Vitalyst Spark

E78: Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops

Today, our topic is first responders and behavioral health. More specifically, we’re diving into an amazing documentary called Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops.

As you’re about to hear, documentary filmmaker Jenifer McShane spent years following the work of two members of the San Antonio Police Department’s Behavioral Health Unit. Viewers of the film walk in their shoes, as well as in the shoes of the people that these officers are assisting.

It is nothing short of powerful filmmaking regarding a transformational approach to mental health crisis response - and we should note that this film exists thanks to significant support from Arizona’s own David and Lura Lovell Foundation. In this episode you’re going to hear directly from Jen and officer Ernie Stevens. At the end of this podcast, we’re going to give you information on how to stream Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops. And more importantly, how all first responders nationwide can experience this fantastic film for free right now.

So let’s get to it: It’s time to talk about first responders, the people they’re called upon to help, the connection and empathy that is central to a better outcome, and much more, as of June 14, 2021.

Links:

• Ernieandjoethefilm.com
• The David and Lura Lovell Foundation

E77: COVID-19 Roundtable Update - 6/7/21

Today’s COVID-19 Roundtable is set against the backdrop of continued, mostly positive developments in Arizona. U.S. case rates have hit the lowest point since the pandemic began, Arizona case rates are lower but stubbornly plateauing, while vaccination rates are consistently declining. The Federal goal of 70% vaccination by the 4^th of July has been reached by 12 U.S. states. Projections tend to show that Arizona will not join them.

Meanwhile, data shows that unvaccinated Arizonans with no antibodies from previous infection face the same risk of infection as ever. Of course, from a population health perspective that group of Arizonans becomes smaller by the day.

There is still a lot to process, a lot to learn from, and a lot to improve upon. So let’s get to it: it’s time to talk about the public health value of school closures, comparison of the current COVID impact to the typical flu season, the future of telehealth and telework, variants, vaccines, the worldwide pandemic context and more, as of June 7, 2021

E76: COVID-19 Roundtable Update -5/24/21

This pandemic certainly isn’t over yet, but sharper edges of uncertainty are finally starting to round off somewhat, which gives us more space to think, to process what we’ve been going through, and to learn – or to at least identify what we want to learn more about. The focus now is on achieving herd immunity, drawing upon data and lessons, and building a better future.

This is our first episode since the CDC changed masking requirements, allowing vaccinated Americans to generally put their masks aside, while putting the rest of us on the honor system to stay masked if not vaccinated. Some are happy, some are frustrated, others are annoyed. Polling indicates that Americans don’t trust each other to do the right thing. Daily life is still a negotiation of will vs. rules, of grace vs. anger, and of individual rights vs. public space.

So let’s get to it. It’s time to talk about retail vaccine strategy, return on sacrifice analysis, the multiple aspects of the schools conundrum and more as of May 24, 2021.

E75: Redistricting in Arizona

We’re here today to dig into a once-in-a-decade opportunity. It goes by the unsexy, easy-to-overlook term “redistricting,” but do not lulled into complacency by it. In a nutshell, this is about creating the boundaries of the geographic areas that each member of Congress, for example, will be representing. It is, in fact, the next key and crucial step after the just-completed 2020 Census count. And the time to jump in and get this process right is – you guessed it – now.

So why, you might be asking, is a health foundation talking about this? That’s easier to answer than it might at first appear, because redistricting has cascading effects on communities’ capacities to be healthy and well. We’re talking about voice, power, and resources – specifically, who’s voices are heard, what community power is reflected in policy decisions, and what resources that support community health are adequately and appropriately allocated to communities. There are no geography lessons in this podcast. Politics are not our interest either. For the partners focused on bringing diverse communities to the redistricting process, this is about people. Representation and voice are core concepts not only of our democracy, but of our health and well-being.

So let’s get to it. It’s time to wrap our heads around something that seems conceptually simple but is practically quite complex, and to understand it today because of how much it matters for Arizonans’ health over the next decade of tomorrows, as of May 17, 2021

Link: Why Redistricting Matters

E74:COVID-19 Roundtable Update - 5/10/21

For this COVID-19 Roundtable, it probably won’t surprise you at all that we’re going to talk quite a bit about vaccines. We are also going to talk about ASU’s latest predictive modeling results regarding the next four months, and we’re going to paint a picture of how hospitals and health care professionals are trying to process and recover from a very stressful time. Plus, did you ever think a podcast focused on COVID would also talk about pizza boxes? In this episode we will, in fact, check that box.

We have reached a state of pseudo-balance. Arizona is still experiencing a moderate to substantial rate of new COVID cases from the much more transmissible B.1.1.7 variant. The balance point comes from a combination of people who have already COVID and those who are vaccinated.

