Advancing Health A Podcast from the AHA

Community health workers (CHWs) serve as a bridge between social and clinical care, providing essential outreach and advocacy to populations with unmet social needs. Understanding the importance of CHWs, Montefiore Medical Center created the Community Health Worker Institute to standardize CHW training and ensure that the patients they serve receive the best possible care. In this conversation, Renee Whiskey-LaLanne, director of community partnerships at Montefiore's Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Kevin Fiori, M.D., vice chair of community health and engagement at Montefiore Health System, discuss how the lofty dream of an institute turned into reality, as well as the strategies for addressing social determinants of health.

In addition to caring for patients, many health care providers have an equally important role at home — being parents to young children. Given the pressures of parenting, what are hospitals and health systems doing to retain new parents, especially moms, in the health care workforce? In the final episode of this award-winning series, learn how health care organizations are supporting new moms to enable them to thrive at work, and most importantly, at home. For more resources on maternal health or to listen to previous Beyond Birth episodes, visit www.aha.org/betterhhealthformothersandbabies.

The constant strain of workforce and financial issues are proving difficult to solve for rural health care providers. In this conversation, Barbara Sowada, president of the Board of Trustees at Memorial Hospital, discusses the role board members can play in helping their hospitals and health systems navigate today’s pressing problems, and how the AHA’s resources and educational materials can provide valuable assistance.

Despite the fact that half of all mental health issues begin before age 14, most parents can have difficulty talking with their kids about mental health concerns. AdventHealth for Children has created "Be a Mindleader,” a preventive campaign to help parents and their kids open the door to difficult, but necessary conversations on mental health. In this conversation, Jessica Galo, director of specialty care at AdventHealth for Children, and Jaeann Ashton, marketing director of Women's and Children's at AdventHealth, explore how the “Be a Mindleader” campaign is leading the way to improving adolescent mental health with these life-changing conversations.

There are a host of medical issues that can come with pregnancy and giving birth. An often-overlooked aspect of pregnancy and motherhood is that some new mothers do better with intensive outpatient perinatal care, which is an elevated level of support. Ascension Alexian Brothers - Behavioral Health Hospital is among a small number of providers specializing in providing intensive outpatient perinatal care. In this conversation, two behavioral health experts from Ascension's outpatient program share the formula for its success in helping at-risk new moms.

In the current health care landscape, hospitals and health systems have been focusing their attention on tackling the social determinants of health in their communities. To achieve this, they are working hand in hand with community stakeholders, reaching areas where zip codes can often determine health outcomes. In this conversation, Joanne M. Conroy, M.D., CEO and president of Dartmouth Health and 2024 AHA board chair, talks with Lynn Todman, vice president of health equity and community partnerships at Corewell Health, about how care providers are reaching within their community to reinforce strong health habits and individual wellness. To listen to the full conversation visit https://youtu.be/mxmS4GuJCmY