Rally Point 24

Episode Transcript

(00:07):
Rally pointers s falling once again.Folks, Welcome to the Rally Point Show
with your host Amana makanue ha haand the Sergeant James Hemingway. Good morning
America and Charlotte County. Today showsgoing to be spectacular. Who do we
have on our show today? Sotoday we have doctor Joseph Peppe. He's

(00:29):
the administrator at the Florida Department ofHealth in Charlotte County and we'll talk about
him a little bit more in aminute. And we also have our producer
Zane the insane man. It makesthe things happen in the studio say hello,
you already know folks, you knowyou're how that goes first and pomos
folks. I hope you guys hada nice and safe holiday. And for

(00:50):
those people in Florida, I gotone thing to say. There's been a
rash of motorcycle accidents and folks,be safe while you're driving out there with
the influx of the Northerners and everybodyelse throughout the United States and Florida.
Be mindful of your environment because they'renot mindful of you. As of last
week, there are two more motorcycleaccidents in one fatality. So while you're

(01:12):
driving, be mindful and we're thinkingabout you. Give the motorcyclists the space,
please, carlink is ideal. Please, And you've destroyed my hopes of
getting motorcycle. And now I'm gettinga pontoon, Folks. I'm gonna get
a boat, so safer that way, I hope, unless I can't swim
when I get But anyways, I'mgetting to our guest today, doctor Joseph

(01:34):
Pepe. During my Bruce Wayne identityduring the day, I worked for the
State of Health, the Department ofHealth for the State of Florida, and
I met Joe about twenty eighteen.Joe sound right, and folks, let
me let me get some things squaredaway here. I learned for that man
in about two months, more aboutmyself and why I'm me, and why

(01:57):
during the military, and what thesome bolts of mami who I am today
and something he showed on me calledaces And I'll let him explain it a
little bit later. But let metell you something, folks, when it
comes down to caring about the veterancommunity and our families in Florida, I
wish I could spoil you guys inAmerica to have a bunch of him throughout
the United States, because what thisman has provided for our community is not

(02:20):
only information, but a new perspectiveof Okay, we're here and we're why
we are who we are because ofa reason, and this is how you
can make a life change. Andbecause of that life change, there's always
there's something you can always learn aboutyourself. And I will say that part
of the reason why this show existsis because in order to affect change,

(02:42):
you must be able to help othersand throw yourself out there from time to
time. You know, I liketo talk to that ad Amanda, right,
But the first Demanda is I methim twenty eighteen and he basically changed
my perspective on aces and how todeal with aces and how everything intelllerates with
everything, and demand's a genius.I'm trying to get him to run for
governor. But the whole other conversationfor another day. But you know,

(03:05):
you want to know something, folks. This man has turned revolutionized how we
think about public health and an inspirationto our county. And I stay,
I'll tell you right now. SoJoe, welcome to the show. Nice,
no pressure. Thank you for theintro, though I would say it's
nice and concise compared to your officialbios. Oh, I hate that bio.

(03:25):
I just really I'm just Joe.Please call me Joe, not doctor.
No. I appreciate the kind words. I came into public health by
accident. It's kind of an interestingthing. My life before this was public
or education. And I discovered thatthe same things that were causing people to
struggle academically were the same things thatcaused people to be unhealthy and having other

(03:47):
major chronic issues. And that isadversity, traumatic experiences. And we know
our folks who served really struggle withthat component of it. And so it
was really an eye opener for me. And for the last eleven years,
I've been going around the state talkingabout traumatic experiences and how that impacts the
life course definitely. And Folks,when I say that the concept of the

(04:12):
concept we're talking about is so fundamental, is that who we are at the
course started decades before we even wereconscious being adults, and so many things
that we do today, whether positiveor destructive, are based on those core
core beginnings in our lives. AndI will tell you this, I've employed
Joe's philosophy and speaking with veterans,and I have found that in about five

(04:35):
minutes you can get people to shareparts of their lives and they start really
small. And on the show,we've had I want to say, a
couple of generals from Texas kind ofopen upbout Vietnam and we got educated on
how Hamburger Hell became Hamburger Hell andprogressively go backwards in their careers. And

(04:56):
it's like that from those experiences,they're able to sh share with us and
open without being painful. It's likethey share going thank you. I'm going
thank us where we're doing, butthankful for you being on the show,
and they want to come back andshare more. So I'm going to tell
you right now one hundred percent alot of what we do on the show,
I'm taking your your template and it'skind of tweaking it for us.

