Category Archives: Wellness

Health & Wellness

Levine ADR articles, Race & Ethnicity, Social Issues, Wellness

Multicultural Healthcare and Disparities – by Deborah Levine

Leave a comment

When Dr. Joseph Betancourt spoke on “Solutions for Disparities: Delivering Quality Care to Diverse Populations” in Chattanooga several years ago, he delivered both unusual expertise and a personal model for future healthcare. Dr. Betancourt’s family came from Puerto Rico to NYC and he talked about his childhood as interpreter for his grandparents to their doctors. Today, Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH, is the Senior Vice President of Equity and Community Health at Massachusetts General Hospital, the founder, senior advisor and faculty of the Disparities Solutions Center (DSC) at Mass General, Faculty at the Mongan Institute, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a practicing Internal Medicine physician.

Continue reading Multicultural Healthcare and Disparities – by Deborah Levine →

Authors A-H, Wellness

Diversity and Speech Part 39: Creating Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés and Adwoa Osei

Leave a comment

The two of us first met in July, 2020, when we were asked to serve as inaugural co-directors of the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine’s new Health Equity, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism (HESJAR) curricular initiative.   Health equity, social justice, and anti-racism are important concepts, but they can easily degenerate into little more than buzz words.  Our challenge was to transform those six words into a focused, integrated, and transformative learning experience for our students.  

Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 39: Creating Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés and Adwoa Osei →

Social Issues, Wellness

1 in 2 Americans Knows Someone with an Opioid Addiction

Leave a comment

Few Know How to Get Help

The Opioid Crisis continues to surge in the United States, as fentanyl-related overdoses are on the rise nationwide and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already fragile healthcare system. A new report by Bicycle Health, an online addiction treatment provider, surveyed over 1,000 Americans nationwide on opioid use disorder (OUD) and what they thought would help; it also analyzed data from Kaiser Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to find opioid addiction rates by state as well as potential opioid treatment deserts across the nation. 

Continue reading 1 in 2 Americans Knows Someone with an Opioid Addiction →

ADR Advisors, Authors A-H, Wellness

Diversity and Speech Part 31: Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés and Adwoa Osei

1 Comment

In July, 2020, the two of us met for the first time as inaugural co-directors of the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine’s new Health Equity, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism (HESJAR) curricular initiative.   Beginning with our initial conversations it became clear that addressing speech — physician speech, patient speech, medical school speech — would be central to our journey.   

For an entire year (2020-2021) we planned.  This involved reading, particularly about efforts at other medical schools.  It also involved listening: to students; to other faculty and staff; and particularly through a series of community conversations in which medical students interviewed local residents about their experiences with the health care system.  Those conversations deeply informed our curriculum development.   

Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 31: Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés and Adwoa Osei →

Authors A-H, Social Issues, Wellness

The lifelong regret – by Terry Howard

Leave a comment

This picture is a replica of the one from a remote spot in a parking lot across from a local Walmart. Until recently, that spot was occupied by a blue pickup truck with watermelons for sale on the back. I’ll get to the story behind that photo momentarily. 

But first, let’s go to Marriam-Webster for a definition of the word “regret,” the crux of this narrative and for my fair-minded readers, something to think long and hard about when reexamining your life.

“Regret is a feeling of sadness or disappointment about something said or wrong about a mistake you made and wish you could have done differently or better.”

Aha, “done differently!” 

Continue reading The lifelong regret – by Terry Howard →

Authors A-H, Social Issues, Wellness

The Lifelong Regret: Part 2 – Terry Howard

1 Comment

Apparently my recent, “The Lifelong Regret,” touched (and torched?) a few raw nerves. Proof positives are the many lengthy phone conversations on the topic of “regret” that made me cringe at the thought of the size of my next phone bill.  

You see, some conversations were longer than I anticipated since I’m not skillful at effectively hinting, “hey, gotta go.” And others were of the brief “sorry but I don’t want to talk about that stuff,” category. 

Now the common thread in all those recollections were the immediacy of the responses to my query and the length of time transpired that caused those regrets; a few more than five decades ago.
 Continue reading The Lifelong Regret: Part 2 – Terry Howard →

The Arts, Wellness

Integrating the Arts in Health – by Patricia Lambert

Leave a comment

NOAH Seeks to Professionalize Arts Programs in Healthcare Settings

No person looks forward to a visit to the hospital or other similar healthcare settings. Oftentimes, being in the hospital is a process that is scary, uncertain, and full of anticipation for answers and recovery. Research has shown that healing is made better by the arts, which bring humanity to institutions such as hospitals, elder and hospice care, as well as those living at home with chronic diseases like cancer or Parkinson’s. 

Despite research that supports arts in health, many health institutions do not have programs incorporating the arts. This is why the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH) has remained committed to expanding awareness and acceptance of the arts as a vital component for healing, public health, and wellbeing. 

Continue reading Integrating the Arts in Health – by Patricia Lambert →

Authors R-Z, Social Issues, UTC Interns, Wellness

Afflictions of American Health Care – by Eliana Teel

1 Comment

When I was seven years old, I had my first MRI, or Magnetic Resonance Imaging – a medical imaging machine that generates internal images of the body. The tubular machine was quite large in comparison to my petite body. I can still remember how scared I was as they placed headphones twice the size of my head over my ears and pushed me back into the small cylinder. Or how the nurse called the IV that shot cold, contrast dye throughout my bloodstream a “butterfly clip” to ease the nerves. The MRI was ordered to examine my neck and upper spine because I was experiencing a lot of unusual pain there for a child that young. What my family and I didn’t expect was to be in that room for two more hours as they caught a glimpse of something concerning in my lower back.

Continue reading Afflictions of American Health Care – by Eliana Teel →

Authors I-Q, Wellness

Supporting Employee Diversity and Wellness – by Julia Morris

Leave a comment

During the COVID-19 pandemic, employee diversity and wellness came under the spotlight like never before. Corporations sought to support workers both in the office and at home, and a major pre-pandemic cultural shift completed its arc. In addition, employers have been making significant strides in diversifying their workforces.

Focusing on diversity and offering innovative benefits that enhance work-life balance don’t just boost employee satisfaction. These efforts help attract new talent in a competitive market, and improve productivity no matter the size of your organization.

Continue reading Supporting Employee Diversity and Wellness – by Julia Morris →

Academic Articles, Social Issues, Wellness

Challenges of Teaching about Diversity and Health Equity – by Carlos E. Cortés

Leave a comment

A Difficult Conversation about Difficult Conversations forDeveloping Medical Educators of the 21st Century:
New Ideas and Skills
for Adaptable and Inclusive
Learning Environments Conference

February 4, 2022 (Revised, February 6, 2022)

 Let’s start with today’s ground rules.  None.  No rules; no powerpoints.

But three hopes.  That you speak honestly without obsessing about maybe saying the wrong thing, a bane to diversity discussions.  That you contemplate divergent ideas.  And that you reflect openly on your own perspectives by posting comments and questions in the chatbox as we go along.   

So let’s turn to our theme, difficult conversations about diversity and health equity.  Health equity conversations necessarily involve discomfort because they address the idea of group diversity, not just random individual differences.

Continue reading Challenges of Teaching about Diversity and Health Equity – by Carlos E. Cortés →