20-Minute Health Talk

Jaw-in-a-Day

Jaw-in-a-Day accomplishes in one surgery and one day what used to take three surgeries or more. Prior to this revolutionary procedure, the process to get dental implants could take months, or even years, forcing patients to live without teeth. Using virtual surgical planning, a team of doctors can not only pre-fabricate teeth to implant on the day of surgery, they can improve the accuracy and efficiency of this difficult process. On this episode of 20-Minute Health Talk, we speak with the pioneers of Jaw-in-a-Day:

• David Hirsch, MD, DDS, FACS, senior vice president of the dental medicine service line for Northwell Health, and chair of the newly established Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital.
• Lawrence Brecht, DDS, a specialist in maxillofacial prosthetics

They discuss how this new approach to jaw surgery came to be, evolving the technology behind it over that last 10 years, and expanding access.

Outsmarting endometriosis: How breakthrough research is leading the way

Diagnosing a disease usually requires a test or blood sample. But for women with endometriosis, diagnosis requires an invasive surgery. For April Summerford, a 36-year-old from Fresno California, that surgery actually worsened her disease. Wanting to do her part, she joined the ROSE study, which stands for Research OutSmarts Endometriosis. Led by Christine Metz, PhD, and Peter Gregersen, MD, the ROSE research team has spent the last seven years trying to find better treatments and less invasive ways to detect endometriosis.

 

Dr. Metz and Dr. Gregersen join April to discuss her decade-long battle, the ROSE study's innovative approaches to studying endometriosis, the medical gaslighting patients often face, and the problem of gender bias in research funding.

 

Podcast transcript

 

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Meet our guests

• Dr. Christine Metz is co-director of the study and a professor in the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.
• Dr. Peter Gregersen is also co-director of the ROSE study, and director of the Feinstein’s Robert S. Boas Center for Genomics and Human Genetics.
• April Summerford, is an endometriosis patient and ROSE study participant, who also runs the popular support group, Beyond Endo; AND hosts the FemFuture podcast, which covers women’s health.

What does a lung transplant sound like?

There are only 73 lung transplant centers in the United States and, until recently, none on Long Island. As a result, many have fought an uphill battle waiting for transplant, including Lindsay Salguero-Lopez, 40. In late January, end-stage heart and lung failure left her near death, with transplant as the only treatment that could save her life. Fortunately, Northwell had just launched its program days prior. Even more fortunate, donor organs became available just three days later and in the early morning hours of February 5, Lindsay became the first person to receive a lung transplant on Long Island.

Register to be an organ donor.

On this special episode of 20-Minute Health Talk, listen to the delicate and life-giving sounds of Lindsay's landmark surgery, and hear from the medical team who saved her life. They include:

• Aldo Iacono, MD, medical director of advanced lung failure and lung transplantation
• Zachary Kon, MD, Northwell’s surgical director of advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation, as well as advanced lung failure and lung transplantation
• and Paul Trevlos, AVP of cardiothoracic surgery and the administrative lead for Northwell's lung transplant program.

Chapters:

• 00:44 - Lindsay in crisis 
• 01:06 - Waiting for transplant
• 02:07 - Preparing for surgery
• 03:26 - Moving to the OR
• 03:39 - Donor organs arrive
• 05:24 - Implantation time
• 06:05 - A shock to the heart
• 06:43 - Long Island's first lung transplant
• 07:34 - An urgent need for lung transplant
• 08:38 - Panel discussion intro
• 09:21 - Returning to life after transplant
• 10:08 - Post-operative care
• 11:31 - Building a world-class program
• 12:55 - History of lung transplant (and heart-lung)
• 14:26 - Recovery from lung transplant
• 16:39 - Ways lung transplant programs start
• 17:25 - Rounding out transplant services
• 19:35 - Innovation in lung transplant
• 21:12 - Novel immunosuppression

When hospitals close: How to address ’care deserts’

Millions of Americans live 30 miles or more from the nearest hospital. Not just an inconvenience, this access issue known as “care deserts” affects a shocking 80 percent of counties in the United States and can exist in both rural and urban areas. A scarcity of medical resources, however, does not have to doom the health of entire communities, says Onisis Stefas, PharmD, Northwell’s chief pharmacy officer and CEO at Vivo Health Pharmacy. He joins Alex Hellinger, DPT, MBA, FACHE, Northwell's senior vice president and regional executive director for the Brooklyn region, who shares his experiences working to fill the care desert in lower Manhattan's west side following the closing of St. Vincent's in 2010. Then the executive director of Lenox Health Greenwich Village, he and Dr. Stefas talk types of care deserts, re-imagining what care looks like, the role pharmacists can play, and what to do if you live in a care desert.

