Conversations on Health: How We Get There - with Stephani Shelton

Talking about health care systems doesn’t have much meaning unless you know how they actually affect people. My friend Gina Mžourek is an American from New Jersey. She currently lives in Germany with her Czech husband. But over the past 24 years she’s also lived in the Czech Republic, France and of course – the US. Gina has a chronic illness so she’s very good at comparing the health care systems. They’re all state run except of course – ours here in the US. We talked on Zoom this summer – me in Prague, Gina in her small German town - and I think you’ll find her insights very helpful. FYI – Zoom’s recording has some lag. Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

Imagine what it’s like to know that if you get sick or need a knee replacement or just grow old – you’ll never have to worry about paying for your medical care? It’s something few Americans can even imagine. But something that is simply normal for most Europeans. So last month when my husband and I were in Prague – I had a conversation with a Czech friend who’s a public school English teacher and translator. She pays the usual high taxes into the state-run health care system. And then never gives the cost of her medical future another thought. Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

We’re looking at the growing health care crisis in the United Kingdom in this episode. The government-funded and run National Health Service or NHS as it’s usually known was started in 1948 and most UK citizens really love it. It’s basically the international role model for health care services which are free at the point of use. Something most Americans can only dream of. But ever since the COVID lockdowns ended – the NHS has been in real trouble. I’m sure you’ve seen or read about its huge financial and personnel issues. Doctors and nurses, ambulance drivers – seemingly everyone constantly on strike - demanding higher pay and more workers. Many Brits complain about waiting months just to see their general practitioners. Never mind complex surgery where waits can be years. What might fix the NHS? Money? Rejoining the EU? Better management? More emphasis on preventive health measures? I put the hard questions to David Hunter, Emeritus Professor of Health Policy and Management, Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University. Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

After the last two episodes on mental health, we’re talking about another difficult issue many families are struggling with – when and how to find an affordable and caring assisted living facility for Mom or Dad. Rich’s 92 year old Mom is doing well in her new home and Rich shares a lot of helpful information if your family is just beginning to the emotionally draining search. I’m also giving you some useful U.S. research links below: To find home-based services, contact Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or visit https://eldercare.acl.gov. You can also call your local Area Agency on Aging, Aging and Disability Resource Center, Department of Human Services or Aging, or a social service agency. https://longtermcare.acl.gov/ And please, DO subscribe so you won't miss any episodes. Thank you so much! Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

When Part 1 ended – we were talking about how life has changed after the COVID pandemic. and how many people seem to be having trouble just coping these days. Part 2 picks up there. And as we go on – I think you’ll feel almost like you’re in your own personal therapy session as we talk a lot about mental resilience and our lack of it, the effects of social media and how you know you need help. You don’t want to miss the rest of this thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation on mental health with Czech clinical psychologist and psychotherapist PhDr. Radek Pěkný. And please, DO subscribe so you won't miss any new episodes. Thank you so much! Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

Many Americans seem to be having trouble coping with life these days - perhaps because the COVID pandemic changed life as we knew it. It changed life everywhere - including in the Czech Republic. How do we deal with uncertainty? What does it mean to be a man in 2023? Are our children as mentally resilient as we were? What about the effect of social media? Do Czechs try to ignore mental health problems as many Americans do? This is Part 1 a very thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation on mental health with Czech clinical psychologist and psychotherapist PhDr. Radek Pěkný. You’ll find we’re more alike than we are different. And please, DO subscribe so you won't miss any new episodes. Thank you so much! Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

It’s hard to characterize Dr. Lisa Layne because she’s worn so many hats. As a result - the way she looks at health care and our relationship with its delivery is quite unique. Dr. Layne went from being a Foreign Service Officer to earning a doctorate in Medical Humanities and later, certificates in Bioethics. As you can imagine, we talk about a lot. We even share a few laughs. What did she learn from her years as a patient advocate at a New Jersey hospital? What’s it like to get sick in a foreign country compared to the US? And what are her COVID takeaways - as she continues to broaden cultural perspectives as an adjunct professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