(05:16):
Veteran. Should I say thank youagain? So Keith gives a little idea
what you do as an administrator forthe health County. As the administrator of
the Health Department, I oversee alloperations of public health in Charlotte County.
Previously I had Henry and Glades County, so I'm familiar with real counties as
well as Charlotte. I grew uphere, so it's it's an interesting role

(05:38):
because I do everything from administrative budgetand finance to shows like this as well
as strategic conversations like what you justdescribed, or we do an assessment of
the community and work with all ofour partners, which we have amazing partners
to try and come up with solutionsto make Charlotte County special and keep us
as the healthiest county in the state. And so that's really what we get

(06:00):
involved in, so everything from clinicalservices all the way through to health education,
to our wig programs for women andchildren as well as our dental program,
several other different programs, and honestlytrying to find targeted solutions based on
the data specific to Charlotte County sothat we can make a difference here.
And because no county is the same, right, so whatever solutions we bring

(06:20):
here may not apply somewhere else.Definitely, Yeah, And so that's that's
really a big part of what Ido. We're an integrated health system across
the state, but really trying tobe prescripted to Charlotte County one hundred percent
in the services that you provide atthe Health Department, and you kind of
into interwoven the aids of the aidsof the ACES concept into what we do

(06:46):
at the Health Department, as inwe tweak our service to meet the needs
of Charlotte County. Can you giveour listeners kind of an idea how you're
able to implement the concept of ACESinto you know, what we do as
a functioning agency. Sure, solet me just back up real quick and
see if I can give you thevery condensed version of what an ACE is.
So basically, ACE stands for anadverse childhood experience, and so there's

(07:12):
a lot of research that supports themore adversity someone experiences, especially during their
formative years prior to eighteen years old, has a profound impact on their life
course, not only just with socialconcerns, but also with health manifestations like
smoking and teen pregnancies and obviously mentalhealth issues, but also chronic disease COPD

(07:33):
and other things. So there's lotsof correlation that talks about that, and
really it's as a result of acascade of events that happens as a result
of that traumatic experience. So whatwe've done in Charlotte County is really work
with all of our partners to educatethem on what this is and then how
to be trauma informed so that whenfolks are coming to seek services, the

(07:55):
purpose of being trauma informed is tonot have the experience of seeking services being
traumatic. It's really hard to tellyour story over and over again, and
then if somebody has experienced a traumaticevent, telling their story could be that
one thing to keep them from seekinghelp. And so we try to be
the path of least resistance but alsomotivational to help folks walk their journey where

(08:16):
they're at. And so we've workedwith the Human services at the Family Services
Center and carry the director there's amazingin her team. And what we've done
is create a one stop shop forservices. And what we try to do
is integrate. So somebody tells theirstory one time to someone who's trauma informed
and really motivates them to seek allof these various services, and then they

(08:39):
automatically get connected to about thirty fivedifferent partners and so it's a one stop
shop. So now you don't haveto visit multiple offices, you don't have
to tell your story thirty five timesand all that other stuff. So we
really try to make it as easyas possible and then we integrate back and
forth. And you and I talkedabout working with the Legion and several other
folks and reaching out to various targetedpopulations so that we're now a system of

(09:03):
care rather than just a single entitydoing something one hundred percent. And one
of the things that I am anytimejump into, man, I'm sorry,
I'm just taking it all in.And still I have found that and and
on that basis alone, folks,rather than reliving trauma over and over again.

(09:24):
And as you learn at the rallypoint, our sole focus and again
I'm taking Joe's Boy blueprint and planingit to us, is that you tell
your story so that we can helpyou find what you need. And that's
all we do, folks. Andthe point is making taking the path at
least resistance. And that's been ourshow in our way since the beginning.
And I'll say it again, it'sas trivial as food scarcity. It's the

(09:50):
small things, the small stressures inlife that we try to resolve because those
small streussures can also lead on tobigger stuff and more trauma. As a
I was going to say that itcan kind of just exponentially kind of grow
as the years go on, especiallyif you don't have a good mechanism in
place for maybe how to cope withor how to reframe certain things to help

