INTERVIEWS

Guest: Jay Scott

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Jay Scott is Alex’s dad, Co-Executive Director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and also a proud father to three sons, Patrick, Eddie and Joey. Alex was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer, when she was just a year old. In 2000, at 4-years-old, Alex announced she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for other children with cancer. In her lifetime, Alex would go on to raise over $1 million before she passed away in 2004 at the age of 8. Jay works alongside his wife Liz and the amazing ALSF staff, board of directors, sponsors and supporters to continue the fight against childhood cancer, one cup at a time. Jay loves basketball, distance running, dogs, making wooden bowls and hanging out with his family.  

Segment Overview: Jay Scott, leader of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) Childhood Cancer Nonprofit discusses the story of Alex and the Foundation, the impact of childhood cancer research, and some of the ALSF success stories.  

Guests: Dr. Jonathan Michael Chen and Richard Olson   

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio:  

Richard Olson is Divisional Vice President of Product Development for Abbott Structural Heart. Richard is based in Plymouth, MN and has more than 20 years of experience in the cardiovascular field with product development focused on minimally invasive products for Interventional Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. Previous to joining Abbott, Richard held management positions at Boston Scientific leading the R&D groups responsible for balloon catheters and stent delivery systems that were used to deliver both bare metal and drug eluting stents.

Jonathan Michael Chen, MD is chief of pediatric cardiovascular surgery and co-director of the Seattle Children’s Heart Center, Dr. Chen oversees a team that performs more than 500 surgeries a year, and is the largest of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. He is the author of more than 120 papers and 25 book chapters. His research interests lie in developing ventricular assist devices for infants and children suffering from heart failure. He has been a co-investigator in several research trials with the goal of improving the systems that act as a bridge to transplant, including a National Institutes of Health grant evaluating long-term mechanical ventricular assistance.

Segment Overview: Dr. Jonathan Michael Chen and Richard Olson discuss the newly FDA approved (March 2018) Abbott Masters HP™ 15mm rotatable mechanical heart valve, the world’s smallest mechanical heart valve, that will allow doctors to treat babies and toddlers in need of a mitral or aortic valve replacement.

Guests: Debbie and Norman Compton  

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Health and fitness coaches, Deb and Norm, have been rocking it for a combined 80 years. Norm started his career as a Hollywood Stuntman on the TV show “Magnum PI.” Then at the age of 47 became Dwayne “The Rock” Johnsons stunt double on his debut blockbuster movie “The Scorpion King.” Deb, a medical exercise specialist, calls Norm her science project because of all the times she’s had to put him back together so many times. Deb’s specialty, working with the special needs population and those with serious issues such as Parkinson’s disease, knee, hip and shoulder replacements, fused disks, upper and lower, spina bifida, she strives to find answers for the injured who come to her looking for help. Also, dealing with her own issues like living with scoliosis forced her to find solutions. Deb and Norm Compton live what they preach! Compton has been medically certified with the American Consul of Exercise as a Health Coach and as a personal trainer for over 25 years.  

Segment Overview: Debbie and Norman Compton discuss their recently released book “Stacking – Your Skeletal Blueprint for Posture” and their unique approach to fitness.

Guest: Dr. Andy Shorr, MD

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Andrew Shorr, MD, MPH, is Associate Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Chief of the Pulmonary Clinic at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. In addition, he is Associate Professor of Medicine, Clinician Scholar Track, at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. A prolific author, Dr. Shorr has published more than 140 original investigations plus numerous peer-reviewed articles, literature reviews, book chapters, editorials, case reports, and letters. In addition, he serves as a reviewer, editorial board member, and editorial advisory board member for several peer-reviewed journals, including Chest, Critical Care Medicine, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Annals of Internal Medicine, as well as for the Pulmonary section of Medscape.  

Segment Overview: Dr. Andy Shorr, MD, discusses the public health impact of pneumonia and the need for additional antibiotics and treatment options.

Guest:  Dr. Jennifer Pate

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Dr. Jennifer Pate is Chief of Psychiatry at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center; specializes in caring for the mental health needs of patients with chronic illness. This is important as there are often sensitivities and stigmas associated with having a liver disease, as people often don’t realize that not all liver diseases are related to alcohol consumption, which PBC is not. In addition to treating PBC patients, Dr. Pate also has PBC herself. Dr. Pate also has a disorder called Common Variable Immune Deficiency, the body’s inability to produce antibodies to fight infection. To treat this disorder, she has received life saving infusions every three weeks for the past 30 years. Without an accurate diagnosis and treatment, she would not have survived. Having this disease inspired her to become a doctor herself, counseling others with chronic disease. Dr. Pate is 50 years old and has been practicing for 17 years.

