20-Minute Health Talk

YourMomCares about how you feel

“We need to change the conversation from mental illness to mental wellness,” says Sharon Feldstein, who helped launch a nonprofit called YourMomCares with the goal of creating and supporting programs that better behavioral health in our kids. This group of concerned mothers, whose children are prominent athletes, musicians and actors, is bringing much-needed attention to the crisis in children's behavioral health. Demand for services is far outpacing the resources to support it, and the situation is worsening now that new CDC data reveals there has been a 50% spike in the suicide rate for school-age kids since the year 2000. 

On this episode of 20-Minute Health Talk, host Sandra Lindsay, DHSc, MBA, MSN, RN, speaks with Sharon, co-founder and CEO of YourMomCares, along with one of the group’s "power moms," Robin Paul, about their mission, the organizations and programs they support and their newest endeavor with Northwell, who has partnered with area schools to expand resources for students in need of behavioral health support. A primary effort — school-based Behavioral Health Centers — is keeping kids out of the emergency room and connecting them with clinicians closer to home. 

This is Part 2 of a series addressing the rising rate of child suicide in the U.S. Throughout the month of September, which is National Suicide Prevention Month. In Part 1 (available for listening here), Dr. Lindsay spoke with child behavioral health specialist Vera Feuer, MD, about methods parents can use to discuss mental issues with their children.

Resources for families

• American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry provides education for families including what to expect when you have to go to the emergency department and how to handle suicidality in children. 
• American Academy of Pediatrics provides education on various topics including mental health. 
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) – has local chapters in each state, which offer a wealth of resources to get connected to treatment, support and education.

Kids in crisis: How to start the conversation about child suicidality

With suicidal thoughts and behaviors on the rise in the U.S., Vera Feuer, MD, director of Emergency Psychiatry Services at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, joins Sandra Lindsay, RN, on the podcast to explain the warning signs and helpful resources for caretakers, including what language to use — as well as what to avoid — when talking to children struggling with suicidality.

This is Part 1 of our series examining child suicidality, a term that may be new to some. It is defined as suicidal ideation coupled with a plan for ending one’s own life, and it looms increasingly large over America’s children. Over the next several weeks, we'll be speaking with experts and advocates who are finding innovative ways to address this problem and improve access to care. Following our conversation with Dr. Feuer, in Part 2 of this series, we speak with a group of concerned mothers who are using their platform to elevate and amplify programs that support mental wellness — including one that Dr. Feuer is spearheading at Nortwhell Health. In Part 3 two experts from Northwell's Center for Transgender Care explain what these recent reports tell us about LGBTQIA children and their suicidality risk.

The Data

• National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) report released in June 2023 found the suicide rate among young people ages 10‒24 increased 62% from 2007 through 2021
• Youth Risk Behavior Survey released in February 2023 showed significant increases in the percentage of youth who seriously considered suicide, made a suicide plan, and attempted suicide. It also showed biggest impact was in young girls.
• Get expert insight into this data, what it means and what those caring a loved one who is struggling with suicidality should know.

Resources for families

• American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry provides education for families including what to expect when you have to go to the emergency department and how to handle suicidality in children. 
• American Academy of Pediatrics provides education on various topics including mental health. 
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) – has local chapters in each state, which offer a wealth of resources to get connected to treatment, support and education.

A better treatment for essential tremor

Murray Bocian, 76, was prone to spilling things: His hands were so shaky that he had to begin using a child's sippy cup. Murray was battling a condition called essential tremor, and it was impacting many aspects of his daily life. A nervous system disorder, essential tremor starts in the brain and triggers shakiness in the extremities, most often the hands. For most of the 10 million Americans living with essential tremor, lifestyle changes and medications can help manage symptoms. But when the condition interferes with daily activities as it was Murray, more targeted therapies are needed. For decades, the solution has been to open the skull and operate on the brain. Now there's a new incision-less procedure called high-intensity focused ultrasound — HIFU — which can be done with an MRI scanner in a single two-hour outpatient session. And the effects are immediate. On this episode, we hear from Murray and speak with his surgeon, Albert Fenoy, MD, who explains how this new procedure works, who is a candidate, and how HIFU is improving the quality of life for patients living with essential tremor.

Sports medicine: Treating the athlete, not the injury

The field of sports medicine isn’t just for serious athletes: The Nicholas Institute for Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma (NISMAT), Northwell’s sports injury clinic, has made sports medicine better, more accessible, and grounded in research. On this episode, the 20-Minute Health Talk team pays a visit to NISMAT, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, to talk to Tak Fukunaga, DPT, ATC, CSCS, sports physical therapist and NISMAT’s Manager of Rehabilitation Services, and Michael Zacchilli, MD, orthopedic sports medicine surgeon at Lenox Health Greenwich Village and team physician for the College of Staten Island, to shed light on what they do to treat people at all levels of physical activity.

Screening smarter: How Northwell is improving prostate biopsy

While cancer deaths are in decline in the United States, there is one glaring exception: Prostate cancer. Over the last decade, the number of prostate cancer deaths has risen by 3%. Our guest today, Ardeshir Rastinehad, DO, has made it his mission to turn that number around. In addition to his leading role in developing a safer, more accurate approach to prostate biopsies, the former National Institutes of Health researcher is now part of the team at Northwell Health implementing a new fast-track system that has dramatically cut the time it takes to go from screening to diagnosis. Dr. Rastinehad is Northwell Health’s Director for Prostate Cancer and the Vice Chair at the Smith Institute for Urology at Lenox Hill Hospital.

