Season 3 Finale: Together in Health

Speaker 1 (00:02):

Health care is really complex and sometimes people don't always know where to get started.

Speaker 2 (00:07):

We have to reach in and connect with people.

Speaker 3 (00:09):

It's all about becoming aware, becoming educated, so we can make that informed decision.

Speaker 4 (00:15):

I thought it was a private issue, but here's the secret. Private lives are public issues. We've

Speaker 5 (00:20):

Gotta get to the point where we can talk about mental health the same way we talk about

Speaker 6 (00:23):

Physical health. I think when we platform firsthand experiences, the world becomes more accepting and sees people as human

Speaker 7 (00:33):

Welcome back to Until It's Fixed, where we explore new ideas and work underway to make health care simpler and more effective for everyone. I'm your host, Callie Chamberlain.

Speaker 8 (00:42):

And I'm Dr. Kenny Pool. Welcome back everyone. So Callie, we're at the end of season three and it's been quite a journey.

Speaker 7 (00:51):

I can't believe it. Time has truly flown by. We had some really big changes this time around. Like you joining the show, Kenny, it's been so fun getting to know you and I feel like we make a really good team. I love the perspective that you bring, not only as a doctor and health care leader, but also as a father and a black man. And I think it's really helped shape this season.

Speaker 8 (01:10):

Thank you for that and I appreciate the, uh, call out. I feel really grateful for this experience. I've learned a lot from you as well. Really appreciate your perspective on life and your approach to things and I'm an admirer of your curiosity and energy that you bring to the show.

Speaker 7 (01:29):

Aw, thank you. And I definitely feel like we just sort of build off of each other. Another major change this season we had was adding bonus content in between our full episodes that gave you a clear takeaway, one thing that you could do to take charge of your health and well-being. I thought the bonus episodes really showed how you could take an active role in your health and more fully advocate for yourself. I got a lot out of them and I hope you did too.

Speaker 8 (01:50):

Yeah, I like how we went really deep in the full episodes, but then in the bonus episodes we got practical and that's also where I got feedback from friends and coworkers saying like, Hey, I heard something on the show that I could take with me into my own life.

Speaker 7 (02:05):

Yeah, I totally agree. I had people sharing the same thing and there were so many inspiring moments in this season. We had really incredible conversations with community advocates, health care leaders, authors, influencers and regular people like you and me. So if you had to pick a few that stood out, what would you say, Kenny?

Speaker 8 (02:25):

There were a lot and I really enjoyed all the guests. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, several folks certainly stuck out. I enjoyed hearing from Brian Hughes, who's the chaplain and spiritual care specialist at United Health Group, and how he talked about not only his current work, but what motivated him to get into chaplaincy. And then I really enjoyed talking with Ed Walton from Black Men Run and the episode on Black Health, just because he had so much passion for making the system work better and also found an alternative way to kind of plug in a gap, if you will. I was just really appreciative of his work, not only as a physician, but also as a runner, and then as a black man. So those were my kind of big two shout outs. What about you, Kelly?

Speaker 7 (03:11):

Yeah, I also love the spirituality conversation, especially because of my work as a birth and death doula. I thought Eve Brodsky's episode was incredible. Mm-hmm. And just a really good way to spotlight invisible labor, which is something we don't talk a lot about. I also really liked the conversation about therapy with Cheez Chek, who was so open in sharing some of his personal experiences. Overall, I just really liked the way we expanded this season to not just talk about health but wellness. I thought that was really powerful and I really liked how we brought people that were directly impacted by the topic that we were talking about, and then spoke with leaders who were helping to shape the industry so we could see how complex health really can be. Yep.

Speaker 8 (03:51):

That brings me to my biggest takeaways from the season. You know, as a physician, it was good to hear from people working outside of their traditional health care system to make things better. Right. And a huge takeaway was that the solutions that are needed to fix health care are going to be as complex as the problems themselves.

Speaker 7 (04:11):

Yeah, that's a great way to put it. And I think that's really key when we think about why health care is so complicated. If there were simple solutions, we'd probably be able to find them a lot faster, already have them. Another thing that we really dove into this season was how everything is connected as it relates to your health. So for example, your mental health impacts your physical health and your ability to be well and really feel like you're thriving.

Speaker 8 (04:34):

Yeah, exactly. When one part of someone's life is not well, that can affect the other parts too. So it's not just mental health that affects our physical health, it's our diet and everything that we drink. It's our exercise, it's our relationships with our spouses, our loved ones, our communities, our friends, all of that industry relationships that we have with people that we are connected to from a care perspective like our doctors. All these different things layer in and affect our health and well-being, and I think our conversations over the course of the season really illustrated that beautifully.

Speaker 7 (05:05):

Yeah, I agree. Kenny, one of the other things that really stuck out is how much we talked about the role of community as it relates to your health.