Chapters:

00:54 - Care deserts: types and causes

01:54 - Physician shortages

02:37 - Hospital closures and finances

03:35 - Pharmacy deserts

04:48 - Rural vs. urban

08:15 - Rethinking health care

09:15 - An equitable approach

12:46 - A snowball effect

14:38 - Helping Brooklyn

15:32 - Covid-19's impact

18:29 - Transforming medical deserts

 

 

The latest on long Covid

Researchers have identified more than 200 symptoms associated with the long-term effects of Covid-19, but much remains unknown. Peter Silver, MD and Sonali Narain, MD shed light on some of the mysteries that surround long Covid, also known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC). They offer context to the current state of the disease and actions being taken by the medical and research communities to combat and better understand it.

Meet the experts

Peter Silver, MD is the Chief Quality Officer at Northwell Health. He is responsible for system-wide initiatives in care quality and patient safety.

Sonali Narain, MD is a Director of the Scleroderma and Raynaud Treatment Center and the Epidemiology division of Rheumatology. She is also an assistant professor at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and Director of the Northwell Health CARES Learning Collaborative.

The CARES program is model designed to increase patient access across treatment areas and amplify a patient-centered experience. 

From New York to Guyana: Building cross-cultural understanding

A group of medical professionals arrived in Guyana this week to deliver care, exchange knowledge and develop a plan to support the more remote areas of the South American country. This work is part of a five-year medical partnership between the Ministry of Health of Guyana and Northwell Health, through its Center for Global Health (CGH). Daniel Leon is among those who traveled 2,500-plus miles for the three-week trip. He shares his experiences and connection to Guyana, as well as his passion for global health and the critical role the CGH plays. Also joining the show is Launette Woolforde, EdP, DNP, chief nursing officer for the Northwell's Western Region, who was part of the CGH's prior trip to Guyana in November 2021. Born and raised in Guyana, the chief nursing officer for Northwell Health's Western Region explains the benefits of clinicians broadening cross-cultural understanding, particularly for the communities of Little Guyana in Queens, as well as surrounding neighborhoods that makeup the fifth largest immigrant population in New York City.

Donations to the Center for Global Health will benefit Northwell's Ukraine relief fund.

Chapters:

• 01:08 - Daniel Leon on returning to Guyana
• 02:09 - EMS in a rough terrain
• 03:07 - Medical education in a tropical climate
• 03:57 - A deep connection
• 05:20 - Building a partnership
• 06:49 - A focus on mental health
• 07:39 - How to support global health efforts
• 08:56 - Launette Woolforde on nursing collaboration
• 10:45 - Mutual benefit
• 12:25 - Tropical medicine
• 13:46 - Local is global in Little Guyana
• 15:43 - Value for medical students
• 18:05 - A selfless cause

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The Cancer Moonshot: Increasing cancer survivorship for everyone

With the goal of cutting cancer deaths in half by 2047, the White House's Cancer Moonshot initiative is pumping $1.8 billion into cancer research over the next seven years. Achieving this goal, however, will require clearing research hurdles — including the lack of diversity in clinical trials, say Richard Barakat, MD, and David Tuveson, MD, PhD. They discuss the exciting research being funded by the Moonshot initiative, describe efforts to improve and diversify clinical trial recruitment, and explain the fruitful collaboration between Northwell Health and Cold Spring Harbor.

Chapters:

• 01:33 - What is the Cancer Moonshot?
• 02:16 - Replicating success, speed of Covid-19 vaccine development
• 03:46 - Allocating funds
• 06:41 - The pre-neoplasia project
• 09:48 - Pushing for greater access
• 11:23 - Cancer disparities, outcomes
• 12:55 - Community outreach is critical
• 14:25 - Commitment to cancer research
• 16:26 - Practice changing, paradigm shifting, policy making
• 19:30 - Can we cut mortality by 50 percent? 

