The Health Design Podcast

Dr. Yun “Sherry” Wang is an Assistant Professor on the tenure track at Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP). Her academic journey is built upon a foundation in Geospatial Science from Washington University in St. Louis, an exploration of Data Science at Monash University, and comprehensive Ph.D. training in Clinical Pharmacy. Since she arrived at Chapman in May 2021, she has established and led the "Patient Safety Lab," a research initiative driven by her profound interests in health service research and pharmacoepidemiology, with a special focus on substance users and chronic disease patients. The "Patient Safety Lab" is a collaborative effort that utilizes diverse real-world datasets to explore various projects, including "Opioid Prescribing and Overdose Deaths Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in California," "Utilization of Buprenorphine Treatments in California: A Real-World Assessment of X Waiver Holders and Prescribers," "Spatiotemporal Disparity Mapping of Buprenorphine Treatment," and "Treatment Adherence Disparities among Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer." These multifaceted projects unite over ten dedicated faculty members and students, fostering collaboration beyond the boundaries of Chapman University. Dr. Wang's professional background encompasses a spectrum of disciplines, including machine learning, epidemiology, clinical pharmacy, health economics, and health service research across Asia, Australia, and the United States. Her contributions are evident through peer-reviewed publications in esteemed journals such as JAMA, Lancet, Clinical Infectious Disease, International Journal of Cardiology, Pharmacogenomics Journal, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Pain Reports, and Neuroepidemiology. Her editorial role for the "Opioid Epidemic during the COVID-19 Pandemic" Special Issue of the journal Healthcare underscores her dedication to addressing the opioid crisis. Her research findings have garnered attention in ISPOR News Across Asia, Physician Weekly, and the COVID newsletter by the Washington State Department of Health. She received the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) New Investigator Award in 2022. Faculty profile: https://www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/sherry-yun-wang Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=-RicqRIAAAAJ&hl=en

Dr David Beaumont is a Consultant Occupational Physician, a doctor specialising in the health of workers. He is a Past President of the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. He provides consultancy services to some of New Zealand’s major employers and also the provision of health and wellbeing programmes through his company Positive Medicine Limited. His book, Positive Medicine: Disrupting the Future of Medical Practice won the BMA (British Medical Association) Medical Book Award for Primary Care, 2022. David is passionate about helping people realise that to truly experience positive health in their lives they first have to change their own understanding of health. To truly have health it must be viewed as a positive concept, with the realisation that it is integral to every area of our lives. To move beyond being experts in disease, doctors need to be able to treat the whole person and empower people to take control and responsibility for their own lives and health. www.drdavidbeaumont.com www.positivemedicine.com

Our guest on this episode of the HD podcast isVanessa Joy Walker: Health Consumer Advocate, Survivorship Coach, and Founder of Living After Crisis Inc. Currently pursuing an MPH at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Vanessa collaborates with esteemed organizations such as HMP Global's Psych Congress and Caelum Diagnostic Solutions. Her powerful perspectives on perseverance, patient engagement, social equity, and joy have been featured in prominent outlets like The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The American Cancer Society, K-Love Radio, and Menopause Today. Dedicated to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Vanessa partners with transformative educational firms like The 2043 Project and Point Made Learning, shaping her contributions through a compassionate lens. With over 12 years of experience in healthcare, impact storytelling, advocacy, and operations, Vanessa is devoted to challenging the status quo. She serves as a trusted ally in guiding diverse organizations—whether in healthcare, life sciences, or any organization that prioritizes mental health and well-being. As a published author, sought-after patient advisor, consultant, and coach, Vanessa infuses authenticity and captivating storytelling into every element of her work. From conference rooms to virtual platforms, she fosters empathetic connections through engaging presentations exploring communication's power to ignite change. Connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn @VanessaJoyWalker for invaluable insights and inspiration. For collaborations and inquiries, email vjw@vanessajoywalker.com, and join her in creating a world where health and well-being are human rights."

