This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Anthony Weekly, Chief Community Reinvestment Officer at Truist Bank. In this role, Anthony is responsible for collaborating with community development partners and regulators to help meet the credit needs of low- to moderate-income (LMI) individuals and communities. Over the course of their conversation they discuss the historic impacts of redlining on LMI communities, the need for cross-sector collaboration to address the social determinants of health, the role that the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) plays, and the motivating power of giving back to the community from which he sees so much of himself within. When asked to define what health equity means to him, Anthony had this to say:“It's pretty simple. For me, it's equal access no matter what your social economic status. And I think we put people in certain buckets because of their socioeconomic status and it creates those health inequities for them. So it's equal access to healthcare no matter what. Because we all should have fair and equitable access to healthcare.”You can learn more about Truist and the Community Reinvestment Act at their website: here

This week on Root of the Issue we’ve turned the tables and our guest is our very own Barbara Petee, President of the Root Cause Coalition. Over the course of the conversation with our special guest host, Alexandra Lewin-Zwerdling, Barbara discusses the origins of the inception of the Coalition, her inspirations for pursuing work in the social determinants of health and health equity, and the power of mentoring the next generation of leaders in the field. When asked how to keep pushing the boulder up the mountain, Barbara had this to say:“I think we live in a time where it is easy to say, ‘I've done all I can do and these issues feel so much bigger than ourselves.’ But I have learned that if we focus on a few of our key priorities, if we are working with people who are doing what's right in front of them in their own communities and start to thread all of the work that all of these organizations are doing, we are building so much momentum.” You can learn more about the Root Cause Coalition and the upcoming National Summit at their website: here

This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Amy Yaroch, PhD, Executive Director of the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition. Over the course of their conversation Barbara and Amy discuss the work of the Gretchen Swanson Center, the increased awareness of the social determinants of health and health equity, Amy’s optimism for alleviating hunger by 2030, and much more. When asked what keeps Amy motivated to take on such a tall task, she had this to say:“I wake up each day and I think to myself, `I'm here to make a difference.` I've always wanted to make a difference, and I'm hoping that that's actually coming to fruition in some “You can learn more about the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition at their website, here

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Alfreda Rooks, MPA, Director of Community Health Services (CHS) at Michigan Medicine, UM Health. In this role, Alreda works to advance the mission to identify creative solutions to address the various health and social needs of the community. Over the course of their conversation they discuss the work that CHS does across the region and state, Alfreda’s familial roots in Jim Crow era Birmingham, as well as the moments that launched her on the path towards working in community focused medicine. When asked what how she defines health equity, Alfreda responded with this: “To me, health equity is making sure that the person that is sitting in front of you is seen as a person, and has the opportunity to have world-class, quality healthcare that anyone else has…I don't believe that anybody has to die to get good healthcare

This week on Root of the Issue, our host Barbara Petee, is joined by Domonic Hopson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neighborhood Family Practice (NFP). NFP serves more than 21,000 patients across eight sites in Cleveland and Lakewood, OH and provides primary and preventive care, and integrated services, including behavioral health, pharmacy, midwifery and dental care. Over the course of their conversation, Barbara and Domonic discuss the role of NFP in addressing the needs in some of our most neglected communities, Domomic’s pathway towards dedicating his life to the social determinants of health, how to find strength in taking on such an enduring problem, and how Domonic works to bring others to share their voice at the table. On that note, here is what Domonic had to say when asked of the power that community voice lends in the march towards health equity: “...we have to really encourage everyone to come to the table, even if it's in areas where it's not your ‘quote unquote’ specialty, but you have an experience; you have a voice that we need to raise and lend to these different topics.”You can learn more about the Neighborhood Family Practice at their website: Neighborhood Family Practice

In this special encore, we revisit a conversation with Susan Benigas, the Executive Director of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM). Susan shares the powerful work of the ACLM, and its focus on lifestyle medicine, a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine – a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connections – also provides effective prevention for these conditions. When asked about what drives her motivation at the ACLM, Susan shared this powerful perspective:   “We are on a mission to add years to life and life to years. Each and every one of us has the opportunity to benefit from what evidence so overwhelmingly supports. In that the power of what we eat each and every day, how we move, how we sleep, how we manage our stress, the power of our social connections; these pillars empower us to determine our health destiny.”

This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Wendi Huntley, President and CEO of Connecting Kids to Meals. In her role, Wendy guides the nonprofit organization in providing hot, nutritious meals, at no cost, to at-risk kids ages 18 and under in low income and underserved areas of northwest Ohio. Over the course of their conversation Barbara and Wendi discuss the history of the organization, the role the COVID-19 pandemic played in illuminating problems plaguing underserved communities, childhood inspirations, as well as much more.  When asked what Wendi feels lies in store for Connecting Kids to Meals, as well as President Biden’s goal of ending hunger by 2030, Wendi had this to say:“When I think of what the future holds for Connecting Kids to Meals in all of these areas, plus so many more, I can hardly sleep. Not because of the worries, but I can hardly sleep because of the level of excitement about all of these amazing things that are happening to our organization.” You can learn more about Connecting Kids to Meals at their website: Here

