Perusing the Pandemic Hannah Whorton, University of Tulsa

In this final episode of the Perusing the Pandemic series, we visit with Hannah's dad, Dr. Greg Whorton, to reflect on and recall the story that inspired this project in the first place: her grandmother's battle with Covid-19 back in April 2020.  We also seek to answer the question, "How has our world changed since the beginning of this project?"  Hannah also wants her listeners to know this episode may be emotionally triggering for some as they discuss fairly detailed medical circumstances and explore grief.  She encourages listeners to pause, ponder, and take a break if you need it.

In the fourth episode of Perusing the Pandemic, we break down what the Omicron variant is and how the Omicron surge has impacted hospitals— specifically hospital staffing and patient care as hospital Covid-19 numbers never seemed to really drop despite Omicron's generally-speaking mild nature.  We visit with Dr. Doug Ross, the president of CHI St. Vincent Hospital in Hot Springs, Arkansas to get a closer look at what kind of state Omicron has left their hospital and its staff in; we also re-visit with Dr. Kendrick, a physician from Conway, Arkansas (who was featured in our second episode) to hear him explain why this variant and wave are different from the others.  This episode seeks to help listeners gain a better and fuller understanding of the Omicron variant, as well as empathy for those, such as health-care workers, who don't have the privilege of being able to ignore information about the coronavirus whenever they want. 

In this third episode of Perusing the Pandemic, we circle our pandemic conversations back around to the University of Tulsa community.  Through interviews with Dr. Jen Ragsdale, a psychology professor and researcher, and students, Janie Wilkey and Daniel Arellanes, we focus on the impact and toll of the pandemic on both university faculty/staff and students.  

In this second episode of Perusing the Pandemic, we visit with Dr. Greg Kendrick, a physician from Conway, Arkansas who has spent the entirety of the pandemic caring for Covid-positive patients.  We take a deep dive into Dr. Kendrick's day-to-day schedule, what it looked like for the hospital where he works to transition into the pandemic, as well as the emotional and mental toll of the pandemic on frontline workers like himself.  We reflect on the previous surges of Covid-19 cases, as well as the third surge that has recently dominated large regions of the country. 

In our first full episode, we hear from Dr. Charles Brown - a professor of biology and ecology at the University of Tulsa - to learn more about the importance of understanding the ecological and environmental factors that may have enabled the Covid-19 Pandemic.  A foundational basis of zoonotic diseases and how they transmit to humans is explained, and a deeper look at the presence of zoonotic disease surveillance, or the lack thereof, is discussed. 

The Covid-19 Pandemic has woven its way into every nook and cranny of human existence since its emergence in 2020.  In this series which is hosted by Hannah Whorton, we explore these significant impacts and attempt to address many of the questions that so many have wrestled with over the last approximately eighteen months.  From the ecological factors that enabled the origination of a disease like Covid-19 to the numerous social implications of the pandemic, Hannah visits with professionals and fellow college peers to peruse these topics.