic impacts are profound and equally difficult to fathom. According to the National Council of State Housing Agencies, upwards of 250,000 renters are currently in danger of eviction.

We’ve said it many times before. Housing IS health. So, how do we work to avoid yet another potential health crisis triggered by evictions? That is the half-a-billion dollar question. Landlord communications, rental assistance, utility assistance, and legal assistance are all parts of the equation. Help is on the way for landlords and renters. To make sure people are aware of what’s going on and what’s possible, we’ve got three great guests from the legal realm and a new website to talk about at azevictionhelp.org.

It’s time to talk about the pending wave of evictions and Arizona. Most importantly, it’s time to talk about resources to help stem that tide, as of January 11, 2021.

Links:

• azevictionhelp.org
• State Bar of Arizona
• Community Legal Services
• DNA-People's Legal Services
• Southern Arizona Legal Aid