In this encore airing, we revisit a conversation with Mike Curtin, CEO of the DC Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C. DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. Over the course of their conversation, Mike details his unconventional path into the non-profit space, his childhood upbringing in which giving back to the community was always a constant, as well as what he believes to be the pathway towards ending childhood hunger by 2030. When asked what keeps him so hopeful on a path that seems, at times, insurmountable, Mike responded with this:“Whether you're a teacher or a doctor or a banker or a recovering addict, or someone who's been incarcerated for 25 years or 30 years, or if you're the president of United States, we're all standing around the same table, working with the same food, trying to make our community a little bit better every single day.”To learn more about the DC Central Kitchen, please visit themat: their website, https://dccentralkitchen.org

In this encore airing, we revisit a conversation with Gary Cates, the Chief Philanthropy and Government Relations Officer for ProMedica. Gary shares his story on how he became involved in the movement towards addressing the social determinants of health as well as some of those that influenced and inspired him along the way. When asked why health equity is such an important issue for the country to address, Gary responded powerfully with this:“In this nation, it never should be that the color of your skin, the size of your wallet, or the ZIP code you live in…none of those factors should ever dictate the number of days you'll walk the face of this earth.”

In this encore airing, we revisit a conversation with Cathryn Couch, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Ceres Community Project. Cathryn shares how her time in both the corporate and non-profit worlds honed her leadership skills, the significance of food as medicine, as well as the importance of providing the next generation with the tools they need to be capable of sufficiently feeding both body and mind. When asked what motivated her to launch the Ceres Project, Couch noted the crucial role that providing meals can play when re-connecting some of our nation’s most vulnerable back into a sense of community:“And so we started to realize that food was the vehicle for so much more than just the nutrients in the food and that we were doing much more than just providing a meal to someone. We were connecting them to a community.”

This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Leigh Caswell, Vice President of Community and Health Equity at Presbyterian Healthcare Services. Over the course of their conversation, Barbara and Leigh discuss how organizations can better collaborate with communities to address their most urgent needs, the outcomes of the system’s Food Farmacy program in the New Mexico area, the role community health workers play in addressing the social drivers of health, as well as coming to terms with some of the big challenges to address when it comes to health inequity.On discussing how important language is when speaking with communities, Leigh had this to say:“We're thinking about the language we use all the time, even so much to begin saying social drivers of health as opposed to social determinants of health because of what it might feel like to be told that your health is determined by these factors in your community as opposed to influenced by and do you have the ability to change those factors? So [even] just the word determined versus driver is something that we talk about as well.”

This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Tina Anderson, the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Territory Coach for CVS Health. Tina is often described as the bridge between the healthcare needs of the population and the company. Her grassroots approach drives efforts to insert CVS Health and Aetna as a healthcare partner in every community. Over the course of their conversation they discuss the positive power of collaboration with communities, how Tina’s background in social work equipped her with the tools she uses today to address the social determinants of health (SDoH), addressing the difference in needs between underserved urban and rural communities, and how Tina brings others to help accomplish what often seems, at times, like such a steep task. On the importance of advocating for those who often feel as though they don’t have a seat at the table, Tina had this to say:“I've had people really advocate for me on the highest level possible, which I'm so grateful for, because it is necessary, especially for an African American woman in this space, it is not easy. So I [want to] make sure that I point that out because it needs to be pointed out, right? We have to have people who advocate, who support, who understand, who see us, right? And make room for us, and then also remind us that we are enough.”

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Peter Simonsson, PhD, MSW, LCSW, a criminologist at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.  Dr. Simonsson has extensive experience conducting community research in criminal-legal settings with a focus on violence and violent victimization. In addition to his academic work, he serves as an expert witness in hearings involving children with suspected or known histories of maltreatment, abuse and trauma, and is a consultant for municipal, state and federal agencies on issues involving violent crime.  At Temple University, he is the faculty lead on Philadelphia Cure Violence, which is an evidence-based gun violence prevention program.  In this episode of Root of the Issue, Dr. Simonsson discusses his work with justice-involved people who act as peer mentors to mentor and promote desistance from gun violence and stabbings in Philadelphia.In talking about the credible messenger approach to addressing community gun violence, Peter shared: “We've had this idea of sort of lived experience across healthcare and criminal justice and mental health for some time …  And we're learning that participants in those programs who work with credible messengers, who have lived experience, they share things; if you went across a minefield…It's better to walk in the footsteps of a person who has crossed that before. You need to learn from people like that.”

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Dr. Tiffany Preston Whitman, an at-large Toledo, Ohio City Council member. Since arriving on the Council, Councilwoman Whitman has led efforts for historic reinvestment in youth programming and sponsored legislation to increase public safety accountability and transparency. Over the course of their conversation they discuss:The crucial need to address the rise in violent crime impacting at-risk communities The ability of local government policy to influence change at the federal levelThe value of servant leadership as a member of the Toledo City CouncilThe efforts in providing a sense of safety and security in the lives of her constituentsWhen asked what she values most in her role, Councilwoman Whitman says:“…when I was running for office, and even now, I wanted Toledo to be more than a place where people just survive. I'm working to ensure residents, neighborhoods and businesses are able to thrive. And that is what I put forth; that I really want families and moms like me to be able to raise their family and thrive in our community.”