Segment Overview: Dr. Jennifer Pate, who happens to have PBC herself, discusses how she helps patients who have liver disease manage the deep emotional impacts of it and offers advice to others who may miss the signs of the disease. (check their Facebook page – LiveHer Campaign)

Guest: Linda Summerton

Presenter: Tabetha Moreto

Guest Bio: Linda Summerton is the Managing Director and co-founder of Advanced Care Australia, which commenced in 2003. The company provides in home support for individuals with a disability, the elderly, and those recovering from illness or injury – enabling them to remain in their own home. A Registered Nurse with over 20 years experience, she developed skills  in both acute and aged care nursing, and progresses to key management roles in healthcare in the later half of her Nursing career. Since inception the company has gone from strength to strength under Linda’s leadership – providing over 300,000 hours of service in the Sunshine Coast region and Brisbane. Advanced Care were the recipients of the 2014 Sunshine Coast Business Excellence Award in the Lifestyle and Wellbeing category, and were recipients of a Bronze Award in the prestigious ‘International Women in Business Awards’ (aka the Stevie Awards) in the United States in 2014. Linda has herself been a nominee in the Australian Leadership Excellence Awards on 2 occasions, and is currently completing the highly acclaimed ‘Advanced Leadership Program’ through the Women in Leadership Association.

Segment Overview: In this segment, Linda Summerton, the Managing Director of Advanced Care Australia joins the program to promote her company and the exceptional services that they offer. Advanced Care Australia is Sunshine Coast’s premier Disability and Aged Care Support agency. She states that the one thing that sets her company apart from other home care agencies is that their staff are matched in skill set and personality type to their clients in order ensure the best fit possible.

Guest: Toni Riley

Presenter: Tabetha Moreto

Guest Bio:  Toni Riley is the Project Manager of the Return Unwanted Medicines Initiative better known as the RUM Project. She is  a pharmacist and has for many years practised as a community pharmacist and a consultant pharmacist, providing medication review services to the community and in Aged Care. The RUM Project is a is a Commonwealth funded program, providing all communities pharmacies in Australia a method of environmentally safe disposal of unwanted and expired medicines returned to the pharmacy by the consumer. This program has been in operation continuously since 1998 and today incinerate in excess of 700,000kg of unwanted medicines annually.

Segment Overview: In this segment, Toni Riley of the RUM Project comes back to the program to discuss about the dangers of dumping medicines down the drain or toilet and how it can end up in waterways and cause extreme damage. She also talks about what can we do in order to keep our waters clean.

Guest: Dr. Gina Levy

Presenter: Tabetha Moreto

Guest Bio: Dr. Gina Levy is the Senior Nutrition Manager ANZ at Kellogg. Gina has nearly 20 years’ experience as a dietitian in the food industry, and has also consulted for some of the largest food companies in Australia, as well as many non-government organisations. Gina has a Bachelor of Science, a Bachelor in Nutrition and Dietetics with Honours, and a PhD in Biomedical Science. Gina integrates her breadth of knowledge and experience into helping Kellogg integrate nutrition into the business to drive results. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology, the Dietitians Association of Australia and the Nutrition Society of Australia.

Segment Overview: In today’s interview, Dr. Gina Levy joins the program once again to discuss the recently commissioned research into grain fibre inadequacy and the costs to both health and economy, as well as Kellogg’s Nutrition’s new focus on gut microbiome and healthy happy guts. She also highlights how Australians are not consuming enough fibre in their diet and how awareness needs to be raised in order to fix this issue.

Guest: Sue Matthews and Andrea Cohane

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: Sue Matthews, along with her sister Andrea Cohane, is the author of Paint Your Hair Blue, a mother’s longing to give enduring eloquence to her daughter’s voice, to not let it go silent. Sue is President of the Taylor Matthews Foundation, a tay-bandz organization, which is a 501 C-3 founded by her then 11 year old daughter Taylor, who lost her battle with pediatric cancer at age 16. As a nationally recognized advocate for pediatric cancer awareness, Sue oversees all of the Foundation’s grant making, fundraising, event planning, and financial reporting, as well as collaborates with other cancer foundations, associations, and societies. The Taylor Matthews Foundation is at the forefront of new initiatives in awareness and continues to fund medical research at leading medical centers, with the hope of a brighter future for parents struggling with the needs of a sick child. Sue is a member of the Children’s Council at Columbia Medical University Center, the National Association of Professional Women, the National Organization of Italian American Women, the NYS Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Public Accountants.

Segment Overview: Sue Matthews and her sister Andrea Cohane talk about their forthcoming book “Paint Your Hair Blue” (Morgan James, June 2018) that tells the story of Taylor Matthews, a child with cancer. They also talk about how the family stayed strong, the lessons they learned, and the Taylor Matthews Foundation that raised 1.4 million to fund research in pediatric cancer.

Guest: David Griffiths

Presenter: Neal Howard

Guest Bio: David Griffiths is Senior Vice President for the Healthcare division of Aon Affinity. David has overall responsibility for the malpractice insurance program for Nurses Service Organization. David is a licensed property and casualty insurance agent and has worked on the NSO medmal programs for the past 10 years. David’s works extensively on risk education often speaking at conferences on the topic of professional liability. David received his B.S. from the University of Maryland and his MBA from Moravian College.

Segment Overview: David Griffiths, a representative from the Nurses Services Organization (NSO) discusses the launch of a new professional liability insurance program for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA).