COVID-19 A Perspectives Podcast Jacob Matthew LaPlante

Today I got the chance to catch up with a former colleague and friend Scott Safford. Scott is a licensed psychologist who works as a behavioral health consultant in Central Oregon. He works in primary care meaning that he is part of a health care team that helps manage the whole patient's wellbeing. This is a perspective that I have been anxiously waiting for in these interviews. As a mental health expert with a wealth of experience, but also a brilliant scientific thinker, I really appreciated Scott's perspective.

Our conversation went longer than anticipated, but we also got onto some novel constructs that I hadn't yet considered. We discussed the ideas of comorbidity factors and the effects on mental health, some of the issues that have arisen in the health care system and how we provide care, a historical perspective, and on how the public opinions have shifted and their resistance to change. 



***DISCLAIMER***

The views expressed in this episode are solely individual and those interviewed are not speaking as representatives of their mentioned institutions and businesses. Any information shared here is public knowledge and from individual perspectives.

Welcome back to another episode! This time I had the pleasure of speaking with my friend Diklah a physician assistant in the emergency department of my home town in Central Oregon. Diklah has been a practicing PA in Oregon for a number of years and specializes in emergency medicine.  This episode provided a ton of amazing perspective for me because it was the first chance I've had to see what it was like in the last place that I called home before moving abroad. In addition, Diklah's very considerate and thoughtful mindset helped provide some unique insights and highlight some aspects of this pandemic that I honestly hadn't given much thought to.

We discuss some of the community outreach that has stemmed from the COVID-19 crisis, the consideration of personal risk to others and the awareness of our habits, and touch on the additional impacts to marginalized communities that often get overlooked during times of crisis. While the audio quality is a little rough in this episode, the insights are worth the struggle!



***DISCLAIMER***

The views expressed in this episode are solely individual and those interviewed are not speaking as representatives of their mentioned institutions and businesses. Any information shared here is public knowledge and from individual perspectives.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with someone I have known almost my entire life. Charlie is now retired but is a former systems analysis of the major medical system in Corvallis, Oregon who contracted COVID-19 in late February and has been experienced the medical system's response from a patient perspective. In addition to getting caught up on after a long time, I had a great time hearing his perspective as someone who is no longer actively working who has spent time in two of the global hotspots; Italy and the United States. 

We had the chance to discuss how the pandemic has been handled in multiple areas, what it was like going through the medical system as a patient, and the long term personal impacts of contract COVID-19. This was an enlightening conversation for me to hear how it impacts individual health as well as some of the unforeseen decisions that individuals are having to make when considering their long term plans.



***DISCLAIMER***

The views expressed in this episode are solely individual and those interviewed are not speaking as representatives of their mentioned institutions and businesses. Any information shared here is public knowledge and from individual perspectives.

In this episode, I get the chance to talk with one of my oldest and dearest friends Tammy Aman. Tammy is an operations manager from Corvallis, Oregon who runs the administrative aspects of the largest health care provider in the city's cardiopulmonary clinics. She has been working in medicine for nearly 15 years as an administrator at various levels. 

In this episode, we get into the financial aspects of operating medicine during COVID-19, discuss the logistics of maintaining medical systems, and how her community has responded to these unusual times. Tammy provides a unique, humored, and leveled perspective of the situation as we comment on some of the residual issues affecting healthcare.



***DISCLAIMER***

The views expressed in this episode are solely individual and those interviewed are not speaking as representatives of their mentioned institutions and businesses. Any information shared here is public knowledge and from individual perspectives.

I'm speaking with Chuck Radis today who is a Rheumatology professor and a practicing physician with 35 years worth of experience. Chuck comes to us from Peaks Island, a small island off the coast of Maine just outside of Portland. Chuck has been involved in systems changes and has been observing how the pandemic unfolds from a unique point of view; living on an island with only 1,000 people that relies heavily on summer tourism on the horizon, while still being connected to the largest city in his home state. 



In this episode, we talk about how COVID-19 has differed in response compared with previous health epidemics in the US, how it has impacted a really remote area of the United States, and the lessons we hope to take away moving forward.



***DISCLAIMER***

The views expressed in this episode are solely individual and those interviewed are not speaking as representatives of their mentioned institutions and businesses. Any information shared here is public knowledge and from individual perspectives.

Kaitlyn Hanes joins me in this podcast a physician assistant practicing family medicine, often called primary care, in Roseburg, Oregon. Kaitlyn grew up in Roseburg and returned to her rural community after attended school in California and works with Evergreen Family Practice. Being in primary care she helps manage the whole patient care system from coordinating mental health and medications to acute trauma and existing conditions such as diabetes.

Kaitlyn shares a unique perspective being in an overall smaller medical system than many of the others interviewed so far. She paints a picture of the need for community and the economic impacts of small towns. But also helps highlight some of the surprisingly positive outcomes that have helped her continue to provide care for her patients.  



***DISCLAIMER***

The views expressed in this episode are solely individual and those interviewed are not speaking as representatives of their mentioned institutions and businesses. Any information shared here is public knowledge and from individual perspectives.