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Toni Jones, Senior Director of Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) Growth at CareSource, a member-centric managed care plan. In her role, Toni works with internal market teams and external partners to address social care barriers and health inequities through the CareSource Life Services model. Over the course of their conversation they discuss:What CareSource is and how the organization addresses the SDoHThe importance of continuing to focus on issues that were brought to light during the COVID-19 medical emergency.How to assure those in need that their voice is heard, even when the problem at-hand seems most daunting. The essential need for community-based multi-disciplinary care management teams in the effort to tackle the social determinants.In her explanation of health equity, Toni says:It's really providing that access for optimal health no matter what your physical or mental ability is, your geographic location, your education level, your language, your gender, your identity … anything that you would be able to get the needed and necessary services to have optimal health [outcomes]. You can learn more about CareSource at their website: here

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Hayley Studer, Founder and CEO, of achi Solutions. Following a 20 year career in healthcare finance, Hayley left her executive position to embark on a new journey to fuse her passion and purpose for community work and service.Over the course of their conversation they discuss:Hayley’s background on the development of achi Solutions,the need to address healthcare at the community level,the value of servant leadership in a new business, andhow value-based care can be a key tool in addressing the social determinants of health.In her explanation of health equity, Hayley says:"Where you live should not matter. And to be in a country that has so much wealth and opportunity and to have [health inequities] still exist is appalling. To me, it's not okay and I don't want to live in a society that thinks that that is okay."You can learn more about achi Solutions at their website: here

This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Rob Casalou, President and CEO of Trinity Health Michigan & Southeast Regions and Sean Gehle, Regional Vice President, Advocacy, Trinity Health Michigan.  In their respective roles, both gentlemen work tirelessly to advocate for the health and wellbeing of the patients and families they are called to serve with an unwavering commitment to health equity and addressing the social determinants of health. Trinity Health's programs that address the social determinants of health are recognized as models for health systems nationwide. Over the course of their conversation, they discuss the work that must be done with lawmakers to end hunger by 2030, what motivates them to keep going, and how to develop community oriented solutions that help address basic needs, such as The Farm at Trinity Health. Here, Rob highlights on the biggest motivations that keeps him going: “You know the best part of my job is when I'm in one of our facilities, and I see the faces of those we serve, and I see the look of concern in their eyes as they're walking in a big, scary place. And I realize that they are depending on us, and no matter all the politics… at the end of the day, they're relying on us and they need us to do our job. And that still motivates me every day.” You can learn more about The Farm at Trinity Health: here

This week on Root of the Issue, we are revisiting a conversation from last year with Susan Fuehrer of the MetroHealth System in Cleveland, Ohio. Susan, who serves as President of the Institute of H.O.P.E. (Health, Opportunity, Partnership, and Empowerment), works with her team to address the social determinants of health in an ambitious, comprehensive, and coordinated manner.Susan goes on to say that:“You know, people are recognizing that none of us can do this alone anymore. And we are breaking down barriers amongst healthcare institutions and there's organizations like The Root Cause Coalition that are really stepping up and bringing the collective voice together. [We are] relying on each other to share best practices, identify lessons learned from things that don't work so others don't make the same mistakes. I think what's really brings me hope is that we are, in many ways, working much better together and recognizing that none of us can do this alone, and that the only way we're going to be successful is to form alliances and coalitions and do this work together.”

Lilian Ho, M.D., a pediatric hospitalist, provides care to infants and children at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Dr. Ho is a fierce advocate for addressing the social determinants of health to help ensure all of her patients and families have access to the most basic needs. Dr. Ho discusses the obstacles patients must tackle while living in remote areas of Alaska, some of her early influences, and the Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program. The CHGME is the only federal program devoted to the training of pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists designed to compensate for the disparity in the level of federal graduate medical education funding.Dr. Ho emphasizes the importance of a community approach towards addressing the causes of health inequity:“I think of health equity as first and foremost, allowing every individual to have access to healthcare. And then I'd say the equity part, to me, is the fact that different people need different amounts of healthcare access […] I think as a community, it is our responsibility to ensure that every individual has the access that they need based on their individual healthcare needs. So I think that this is definitely a community and social issue and we're never going to get to a place of health equity unless we have our community behind it.“To learn more about the CHGME program you can visit their website: here.

On this special re-release of a conversation from last year, Rachelle Reyes Wenger, System Vice President of Public Policy & Advocacy Engagement for CommonSpirit Health, joins host Barbara Petee to discuss the power of collaboration in the face of seemingly insurmountable societal obstacles. From climate change to social justice reform to health inequity, Rachelle believes that through the determination of many working in lockstep, change is always possible.  “I think what the beauty is about collaborating with so many different folks within the RCC (Root Cause Coalition), is because we have the advantage of not only looking through our own individual lens, but through the lens of others within healthcare and our friends outside of healthcare. Those who are really committed to this work and who have various ways of looking at the problem, I think that's really what's needed and also what Congress needs to hear.”