The Health Disparities Podcast Movement is Life

Dr. Mary O’Connor invites fellow surgeon and singing sensation Dr. Elvis Francois to share his story. Dr. Elvis found fame on "The Masked Singer" after recording and posting inspirational performances accompanied by fellow physician Dr. William Robinson. In this episode, Dr. Elvis talks about the importance of integrating humanity into medicine, and how the emotional connections created through our shared love of music inspire resilience and healing.

Baton Rouge has created a culture of health through its public private partnerships. Using many creative approaches, Baton Rouge seeks to blend cooperation, competition, and personal responsibility, with civic leadership, health equity and community resources. Featuring Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, Coletta Barrett from the Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, and NAON President Dr. Charla Johnson.

Google and YouTube have done a pretty good job of organizing the internet in a way that makes it quick and easy to find that one thing or website we need out of literally billions of options - including health information. In this episode, Dr. Graham and Dr. Gorham explore the theme of meeting people where they are, particularly where that place is an individual’s phone, and the individual is sharing their front of mind concerns about health with either a Google search or searching YouTube via their mobile phone. Dr Graham believes we are entering a new era of health information, a journey that all of us are already on. The key challenge is to make science central to that journey, so that even if we are receiving health information via social media, it is both factual and helpful.

As COVID-19 emerged during early 2020, people all over the world were feeling similar negative emotions. Operation Change leaders were learning the extent to which participants were feeling let down and unsupported, so they urgently looked for solutions. In this episode, our panel of Operation Change community leaders reflect on the impact that COVID had on the groups they had convened, and share some of the ways they responded to the pandemic.

For this episode of the Health Disparities Podcast, three members of the LaSure extended family gathered at the annual Movement is Life caucus to discuss their tradition of working in service to the greater good, a tradition which goes back many generations. Their discussion touches on aspects of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that these family members have witnessed in different spheres of service, but where similar patterns rise to the surface and reflect ever evolving norms in the context of racial diversification, inclusion, and advancement.  

Hawaii has long held the record for the highest average life expectancy in the US. The islands also enjoy some of the lowest COVID-19 infection and mortality numbers along with high vaccination rates. Dr. Green attributes near-universal healthcare coverage and a strong emphasis on primary care with Hawaiians good life expectancy, but Native Hawaiians live comparatively shorter lives. Parts of Hawaii are still in many respects the frontier, with poverty rates exacerbated by COVID’s impact on tourism, and difficult access to specialist care being important aspects of the disparities equation.