Nick Holekamp, MD, is the vice president and chief medical officer at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital. He joined in 2000, and for nearly two decades, he’s helped more than 2,000 children and their families transition from a traditional hospital to home after chronic illness or injuries. Under Dr. Holekamp’s leadership, Ranken Jordan transitioned from a 26-bed pediatric nursing home into a 60-bed, advanced pediatric specialty hospital that is regionally recognized as a center of excellence for the care of children with medical complexities. In 2018, he oversaw a $35-million expansion that nearly doubled the hospital’s capacity, and he continues to lead initiatives that ensure a collaborative, high-quality, patient-centered care environment. He is the chief advocate for carrying out the vision of the hospital’s founder, Mary Ranken Jordan, which was to care for kids beyond the bedside. Dr. Holekamp gives kids their best chance for recovery through Care Beyond the Bedside, the hospital’s care philosophy that melds traditional health care with playful therapies that allows for routine child development, effective rehabilitation, and social re-integration so kids and their families can prepare for successful outcomes at home. His work has helped mold Ranken Jordan into a facility that parents describe as a “seamless, yet critical transition” for their child and that is held in high esteem by medical professionals across the healthcare continuum. In 2017, Dr. Holekamp co-authored “The Effect of a Comprehensive Care Transition Model on Cost and Utilization for Medically Complex Children with Cerebral Palsy, a research paper published in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care. In October, 2018, Dr. Holekamp presented his findings at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Complex Care Association in a talk titled, “An Innovative Model of Transitional Care for Medically Complex Children.” Dr. Holekamp earned a degree in biology from Dartmouth College before graduating from Saint Louis University School of Medicine in 1987. He completed his residency in pediatric and adolescent medicine at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center. Prior to joining Ranken Jordan, he was a pediatric hospitalist at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis. Website: www.rankenjordan.org

Ibrahim Rashid is the Founder of the Strong Haulers, a digital health platform that leverages data to help those with Long COVID and other chronic illnesses manage their symptoms. He is also the author of Strong Hauler: Learning to Live with Long COVID, a memoir of lessons learned while navigating chronic illness at a young age. His commentary on long covid, impact investing, and politics has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Psychology Today, the Huffington Post, Wired, MIT Sloan Management Review, and Impact Alpha. In 2021, Impact Alpha named him one of their Ten Voices Who Moved the Conversation for his writing on disability justice and impact investing. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago. For more information, see https://www.ibrahimrashid.com/

Kathy O'Shea is a 46-year migraineur and 36 year professor of English, who has combined these significant parts of her life into this literary anthology centered around five themes related to migraine. She is the winner the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and has two beloved golden retrievers who are official therapy dogs at Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY, where she teaches literature, composition, and humanities courses. She is a regular migraine blogger on psychologytoday.com. Kathy’s anthology has been selected as a first-place winner in Health for Firebird, "Award Winning Finalist” in the Health: category of the 2021 Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest, and has recently received the Book Excellence Award. Kathy has appeared on numerous health-related podcasts to discuss her book and journey with migraine and hopes to use the book to help educate migraine sufferers, their family and friends, medical professionals, and the general public about this debilitating disease. You can get her book ' So Much more than a Headache' here: https://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/author/kathleen-oshea/

Tanisha Bowman, MSW, LSW, APHSW-C, NEDA Proficient, is a death doula living in Pittsburgh, PA who currently works as a full-time palliative care social worker in a small rural healthcare system. With the support of an amazing palliative care team, Tanisha has been able to explore ways to bring her passion for death care and openness about death and dying into a highly medicalized environment. Her wide range of expertise has piqued the interest of reporters, podcasters, and other medical systems and Tanisha has enjoyed the ability to share what she has learned on a variety of platforms. Tanisha Bowman, MSW, LSW, APHSW-C, CGP, NEDA Proficient Palliative Care Social Worker Death Doula

Christina Gagnon is a former micro preemie survivor, born in 1986. She’s someone who’s defeated the odds at times when medical technology was 50/50. It was the time of trial and error. She’s now come to tell her heroic story to all.

Charles Gellman is the Chief Patient Advocate of HiDO Health. His expertise is in clinical informatics and data analysis which accelerates the understanding of health data to improve health outcomes. HiDO research is focused on reducing home medication errors, avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations and saving billions of healthcare dollars. Together health care can enhance transparency to all providers that enables better patient care and equal access to care for all people. HiDO Background Information https://us.hidohealth.com/about YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS-E9J74PeAT0ioieZOZBEQ