(10:11):
you have a healthier outlook on it, it can definitely kind of grow.
I wish more. I was actuallythinking, I wish that more healthcare systems
took that approach to tell us yourstory one time, because I know for
so many veterans out there, especially, but just people in general, if
you've been through something traumatic, tohave to tell that story repeatedly, it

(10:33):
is I mean, you relive it, and it's just it almost becomes more
and more difficult to tell the storyevery time that you have to repeat it.
Whether it's an instance of you know, a care management where you're transferring
over to another healthcare provider and they'relike, tell me your story, and
they're trying to be helpful, butlet's admit, in most cases, when

(10:56):
you're having to talk about something reallydisturbing, uncomfortable or traumatic for lack of
a better terms, it's not alwayshelpful people. So it's a wonderful dynamic
to set up to where it's likeyou tell the story one time and it's
integrated and it's you know, sharedamong the people who have a need to
know. So that way the patientdoesn't have to constantly reiterate or god forbid,

(11:20):
they'll you'll tell the story and maybethink afterwards, I forgot to tell
them X detail, right, becausemaybe it was just a bad day and
they were having a difficult time relivingthat whole experience. And there's a trust
factor. Absolutely. Who you tellyour story too is important, correct,
and changing providers is traumatic onto itselfbecause now you're like, great, I

(11:41):
can I trust this person? Dothey know my history? Do I have
to relive all of that again?And that becomes a barrier. And if
it's truly something that will cause youto stay up at night or or have
mental health issue or delay care,correct, you'll avoid it. You'll avoid
going right. And the other thing. A lot of the research support that
trauma is cumulative, So the moretraumatic events that you experience, especially during

(12:05):
your formative years, has more ofa profound effect on your life course.
So the number that we typically lookat is four or more traumatic events before
the age of eighteen has a profoundimpact on smoking teen pregnancies over ninety percent
probability of being on antidepressants up tofifty years later. So there's huge correlations

(12:26):
to life course. And the reasonfor that is because the traumatic event has
an effect on you. So theconversation we have is not how not what
happened to you, but how hasit affected you? You have trust issues,
you have anxiety depression, what's goingon? How has it affected you?
And then we can build in copingmechanisms to help you live your best

(12:46):
life rather than focusing on what happenedto you. Because a traumatic event can
be just neglect or harm or anything, and depending on the individual, it
could have the same level of damagingeffect. Right, So it's not just
physical harm but just an experience ora neglect, emotional, physical neglect,
there's many things that have an effect. Or even living in a home with

(13:09):
mental health issues is a traumatic event, right, depending on what you've experienced.
Right, my father, you knowI knew as a kid not to
wake my father. Just run upand you know, go hit him because
he'll wake up swinging because of hismilitary service. Right, And so is
something that I was always very sensitiveto. Even verbal abuse can have virubles
like that. I mean verbal ormental abuse period, right, that can

(13:31):
affect, like you said, thecourse of someone's life, even fifty years.
Yeah. Giving a classic example,we trained the cafeteria ladies to recognize
and acknowledge kids as they come throughthe line, saying hey, I'm so
glad you're here today, because thatmight be the one time that kid feels
welcome and appreciated. That's so funnyyou mentioned that. My thirteen year old
son and my husband and I weretalking the other night about how impressed he

(13:52):
is that his lunch ladies know whohe is, like several staff members in
his school. Well, my childwill never be late for a meal,
so they know him because he's afoodie. I understand. But at the
same time, it's weird because wewere literally reflecting on that yesterday evening about
how his cafeteria ladies know him.The ladies at the front office know him.

(14:16):
So if you wanted to know whetheror not that's working, it's working.
My son goes to school, andour school district's a great partner,
you know, And I'm a productof our school district, so I understand
completely what they try to do,and I could tell you that from top
down they really truly understand. Andthe challenge that they have is how do
you be all things to all kids? Right, So we have to build
that system to support them. Soonce they see a child struggling, how

(14:39):
do we link them to care,especially mental health services and other things.
And a lot of times it's notthe child, it's the family that needs
to be stabilized. The child isjust trying to cope the environment that they're
being raised in, right, Yes, and so that's something that we do.
And so a lot of the supportis really wrap around services, like
for our folks who served and sosocial isolation, mental health issues, those

(15:01):
are major challenges that we see inour in our veteran population. And so
when we look at mental health,we know there's a direct correlation between housing
instability and poverty with mental health.Right, So if you think about those
who really struggle truly with mental healthissues, you can almost see the correlation
between their ability to maintain employment,their housing, and all of those other

