Mountain Metabolics: Amanda Staubs PharmD

Send us a text

Healthcare is Human: Mountain Metabolics series continues an in-depth look at individuals working in obesity, diabetes, and metabolic healthcare in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. We meet Amanda Staubs PharmD, who tells Healthcare is Human: 

“Being a pharmacist here at the Berkeley Medical Center is really important to me. I grew up in Charles Town, West Virginia, and then left for college. I came back because I wanted to give back to the community where I grew up, and have worked as a pharmacist since 2011. I did my residency at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center and then I worked in Maryland for a while. I have been at Berkeley Medical Center since 2015, with most of my career predominantly as an ICU pharmacist. 

As a pharmacist you're not the star of the show, and people don't think about you, but I treat patients who are septic in the ICU. And, while I don't talk to a lot of patients, I see them. I hear them and I root for them to have a better life and get out of the hospital.

Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro have been a revolution in diabetes and obesity care. They have been a game-changer for those patients who have had a hard time losing weight. These medications help increase insulin when you eat and also decrease gastric emptying, providing a sense of feeling full and eating less. Some data shows activity in our brains which decreases hunger and we are seeing these medications have reduced obesity-related cancers. This is a huge chance to reduce cardiovascular complications like strokes and heart attacks.”

Healthcare is Human was created by Ryan McCarthy and is a signature program of the Internal Medicine Residency at the Berkeley Medical Center. 

Original Poem, “Diagnosis Color by Number,” is read by its author, Renée K.Nicholson.

This podcast is engineered by Kym Mattioli.

Visit Healthcare is Human on Facebook and Instagram to see incredible photography by Molly Humphreys, native of Shepherdstown, WV, whose world-class portfolio can be found by searching for Piccadilly Posh Photography. 

Healthcare is Human is supported by the West Virginia Humanities Council, WVU Medicine, and generous donors in our community.

Isaac McCarthy plays the banjo to open and close the show.

Healthcare is Human is featured on TED.com, KevinMD, Synapsis, Narrative Mindworks, and 100 Days in Appalachia.

#healthcareishuman

Be sure to visit Healthcare is Human on Facebook and Instagram. If you have a great idea for a podcast, we would love to hear from you.