Podcast transcript.

Food as opportunity: Breaking the cycle of poverty through urban farming

Within a three-block radius of P.S. 175 in Harlem, there are 55 fast-food restaurants, 29 pharmacies and not one affordable food option, something Tony Hillery noticed while volunteering at the school more than a decade ago. He also saw an opportunity to help, which is why he launched Harlem Grown. Starting with one abandoned lot across the street from the school, Tony and the kids have built it into a network of 13 urban farms that harvest 6 tons (that's 3,000 lbs) of fresh, organically grown produce per year. The best part, the kids of P.S. 175, along with eight other Harlem schools, are the ones growing it — with help from their families and other community members.

On this episode, Sandra Lindsay visits Tony Hillery at one of these farms to learn more about the growth of this transformational non-profit, which is helping to revitalize a community with a great need — one kid at a time.

This is Part 3 of a series on Food as Health. Parts 1 and 2 are in our feed.

• Part 1: Food as health: Making hospital food heal
• Part 2: Food insecurity: How Northwell is helping

Watch episodes of 20-Minute Health Talk on YouTube. 

Have an idea about how a vacant property could serve the community? Learn more about the process to acquire public property, such as empty lots in your neighborhood. 

Food insecurity: How Northwell is helping

The lack of consistent access to quality food, or food insecurity, can have a devastating impact on people's health and well-being. In the wealthiest nation in the world, 34 million people, including 9 million children, are food insecure — a silent crisis that our guest, Debbie Salas-Lopez, MD, MPH, says is only getting worse. She explains how food insecurity impacts health at every age and what Northwell Health is doing to support these communities.

This is Part 2 of our three-part series on food as health. Listen to Part 1, highlighting how Northwell's hospital food transformation and how two experts, Seven Gierlinger and Chef Bruno Tison, led the way. Continue listening as we speak with Tony Hillery from Harlem Grown in Part 3: Food as opportunity.

Food is health: How these two experts made hospital food delicious and nutritious

Hospital food has a reputation for being bland and inedible — something that's no longer true at Northwell's 21 hospitals. Over the last seven years, our guests — Sven Gierlinger and Chef Bruno Tison — have transformed hospital meals by ditching frozen food and sugary drinks for fresh meats, fruits and vegetables. They've ensured that hospital kitchens prioritize fresh ingredients and cater to the patient population, and now chefs are able to deliver meals that look, smell and taste better — and the food is much healthier, as well.

 

This is Part 1 of a three-part series all about Food as Health. Continue listening to this series:

• Part 2: Food insecurity: How Northwell is helping
• Part 3: Food as opportunity: Breaking the cycle of poverty through urban farming

On this episode, Gierlinger and Tison explain how:

• They transformed hospital food from "inedible" to gourmet
• A higher caliber of cuisine can help patients
• They are helping other hospitals and health systems adopt this model

Meet the experts

Bruno Tison is the vice president of food services and corporate executive chef. Previously he spent 14 years as executive chef for the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Tison earned Michelin star recognition for three consecutive years as the executive chef at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa in California.

Sven Gierlinger is Northwell's Chief Experience Officer. He started his career in the luxury hotel business, holding a series of leadership positions with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. 

 

Heart disease and pregnancy: Prevention, treatments and a new approach

Pregnancy is like a stress test on the body. Most women adapt just fine, but for some, the strain can dramatically raise the risk of heart disease — even in young women. Worse, that risk can remain elevated for years and even decades. On this episode, host Sandra Lindsay, DHS-c, RN, speaks with Evelina Grayver, MD, about how to prevent heart-related problems before, during and after pregnancy. Because heart disease continues to be the No. 1 cause of maternal mortality in the US, Dr. Grayver helped launch a cutting-edge Cardio-Obstetrics Program at Northwell Health to help detect and prevent heart issues for expectant moms.

The specialty is relatively new, so education for patients and clinicians is critical, says Dr. Grayver, who serves as director of Northwell's Women’s Heart Program for the Central Region; and is a member of the Katz Institute for Women's Health.

In this episode, she discusses the need for:

• Pre-conception counseling with a cardiologist and OB/GYN
• Understanding your risks before, during and after pregnancy
• Learning the difference between common signs and symptoms of pregnancy and adverse cardiac events like preeclampsia
• Diet and exercise during pregnancy

Additional reading

• Cardiac patient shares her renewed hope for a healthy pregnancy thanks to cardio-obstetrics program. Watch video.
• Catherine Weinberg, MD, explains that the stress pregnancy places on the heart doesn’t stop at delivery in this Expert Insights column for the Katz Institute for Women's Health. 
• By addressing the influence of pregnancy, genetics or cancer on heart health, experts explain how hybrid approaches to care are making a difference.

Preparing high schoolers for medical careers: Northwell partners with FutureReadyNYC

Knowing what you want to be when you grow up can be tricky, but the New York City's Department of Education internship program, FutureReadyNYC, is designed to help. The program provides high school students with exposure to professional careers; Northwell is the program's first healthcare partner. Lenox Hill Hospital on Manhattan's Upper East Side, LIJ Forest Hills Hospital in Queens, and Lenox Health Greenwich Village in lower Manhattan gave students a sense of what a career in medicine could be like. On this episode, Sandra Lindsay, DHSc, MBA, MSN, RN, speaks with two of the 65 participating teens, Suravi and Ayannah, as well as Northwell's vice president for Workforce & Community Education, Brian Aquart, who helps oversee the program.