Carrot Shtick: Conversations About Using Data to Improve Healthcare Kurt Waltenbaugh

What barriers to health might be in place for recent immigrants and how do we put people on a path to better health? At its core, this is a story of culture, understanding the whole person and their unique individual stories — things our health system is just not designed to do. Kurt talks with Mona Antilla Carloni and Mariam Mohamed, the creators of Intercultural Alliance, a program tailored to the health needs of Somali women and taught through community, food, and personal experiences. Mariam, a Somali immigrant herself, has worked in program analysis and evaluation for private and non-profit services. Mona comes from the creative design and marketing world, with a passion for wellness design and holistic health coaching. Learn how they work together to improve health disparities in Somali communities, one person at a time.

Listen in as Kurt talks with Rob Williams, founder and executive director of Every Meal. Across the United States, one in seven children experiences hunger on a weekly basis. During COVID-19, that number has grown to nearly one in four as schools, where many children receive breakfast and lunch, shut down. Nearly a decade ago, Every Meal stepped in to fill that gap, leaning on Rob’s background in global logistics for direction. What started as a program at one local elementary school has grown to serve 35 school districts across the state, providing more than 3 million meals last year alone. Tune in as Kurt and Rob talk about the roots of hunger and how, at its core, hunger is both simple and solvable.

Join Kurt for a conversation with Jason Shaplen, the Chief Strategy Officer for Community Health Center in Connecticut, one of the nation’s largest federally qualified health centers providing healthcare to low-income families. Jason has a rich history in affordable housing and is passionate about the linkage between housing and health. Kurt and Jason talk about the new face of homelessness, why it has grown into such an enormous crisis, and the impacts on health and health equity. More importantly, they discuss solutions. Listen to the conversation. 

Kurt talks with Dr. José Diaz, an economist and the Chief Impact Officer for the Constellation Fund, a non-profit dedicated to smart philanthropy. Traditionally, a non-profit’s success is judged by how much it fundraises, not how well it impacts society. Constellation Fund flips that and measures return to build philanthropy that works. Kurt and José discuss calculating impact and using that information to put resources where they will do the most good. 

Kurt enjoys the company of Pinar Karaca-Mandic, a professor in healthcare risk management at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. Pinar, among other accolades, is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and an editorial board member for the International Journal of Health Economics Management. Kurt and Pinar discuss her research on the impact of state policy regulations on COVID-19 hospitalization rates. Join them to hear about the results and the implications for the next several months.  

Kurt talks with Kyle Rolfing, serial healthcare entrepreneur and supporter of the Minnesota health-tech ecosystem. They discuss the history of healthcare innovation in Minnesota, how the industry looks now and what entrepreneurs are hoping for the future. Listen to the insightful conversation between the two founders, both with long ties to the region.