Here's the Problem Teen Think Tank Project

The Teen Think Tank Project's 2022 Winter Research Cohort hosts their Policy Framework Launch Party to discuss the current state of the American Healthcare System.
Our nine exceptional high school change agents conduct an in-depth analysis of the issues preventing meaningful healthcare reform in our country. Kimia Shahriyar, Avantika Malla, Moksh Patwari, Riya Mehta, Vaanya Salwan, Leyla Tiryaki, Jeyven Chhina, Gianna Grasso, and Keara Field discuss the economic, social, and legal impediments that have created a healthcare system that values profits over patients.
In the season finale, the cohort not only gives us something to think about, as it relates to creating a more equitable healthcare system...they give us action items we can take to ensure that the basic human right of healthcare is attainable for all.

On this week’s podcast we take a sneak peek into the inner workings of our Health Equity Research Cohort’s work on access to care in America.  For the past three months, the research associates have been exploring the impediments inherent in the American healthcare system.  Through their conversations with many thought leaders, educators and advocates, the cohort learned that economic and social conditions overwhelmingly influence the differences in health status for individuals and groups, otherwise known as social determinants of health. 
First, Valerie White, who is the Community Impact Manager for Health at United Way of the Plains joins the cohort to lay out the basic definition of health status and social determinants of health.  
Then, Dr. Laura Haselden, an emergency room physician and co-founder  of IMPACT In Healthcare, walks the group through a very engaging discussion on social determinants in action by examining the social, environmental, and economical influences that are affecting healthcare outcomes from members of society.  
Finally, Dr. Ruthann Russo, Associate Professor at Kean University, talks about the existential threat to healthcare as laid out by the American Medical Association.    
These conversations offer valuable lessons about healthcare in America. Enjoy…

Teen Think Tank Project Co-Founder Matt DeSantis sat down with thought leaders and researchers back in January to talk about the economic, social, and political impediments that shape our societal response to the pandemic.   Matt is joined by Dr. Stacy Wood, the Langdon Distinguished University Professor of Marketing at North Carolina State who discusses Project Warp Speed in terms of “product roll out” and how society’s response to the vaccine compares to its acceptance of other market innovations.   Matt then chats with Dr. Carl Latkin, the VICE CHAIR of the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, BEHAVIOR, AND SOCIETY at Johns Hopkins University.  Dr. Latkin discusses the concept of vaccine hesitancy and what young change agents can do to help communicate with those who refuse to accept scientific advancement and dispel misinformation.  
Finally, Scientific America Associate Editor and journalist Tanya Lewis talks about her experience reporting on the social impediments affecting Black and LatinX people’s ability to receive equitable access to the COVID Vaccine.  

Dr. Erin O’Neill is an Assistant Professor of Public Health Education in the Health Sciences Department at New Jersey City University.  Dr. O’Neill’s is a 2021 Fellow with the National Leadership Academy for Public Health (CDC). As a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES), she serves as a consultant to government and community health organizations for programmatic strategies to alleviate health disparities and to promote health justice and equity. She joins the podcast to explore the social and cultural aspect of public health and access to care.  We talk about the important role the community plays in crafting healthcare policy, the systemically rooted issues that create obstacles to health equity, and how policy and education work hand in hand.

Today Somerset County (New Jersey) Commissioner Sara Sooy joins the podcast to talk about the impediments constituents face in accessing care, even in the digital age.  We also explore the logistical challenges policymakers contend with to provide solutions and how the partnership between public and private entities is important to overcoming these challenges, especially during the pandemic.  We end on a high note with the possibly of finding a solution to health equity at the intersection of capitalism and coverage.  Enjoy!

New Jersey is known as the capital of the pharmaceutical industry; and Somerset County, which is where Bridgewater Township is located, is its epicenter.  Sharing his insights as the mayor of a town with major pharmaceutical companies, Bridgewater Matthew Moench joins the podcast to explore the intersection of politics and healthcare. We talk about how the healthcare debate, especially around phama, impacts local and federal elections, leading a community through covid and the importance of local politics.