(15:24):
things which also correlate to income.And so's it's definitely related. We just
have to build a system of careto help protect these individuals, definitely,
And folks, to give you anidea how forward thinking. Joe is one
of the projects I've been working onfor the last year, and a air
and Change is twofold. How dowe help our kids and our help our

(15:46):
kids and our communities here in CharlotteCounty, and how do we help our
veterans At the same side, rightnow, suicide is up to probably twenty
two more a day per veterans.Joe and I were kicking. They're on
an idea of the Veteran Mentorship Program. We have two unique populations, the
veteran population, we have kids.Today's families aren't as dynamic and nuclear as

(16:11):
it used to be in the past. So we had an idea of,
okay, we have two at riskpopulations, why don't we pair them together.
Because we have a population that needssomething to do, some self worth,
not to be alone and isolated.And we have a younger generation that
needs direction, mentorship, or someonewho say how you doing today? So

(16:34):
we came up this with an ideacalled the Veteran Mentorship Program and it's been
She's still in her emphasy stages.We made partnerships with the Big Brothers,
Big Sisters and utilizing Joe's partnerships inCharlotte County where partner ourselves are trying to
get our population mostly veterans, notjust only veterans, but mentorships for kids.

(16:56):
And we found that the Big brotherBig Sisters have over one hundred and
fifty kids waiting for mentors, andas of maybe a month or so ago,
we had five or four, fiveor six mentors who were veterans.
And to that effect, we wantto parod these two together because we felt
that if we could have a veteranand a child, male or female,

(17:19):
finding mentor they have another influence intheir life to helpe them, help them
make the right decisions, gives thema sense of purpose too, exactly,
and helps with that isolation piece ofit exactly. You know, we have
over twenty thousand veterans in Charlotte County, so that's a lot of folks that
potential for volunteer ship. By someestimations, it's thirty yes, I would

(17:41):
say even more. And then ifyou look at military families, the numbers
got to go up exponentially, yes, you know. And then we're the
second oldest county by age in theUnited States, and so we're about forty
two forty three thousand people over theage of sixty five. So between those
two populations alone, we have ahuge opportunity in our county that's different than
any other county for volunteer ship andthat mentorship piece of it. That's why

(18:04):
I tell my children we live andretire topia. Yeah, absolutely it is.
It's a utopia, and folks areretired, myself included. So yeah,
there's a lot of folks that wantto give back and get meaning to
their life. And just because they'rein a place where they don't have to
go to work nine to five everyday and grind it out, doesn't mean
they don't want to give back.They still want to have purpose and be

(18:25):
useful. And the other thing isI was talking to some friends the other
day and we're talking about how importantit is for the younger generations to really
understand, you know what why veteransserved. Yep, you know why our
country is as great as it is, as wonderful as it is, it's
because of the veterans that served toprotect and uphold that and defend our constitutions.

(18:48):
So I definitely agree with you thatthere is a population out there who
their time card isn't necessarily full,but they're still looking for a way to
give back, and they're still lookingfor a way to a purpose. And
there are definitely, I'm sure childrenout there, whether they come from a
family of veterans or not, thatjust could really use that positive influence from

(19:11):
a veteran. Absolutely, yeah,that mission driven purpose and you know that's
instilled in veterans and those who serve. I mean, I think it's really
powerful, and it's just a greatmessage to our kids, you know,
as far as the work ethic andthe goals and all of those things,
but it really helps with that socialisolation piece. And then the other side
too, is what I'm seeing isveterans or those those who are serving,

(19:33):
even are more likely to tell someoneelse that's in the same role as them
or as walk the same path asthem when they're struggling. Right, It's
much harder to tell a complete stranger, but if they tell another peer who
served with them, it's a littlemore acceptable and maybe easier. And so
we're using that mentorship and that collaborationwith those who serve to try and help

(19:56):
get those individuals who are struggling andlink them to that care that I described
earlier. West definitely most definitely.It's one of those things where we have
two perfect populations and I thought wasan easy fit because they needed one another.
One gives purpose and one wants tolearn from the other one, and
you figure, hope that sponds arelationship outside of you know, just the

(20:17):
program that the mentorship program and hopefuit's a lifelong kind of a connection they
have and if there's an issue,they have another resource to go to for
advice. Well, look at housing, you know, with Golf Coast Partners
and Homeless Coalition and folks with therapid rehousing for Veterans, we've been able
to effectively must eliminate homelessness for veteransbecause we're able to find a place for
them, but also link them tothe other services to help stabilize them.