It’s hard to characterize Dr. Lisa Layne because she’s worn so many hats. As a result the way she looks at health care and our relationship with its delivery is quite unique. As this preview of Episode 7 suggests - we talk a little about a lot. Dr. Layne went from being a Foreign Service Officer to earning a doctorate in Medical Humanities and later, certificates in Bioethics. What did she learn from her years as a patient advocate at a New Jersey hospital? What is it like to get sick in a foreign country compared to the US? And what are her COVID takeaways - as she continues to broaden cultural perspectives as an adjunct professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. The full episode will drop on Friday - that’s March 24. I hope you enjoy it - on all the usual platforms. Links on https://stephanishelton.com/conversations

At the core of any country’s health system are the nurses. And I’m sure many of you are aware of the continuing nurses’ strikes against the UK’s state-run health care system - as well as the recent one here in New York City. Yes – nurses want pay hikes. But the biggest issue is the continued understaffing at hospitals and other care facilities. Christine Dorn-Moldovan is now a semi-retired school nurse who spent many years as a hospital nurse and supervisor at large New York hospitals. And also worked in the public health system. What does she think has to change now to make the US health system work for burned-out nurses post COVID - and the rest of us? Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

Part 2: We continue to compare the US health care system with those of Sweden and other Nordic and European state-run systems. Does the US really have a mostly private system? Are countries already developing new, hybrid models as the cost of breakthrough medical procedures and designer drugs skyrockets? And can we really compare any single European country to our sprawling land of more than a hundred and 33 million people?Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

Episode #4: A Conversation with Richard Saltman, PhD, Health Policy Expert Part 1: We're delving into the mix of private insurers, doctor groups, regional hospital systems, Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Health Administration - plus a federal and state public health system- which together are considered the US health "system". How does the US "system" compare to those in Europe and the Nordic countries? You may be surprised at what you hear. Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

Most of us have had some experience with the mish-mosh of health care in the US which substitutes for a real health system – the European kind you learned about in episodes 1 and 2. Both dealing with health care in the Czech Republic. But here in the United States – it’s not so simple. If you’ve had to navigate the maze of doctors, hospitals, health care alliances and insurance in the US – you probably have a horror story. Like my friend Pam Cookson. who lives in St. Augustine, Florida. Pam’s struggle to get a simple bladder infection treated - something millions of us have also done – is eye-opening. And sadly – likely to sound familiar to many of you.Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

You got an overview of the Czech Republic’s health care system in Episode 1. Unlike ours in the US - it’s a centralized system which is relatively similar to those in most European and Scandinavian countries. Every working adult pays into it. And everyone in the country has a similar level of care. So what happens when someone gets really, REALLY sick there? Meet Steve Fisher - an American writer who’s lived and worked in the capital city – Prague - for the past 30 years. A few years ago a freak infection almost killed him. It’s pretty dramatic.Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.

Episode 1. Some years ago I discovered that like a lot of you --- I really care about good health. And when COVID first hit us - I – like a lot of you – discovered that the US was woefully unprepared for a major public health crisis. So I set out to do a podcast series about health care - who has it and who hasn't and why. And how we might do better in the US. I’m starting with a typical European - mostly public health care system in the Czech Republic because I spend a lot of time there. You can compare it to your own experience in our very fragmented PRIVATE system in the US. Like all the European and Scandinavian countries and the United Kingdom – working Czechs and their employers pay a lot in taxes and insurance fees to support most of the overall health care system. It isn’t pure-play socialized medicine as you so often hear about Europe. But the government does pay for the old, the very young and those without jobs. And EVERYONE has similar, solid coverage. So recently I sat down with an internationally known expert on health care - Dr. David Marx - in his office in Prague. He heads the Department of Public Health of the Third Faculty of Medicine – part of the renown Charles University Medical program. I asked Dr. Marx to explain how the Czech Health System works and how it’s paid for. Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube. In the second episode of Conversations on Health you'll meet a friend of mine who lives and works in the Czech Republic. A few years ago he got very sick and is very, VERY grateful for how well the Czech health system took care of him. I hope you'll enjoy the podcasts which will be quite wide-ranging. And please, DO subscribe so you won't miss any. Thank you so much!