Soula Mantalvanos Artist, designer and gallerist. Advocate for the better quality of care, founder of My Health Story. Soula combines her years of living with chronic pain and her professional creative communication experience to advocate for a better quality of care. In addition to presenting at medical conferences, Soula has self-published a book, appeared in an award-winning documentary and established the website pudendalnerve.com.au. Soula offers her personal story on the website and found resources to help with the endurance and treatment of chronic pain. Soula's most outstanding achievement is founding My Health Story, an engaging, safe and innovative way for patients to generate and store their personal health experiences. My Health Story (founded as PainTrain – My Health Summary) initially concentrated on pain management. However, founder Soula Mantalvanos realised she could expand her novel health summarising idea to help people with other chronic health conditions such as Stroke, Dementia and aged care. pudendalnerve.com.au myhealthstory.com.au Design portfolio ooi.com.au Learn more about becoming a My Health Story Friend or My Health Story Affiliate here: https://myhealthstory.com.au/mhs-friends/

Tanisha Bowman, MSW, LSW, APHSW-C, NEDA Proficient, is a death doula living in Pittsburgh, PA who currently works as a full-time palliative care social worker in a small rural healthcare system. With the support of an amazing palliative care team, Tanisha has been able to explore ways to bring her passion for death care and openness about death and dying into a highly medicalized environment. Her wide range of expertise has piqued the interest of reporters, podcasters, and other medical systems and Tanisha has enjoyed the ability to share what she has learned on a variety of platforms. Tanisha Bowman, MSW, LSW, APHSW-C, CGP, NEDA Proficient Palliative Care Social Worker Death Doula

Dr. Molander is an emergency medicine physician with greater than 25 years in clinical care. She analyzes quality of care and is passionate about patient education. Dr. Molander became involved in the world of sepsis in 2007, initially training intensivists in Early Goal Directed Therapy. She served on her hospital Sepsis committee from 2009 to 2015. As chair from 2011 until 2015 she collaborated with fellow Sutter hospitals as they navigated through a new Electronic Health Record and a sepsis initiative serving the critical access hospital to the quaternary care center. She has served on the Sepsis Alliance board since 2018 and was recently their Chair of the Board of Directors. She co-authored a chapter on Sepsis for the American Medical Life Support textbook for Emergency Medical Services and has an updated edition coming out later this year. She is currently participating in a year long Digital Health Fellowship with the goal of optimizing communication amongst patients and providers.

I am a professor of Genetics and Oncology at Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada). My main interests are identifying social and medical outcomes of cancer patients and their predictors (including demographic and biological markers). In the last few years, I also become interested in patient-oriented research and public engagement. I lead the Public Interest Group on Cancer Research that consists of cancer-affected public members as well as cancer scientists. This group designs studies and public outreach activities, including public conferences. It is quite an active local cancer advocacy group as well. In addition, I am a member of Atlantic Cancer Consortium and have roles in organizations/committees with an aim of addressing the issues faced by cancer patients and family members. Help controlling cancer and its effects on the population is very important for me. By doing all of these – that is research, public outreach, advocacy, and committee service, I believe that I contribute to positive change, better studies, effective advocacy, and genuine public outreach that will eventually lead to better survival outcomes, experiences and conditions for cancer patients.

Dr. Jim Feng is a visionary entrepreneur dedicated to revolutionizing the healthcare industry through innovation and technology. With a passion for improving human performance and well-being, Dr. Feng has made significant strides in the field of integrated health models and disruptive healthcare technologies. Driven by his deep understanding of healthcare and affinity for technology-driven enterprises, Dr. Feng has successfully incubated multiple start-ups focused on disruptive healthcare technologies, content aggregation, and real-time language translation. Recognizing the challenges in the physical injury and insurance industry, he recently established Phyxable Inc. This groundbreaking virtual pain and prevention platform employs machine learning, augmented reality, and gamification to guide individuals out of pain while empowering them to achieve optimal human performance. In addition to his esteemed chiropractic degree, Dr. Feng is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and Medical Acupuncturist. His expertise has led him to direct medical teams for prestigious events such as world championships, professional sports, and Olympic-level competitions in MMA and Wrestling. Beyond his professional accomplishments, Dr. Feng finds fulfillment in high-performance individual sports, embarking on extreme adventures, exploring health-tech and lifespan solutions, and pursuing his passion for Aquascaping. He is a firm believer in giving back to the community and actively contributes to causes that truly matter. With his relentless pursuit of innovation, commitment to improving lives, and exceptional leadership skills, Dr. Jim Feng continues to shape the future of healthcare, inspiring both colleagues and aspiring entrepreneurs alike.