Speaker 8 (05:12):

Yeah, that was a big one for me. I think what we showed this season is that community specific issues are gonna take community specific solutions. So we saw people serving their own communities and making an impact, whether it was Ed McDonald on the south side of Chicago and the work he's doing around nutrition and overall wellness, or Beth O'Connor in the Rural Health episode. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and I saw that as a central theme. Like it takes people who are from communities in order to find solutions that will work for those specific communities. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And one place that we can do better is making sure that we appropriately equip all communities so that they can advocate for themselves.

Speaker 7 (05:49):

Yeah, I completely agree. And the way I think about it is, where are the community-based solutions, and then how does traditional health care pick up on those solutions and follow community lead? So to me, the most comprehensive, meaningful way that people can make sure their needs are met is often local. And that's not a substitution for the changes they need to happen on a larger scale, but it's the most immediate, it's the most relational, it's the most human. And so I think there's a role for both.

Speaker 8 (06:17):

One of the things I also thought was a common thread in the course of the season was people taking control of their health. So more recently we had Nikki Batiste who shared her fertility journey on air as a journalist so that others felt less alone. Eve Roski recognizing a gap as it related to domestic task and writing a book about it and putting together a method around how to approach communication and teamwork in the home more effectively. Same thing with Amy Root and Casey Davis wanted in the world to be more neuro-inclusive. Dr. Sue Reid, who felt motivated and empowered once she got on the other side of the doctor-patient relationship to improve it. So we had this theme of people saying, you know what, I'm affected by an issue and I'm gonna do something about it. And that part was really cool.

Speaker 7 (07:06):

Yeah, I completely agree. There's so much space for us to be educated, to advocate for ourselves, to ask questions, to take it upon ourselves and our communities to make the changes that we wanna see. And it's not just up to the individual to figure all this out. Of course, we need to really focus on making health and health care more accessible, affordable, culturally sensitive, and to actually work better for everybody.

Speaker 8 (07:29):

Absolutely. It's time for one more thing before we go.

Speaker 7 (07:32):

Of course, we can't end this season without recapping one of our favorite parts of the show for you, the lightning round.

Speaker 8 (07:39):

I've

Speaker 9 (07:40):

Always wanted to do one of these.

Speaker 7 (07:41):

<laugh>, your dreams are coming true right now.

Speaker 10 (07:45):

Do I need a buzzer?

Speaker 7 (07:47):

What is something new that you've learned recently?

Speaker 11 (07:50):

Change is probably the one constant that we have in our lives. So it's not about preventing change, but embracing change.

Speaker 10 (07:58):

Listen first, speak second, listen more than you talk. Never

Speaker 12 (08:01):

Forget where you come from and give

Speaker 10 (08:03):

Back. Growth is non-linear. I have always expected growth to be just one way. And I realize often growth is happening even when we don't see

Speaker 12 (08:13):

It. Be present and enjoy the simple moments in life. Be with your family and live each day.

Speaker 8 (08:19):

I love this. These were all great words to live by Callie. What was the best piece of life advice you took away from the season?

Speaker 7 (08:26):

So one of my favorite quotes is by Maya Angelou and she says, because I'm human, nothing human can be alien to me. And I think that is just a reminder in everything that I do, that everything that is happening, that we experience, that we feel it's human, it's part of our experience here. And there's something about that that's deeply humbling and grounding and connects me to other people and expands the empathy and compassion that I feel, and also the commitment to make change and work better. So I felt like that just got reinforced through all of the things that I was hearing this season to find what was human that could then motivate the changes that we need to see. So more of a reminder of what does it look like for us to lead from a place of deep compassion. Hmm.

Speaker 8 (09:12):

I like that.

Speaker 7 (09:13):

Yeah. So what about you? What would you say? Yeah,

Speaker 8 (09:15):

I have this quote, I think I found it in the mall when I was in college. And I remember going through a period of reflection as I was like getting ready to apply to medical school and writing personal statements and things like that. And so this quote just stuck with me just from George Bernard Shaw. And it says, the people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances that they want. And if they can't find them, they make them. And I think not only has that been something that's been personal for me, a lot of our guests embodied that. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that's what they were doing. Yeah. They were looking for better circumstances, and when those things weren't there, they put things into play, not only for themselves, but for others. And that's something that I live by and something that really resonated with me this season.

Speaker 7 (10:05):

Yeah, I love that. At

Speaker 8 (10:06):

At the end of the day, we're all at different stages on our health journeys and life in general. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we hope that wherever you are, you took something away from the season to live your healthiest life. And we sincerely thank all of our guests for the expertise, transparency, passion and vulnerability, and we thank all of our listeners.

Speaker 7 (10:24):

Yeah, absolutely. It's such a privilege to be able to have these conversations and share them with all of you. So thank you again for trusting us to be in your ear every week with information and tips. This really wouldn't be possible without you. Just a reminder that you can catch up on all of season three at optum.com/podcast or find us on a dozen different apps and platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Also be sure to subscribe or follow the show.

Speaker 8 (10:49):

Again, thanks to everybody who's been a part of the season. We're grateful.

Speaker 7 (10:53):

Yes. Take care, everyone.