Healthcare Insights
Northwest Area Health Education Center
Timely and relevant discussions about professional and public healthcare in our 17-county region of northwest North Carolina. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions of the institution or its affiliates.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 20, 2025 • 39min
H.I. Ep. 119 - Barbara L. Nye, MD - Headache Treatment, Research, and Advocacy
Barbara L. Nye MD is a Board-Certified Neurologist, UCNS Board Certified Headache subspecialist. She is the Director of the Headache Fellowship at Atrium Health – Wake Forest Baptist and Associate Professor of Neurology at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. Nye talks about her clinical approach, current treatment approaches, and advocacy for patients suffering from headache disorders. More on Dr. Nye at https://school.wakehealth.edu/faculty/n/barbara-l-nye

Feb 16, 2025 • 1h 16min
H.I. Ep. 118 - Andrew Smiler, PhD - Men's Health and Identity in the Modern World
Dr. Smiler returns to the podcast to discuss men's health, challenges men and boys are facing in the modern era, and what it means to be a man in America in the 21st Century. Learn more about Dr. Smiler at https://andrewsmiler.com/

Jan 27, 2025 • 51min
H.I. Ep. 117 - Mark Newman - Building a Better Healthcare System
Mark is the CEO and co-founder of Nomi Health, a company with a mission to fix healthcare by building better system from the ground up. Mark shares his experience as an entrepreneur and as a healthcare consumer, and provides insights into what is wrong with current payment systems, how they impact care delivery, and how his company is creating a transparent system between providers and payers. Read more about Nomi Health at https://www.nomihealth.com/

Jan 20, 2025 • 1h 9min
H.I. Ep. 116 - Rebecca Wells, MD, MPH - Migraine Headache and the Mind-Body Connection
Dr. Wells is a professor of neurology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Director of the Comprehensive Headache Program at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. She shares what she has learned in over 20 years of patient care and research on non-pharmacological approaches to treating migraine, and her current work on the mind/body connection to combat Migraine disease. More about Dr. Wells here: https://school.wakehealth.edu/faculty/w/rebecca-erwin-wells
Participate in her latest clinical trial "Be WELL with Migraine" here: https://www1.wakehealth.edu/beinvolved/eng/studies/IRB00079570
Get CE Credit: This episode is part of the free Podcast CE Learning Series. Earn CE credit for listening! Register here: http://nwahec.org/75184

Jan 16, 2025 • 1h 13min
H.I. Ep. 115 - Crystal Norman - Realities of Long Term Care
Crystal Norman is the Regional Long-term Care Ombudsman at Piedmont Triad Regional Council. She shares her experience and knowledge about navigating the realities of skilled nursing, assisted living, and long term care in our area. More about PTRC here: https://www.ptrc.org/ More about Crystal here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalleenorman/

Jan 6, 2025 • 1h 2min
H.I. Ep. 114 - April Cook, CEO North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics
April is the Chief Executive Officer of the North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. She shares her insights of providing care to the uninsured population in North Carolina and the challenges of providing care in the 65 clinics across North Carolina. Read more about April and the NCAFCC at https://ncafcc.org/

Jan 2, 2025 • 1h 8min
H.I.. Ep. 113 - Amol Joshi, PhD - The Importance of Dreaming Big
Amol Joshi, researcher, educator, engineer, technology innovator, joins the podcast for a far ranging conversation about technology, innovation, education, artificial intelligence, and dreaming big. He shares his experience working with students, founders, executive, and venture capital and discusses ethical concerns, the importance of trust and confidence. Read more about Amol here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amolmjoshi/

Dec 16, 2024 • 38min
H.I. Ep. 112 - Michael D. Shapiro, DO - Preventive Cardiology
Heart disease is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Dr. Shapiro joins us to discuss the increase in cardiovascular disease mortality, the primary causes and risk factors associated with CVD, common treatment approaches, and advances in screenings for risk and new treatments. Read more about Dr. Shapiro at https://school.wakehealth.edu/faculty/s/michael-d-shapiro

Dec 10, 2024 • 46min
H.I. Ep. 111 - Summer McGee - Health Leadership at America's Oldest Women's College
Summer McGee, President of Salem Academy and College, returns to the podcast to give an update of progress since her arrival as President of the institution. Summer shares her insights and experience on a variety of topics including:
- How Salem is preparing young leaders for healthier communities
- Infusing health and wellness across the curricula and developing new health-related programs and leadership development
- The current state of women in leadership roles
- Developing the next generation of women leaders and the path to leadership
- Building confidence and keeping interest high in non-traditional pursuits in a single sex environment
- Updates on the Academy college prep experience
- Growth in size and geographical reach
- The role of athletics and growth in the athletics programs
- Cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit and partnerships in the innovation community
- Recruiting and retaining faculty in a competitive landscape
- Changes in the approach from Janterm to Maymester
- The importance of student mental and physical health
- Growth around Old Salem and South Broad Street and creating bridges to and partnerships with surrounding communities
- The use of artificial intelligence at the college
- Balancing protection of women only spaces and inclusion with regards to transgenderism
- Future direction of the Health Leadership Forum
- Collaboration and support from other women leaders in the community
Learn more about Summer and Salem at https://www.salem.edu

Dec 8, 2024 • 1h 7min
H.P. Ep. 110 - Katie Salmons, LCSW, LCAS, CCS - Youth Mental Health and Social Media
Katie joins the podcast to discuss the effects of social media on adolescents' mental health, including issues such as anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia, and discuss strategies to mitigate these effects. We talk about various coping mechanisms and resilience-building strategies that can help adolescents and young adults navigate the challenges of modern life. And she offers several tactics to manage social media and device usage effectively. Read more about Katie at https://www.ksempowers.com
Get CE Credit: This episode is part of the free Podcast CE Learning Series. Earn CE credit for listening! Register here: http://nwahec.org/74911