Short Bio Kimberly Reyes is a veteran educator, historian and trained political scientist. She has nearly 2 decades of experience in early childhood and primary education. Fluent in 4 languages, her parenting and educational philosophies pull from both Eastern and Western traditions. She is a mother of a toddler born at 26 weeks, speaking often on the NICU experience and other challenges facing parents whose journey has been anything but ordinary. She can be reached at: www.alltheunexpected.com

Patricia Weltin is the CEO/Founder of Beyond the Diagnosis, a traveling art exhibit that unites art and science to inspire research and innovation of treatments for people living with rare diseases. Artists paint portraits of children living with a rare disease; the portraits then become part of a traveling exhibit for medical schools, research institutes, hospitals, museums, and art galleries around the world. Patricia is the mother of two children living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a rarely diagnosed, multi-systemic connective tissue disorder. Her work as CEO of Beyond the Diagnosis led Patricia to make connections among many rare diseases, notably the prevalence of Tethered Spinal Cord (TSC) in the rare population. Patricia, a citizen scientist, was recently published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics.

Erik Cardenas is Co-Founder & CEO at Zócalo Health, a digital health company committed to providing a premier family medicine experience that is tailored for the Latino community. In his 20+ year career, Erik has assumed various leadership roles for companies like Amazon, Everlywell, and Tenet Health. In March 2021, he was appointed to Rogers Behavioral health Board of Directors. Erik is an advocate for proper representation in leadership, recognizing the numerous benefits that minority leaders bring to the table for their communities. He actively promotes the inclusion of women and people of color in leadership roles, and is committed to building a more equitable healthcare system. Website: https://zocalo.health

Christina Cummins (she, her. hers) owns a private practice and consulting agency that offers therapy services and training programs for staff development. She has been in the healthcare field for over ten years, and for most of that time, her focus has been on mental health treatment and leadership. Christina is passionate about helping progressive healthcare organizations reduce burnout and develop leaders at all levels. She also assists organizations in providing trauma-informed care that promotes diversity, equality, and inclusion. Christina believes that increasing skills in healthcare leaders reduce turnover, vital in preventing further trauma to the vulnerable populations they serve

Becky Sansbury, M.Div., has spent thirty-five years focused on crisis care, working with individuals and organizations. Serving as head chaplain for Transitions LifeCare, a hospice and palliative care agency, she provided hands-on spiritual and emotional support for patients, families and colleagues. Simultaneously, she learned principles of dealing with crisis from an organizational perspective due to the intense team interaction required in hospice work. Becky followed that career with leadership in The Avadon Group, specialists in career crisis, working with displaced professionals during the 2008 recession. Distilling underlying principles of crisis response, stabilization, and resilience within multiple areas of disruption, Becky developed the After the Shock™ process. She speaks to national organizations, such as Blueprint Medicines, Fisher House Foundation, and Ronald McDonald House Charities®, providing them with fresh perspectives and new tools to supplement their work with individuals and organizations in crisis. In addition, Becky consults directly with medical and corporate leaders when personal or professional crisis disrupts their work. Becky’s book, After The Shock: Getting You Back On The Road To Resilience When Crisis Hits You Head On, was published in paperback and digital versions in 2015. Shortly after the book was published, Becky needed to use her own process. For five years Becky provided in-home, solo caregiving for both her elderly mother and adult daughter. That experience reinforced Becky’s dual conviction that regardless of the diagnosis, all good care is palliative and the greater the shock, the more crucial the need for comfort. Her mantra has become, palliative care for all people all the time. www.BeckySansbury.com

Dr. Jessica “Jess” Daigle is a board-certified pediatrician, Nicu and pediatric hospitalist, and the Founder/CEO of Mom & Me MD, an in-home & virtual concierge practice in Atlanta designed to deliver 1:1 personalized care to newborns and their mothers during the 4th trimester to ease the transition home after birth. Dr. Daigle received her Doctor of Medicine at LSU School of Medicine New Orleans and completed her pediatrics residency at Morehouse School of Medicine, along with extra training in neonatal-perinatal medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center. She is a former Medical Director at a Level 2 NICU at Wellstar Regional Hospital and currently works as a Locums pediatrician while building her businesses. She is a co-author along with 46 other female physicians in a book called “Made for More: Physician Entrepreneurs Who Live Life and Practice Medicine on Their Own Terms” available on Amazon and other book platforms. She has been featured on many different podcasts and is on the cover of this month’s issue of “Baby Whisper,” a parent magazine in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Daigle enjoys educating, advising, and reassuring moms, especially new moms and nicu moms. Interested in learning more about newborn and postpartum care? Follow her on Instagram @momandme_md.