Meet the experts

Richard Barakat, MD, Physician-in-Chief and Director of Cancer, Northwell Cancer Institute

David Tuveson, MD, PhD, Professor, Director, Cancer Center, Cold Spring Harbor

Watch episodes of 20-Minute Health Talk on YouTube.

Finding love in a science lab — and building a family with science’s help

This Valentine’s Day we're celebrating a love for science and a special bond between two scientists. Kim Simpfendorfer, PhD, and Michael Ryan built a relationship while pursuing a career at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. They also discuss their experience of going through in-vitro fertilization, pregnancy, and the crucial role the Covid vaccine played in building their family.

Sarah Pachtman, MD, a maternal/fetal medicine doctor explains what other couples should know about IVF and how partners can provide support.

Better child mental health services: How Northwell is helping

Demand for mental health services for children has once again accelerated as the latest Covid-19 surge impacts daily life. Lack of resources in the community have resulted in delays in care for children experiencing anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. Vera Feuer, MD, talks about the challenge of expanding mental health care access, and how health systems can partner with school districts to bridge that gap.

She shares the success of the Northwell School Mental Health Partnership, which contracts with 30 school districts in Nassau and Suffolk counties, to bring mental health care services directly to the places where kids and families revolve. This has resulted in a significant reduction, she says, in schools referring students to the emergency department, as well as increasing rates of follow up care.

Meet the expert:

Vera Feuer, MD, is AVP for School Mental Health for Northwell Health's Behavioral Health service line. She is also the Director for Pediatric Emergency Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Urgent Care, part of Cohen Children's Medical Center; and Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.

Chapters:

• 00:42 - Omicron and kids mental health
• 01:38 - Treating kids, supporting parents
• 03:25 - Partnering with schools
• 06:23 - Stress and anxiety in kids
• 07:31 - Mental health access
• 08:13 - Different ages, different needs
• 08:42 - Behavioral disorders in children
• 09:42 - Behavioral problems in teenagers
• 10:03 - Eating disorders in children
• 10:46 - Telemedicine and timely care
• 12:54 - Emergency mental health
• 13:52 - Removing stigma
• 15:41 - Modeling behaviors
• 17:34 - Responsive parenting
• 18:32 - Long-term impacts

Women’s heart health: The right partnerships save lives

Kicking off Heart Health Month in February, we sat down with Stacey Rosen, MD, and Jennifer Mieres, MD, two leading experts and patient advocates in the field of cardiovascular disease in women. They highlight the importance of partnering with your doctor — as well as family, friends and colleagues — to identify and maintain heart healthy habits. They discuss the impact of access issues in health care and the history of bias in sex and gender research, and the work they are doing to change that through the Katz Institute for Women's Health and Center for Equity of Care.

During Heart Health Month, Katz is hosting several events, starting with its Go Red for Women Celebration on National Wear Red Day Feb. 4 at 12 p.m. 

Both Dr. Rosen and Dr. Mieres are spokeswomen for the American Heart Association, and co-authors of the new book, "Heart Smarter for Women," due to be released in March 2022. In it, they outline the barriers to heart health and simple steps every woman can take to start their journey.

Meet our guests:

Stacey Rosen, MD, Senior Vice President, Women's Health, Katz Institute for Women’s Health.

Jennifer Mieres, MD, Senior Vice President, Center for Equity of Care at Northwell.

Chapters:

• 01:23 - Sex and gender research bias
• 02:33 - Not a man's disease
• 03:22 - Risk factors for women
• 04:46 - Symptoms for women
• 06:!0 - Stress and heart disease
• 08:57 - Ten percent happier challenge
• 09:32 - The science of stress
• 10:12 - Power in partnerships
• 11:53 - Go Red - What we've learned
• 12:42 - Pregnancy and heart disease
• 13:32 - Equity in healthcare
• 15:30 - Improving access
• 16:24 - Customizing care
• 17:10 - Covid-19 and social determinants of health
• 18:14 - "Heart Smarter for Women"
• 19:24 - The human connection