There is no guarantee that balance will hold. What’s required is finding ways to get more and more Arizonans vaccinated. As Will notes, we’ll get to herd immunity, but the question is when. And how.

So let’s get to it. It’s time to talk about putting all the puzzle pieces together, taking pizza boxes apart, getting people off of fences, and getting shots into arms as of May 10, 2021.

E73: Field Notes - The Opioid Crisis

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.

E72: COVID-19 Roundtable Update -4/26/21

Two weeks ago we asked you to tell us if the Roundtable is still helpful. You responded with resoundingly positive feedback, and thank goodness because our experts really wanted to keep going – and boy are we going to get into it today. New executive orders, the ins and outs of getting shots in arms, needed policy changes and more. The big and small shocks, the bouts of exhaustion, and the aggrievements of this pandemic continue to reverberate, which means we have more to explore, reflect upon, make sense of, and grow from.

While we’re at it, let’s not lose sight of COVID’s worldwide context either. On April 26 New Zealand detailed 3 new cases, the U.S. recorded 34,641, and India reported more than 350,000 new confirmed cases - for the fifth straight day. Here in Arizona, meanwhile, the new case counts are stubbornly not declining, while the daily count of vaccinations is.

All of which is to say that there is much to discuss with our roundtable guests, so let’s get to it. It’s time to talk B.1.1.7’s ascendance, what’s going on with hospitals and health care professionals, how COVID is becoming a young person’s disease, how to make vaccines more convenient, and where we might go next as of April 26, 2021.

E71: COVID-19 Roundtable Update - 4/12/21

This time out at the roundtable, vaccines are at the core of this episode more than ever before. Specifically, how U.S. vaccination rates are working to slow the spread, if International vaccinations can stem an influx of troubling variants into the U.S., what is going on with vaccine hesitancy, and when might we envision something like meaningful herd immunity. Those topics are far trickier than you might imagine. For example, up until now, herd immunity was a distant goal. Now it is coming into view, and we actually need to wrap our arms around what’s going to be acceptable for us as a country, and ultimately as a worldwide community.

You’ll hear our panelists dig into herd immunity, discuss how we dig out of the tremendous psychological impact that the pandemic has had, and really wrestle with problems like continued inequity, vaccines for kids, and providing the pure convenient access for all Arizonans. It’s still a race between virus mutation and mass vaccination. For the moment it appears the U.S. is ahead of the game, but indications from states like Michigan are making many experts wary.

So let’s get to it. March Madness may have been settled in terms of basketball, but for COVID we’ve transitioned to anxious April. Which means that it’s time to talk effectiveness, exhaustion, hesitancy, mutations, infections, frustrations, and more as of April 12, 2021.

E70: Page and the Pandemic

In this episode we’re headed North – right up to Glen Canyon Dam in fact. Not far from the now Insta-famous Horseshoe Bend lies the city of Page and a unique pandemic-era story with lessons for all of us. This tourism-oriented city didn’t suffer the kind of economic disarray that would have precipitated steep declines in well-being and health. Something else altogether transpired instead in response to COVID, and it happened in contrast to how things played out in other parts of our state. During the days when many Arizonans were still trying to figure out which way was up, and still more of us were deeply engaged in rapid cycle learning about how COVID worked, Page simply got to work.

You’re about to hear from two people who galvanized the business community to act in order to prevent the loss of businesses, jobs, and residents during the pandemic. Page’s behavioral health, physical health, and civic health would all rise and fall on how well the city weathered the COVID storm. 

This is the story of how Page Arizona navigated pandemic waters economically, so that it could continue to support community health and well-being, as of April 5, 2021.

E69: COVID-19 Roundtable Update - 3/29/21

Fingers-crossed, you are about to listen to what might be the last March COVID-19 roundtable ever. We are moving towards the end of this pandemic; however, there are a number of complexities, policy decisions, and community-based issues still in front of us. Oddly, in some ways, this March feels a little like last March: (1) we are transitioning from one public health reality to another, (2) there are enough variables up in the air to make our immediate future more uncertain, and (3) there is a distinct sense that while the virus does not discriminate, COVID’s impact will.

There is still a LOT to sort out. Not the least being how to adapt vaccination strategy, and specifically how to effectively address inequity in distribution. Also, what the heck happens inside each place of business once a governor lifts all mitigation orders and simultaneously nullifies local government orders. Those topics and more are the basis of this conversation.

Just like March Madness is down to the Elite 8, it’s time to narrow our focus on the high seeds and Cinderellas that remain in the fight to beat back variants, avoid another surge like the one taking place in Europe, and navigate to a place of improving public health as of March 29, 2021.