(20:40):
Because if we can keep someone house, then that helps with their stability.
Then they're more likely to seek medicalcare and all the other things and just
get them on the right track.So again, all that wrap around type
support rather than just when you thinkabout direct one on one care like from
a doctor or a therapist or somethinglike that. There's so many more factors
and that's what we doing. Thepublic health model is we look at what

(21:02):
are all of the factors impacting andinfluencing someone's life course, and how can
we help make them the safest andhealthiest that they can possibly be. And
so in this case, we're talkingabout veterans, but we really try.
That's our model and our lens exactlynund percent. And my philosophy is,
you deal with one veteran, andyou hit on this earlier. One veteran
has a family of maybe three ortwo more, and you add that thirty

(21:23):
thousand times, folks, you havea you have a community. Ye,
And if you take care of thatone veteran, you're taking care of the
neighbors and the family and the friendsaround and that around that one veteran,
and we're all interconnected. But thatbeing saying, let's switch the little gears
here a little bit more localized.I don't know if we hit this earlier
on in the show. And Amandathat Joe is a local of Charlotte County,

(21:45):
and he before Charlotte count became thismetropolis of twenty or two hundred thousand
people now h two undred thousand people, he was here when there was only
one road going north, one wasgoing south and it was called tamm Miami
and that was basically in one trafficlight and that goes way back. But

(22:06):
a little history buff here. Joe'swould be our planner here and and we're
hitting that nasty word Hurricanes end seasonand he's been here for a while.
And do you have any advice forus? Charlotte Night, Charlotte charlit uh
would be the popper and Charlatonians CHARLTONI. Yeah, you know, I always

(22:29):
say if I move near you,you probably should move because I've probably been
through every major canto of Charlotte Town. Show up you probably Harmer and a
couple of other eye storms and allthe all the major ones. So yeah,
it's been been a blast. Youknow, I think the biggest thing
and I don't want to speak foremergency management, but you know, I

(22:51):
think having that resilient mindset right,you know, and the more prepared you
are, the less stressful these thingsbecome. And so the challenge that we
run into is a lot of folkscan't afford to go stockpile three hundred dollars
or four hundred dollars worth of groceriesand things like that, but just trying
to have a plan. You know, whether you're going to evacuate, where
would you go to all those typeof things, And I think that really

(23:12):
takes a lot of the fear awayfrom these things. As long as you
have a strategy. You know,you and I we go to work and
we say goodbye to our families anda few weeks later we get to see
them again. So but you know, it's a It's okay because it's a
labor of love, and I wouldn'thave it any other way. But it's
just I think the biggest thing isjust having having a plan outstanding. And

(23:33):
folks remember this, if there's ahurricane coming towards our county, plan to
leave, have a plan. Ido this for a job. I've been
doing it since I was in theArmy. I am built for this type
of stuff. Why don't ask me. I like doing it. I'm a
public servant to the end, andhave a plan and advance, don't wait
for the storm to put it ina place. But that being said,

(23:57):
Joe, where can people find theservices of the health Department? Yeah,
so, I think obviously the webpage is probably the easiest thing. But
but you know, if they wantto call us at nine four one six
two four seven two zero zero.You know that's if you just google,
Charlotte County Health Department will show upas well. But we're on Loveland and

(24:19):
uh we've got a great campus overthere, and our folks are all ready
to help. So if you ifyou just want to pomp in and talk
to somebody at our front desk,that's fine as well. And then what
they'll do is find out what servicesapply to you and how we can help
you. That's that's probably the easiestway to do it. We try to
be the path of leash resistance.Is that phone number again, nine four

(24:41):
one six two four seven two zerozero. Thank you, yes, ma'am.
And uh, you know we're alwayshere to help and you know,
reach out even if somebody needs toreach out to me directly, whatever works,
you know. I think for me, the biggest thing is getting folks
the services that they need and howwe can do that. And if I
don't have the answer, you know, you have my commitment we'll try and
find one for them. So,Joe, we've talked about so many awesome

(25:03):
programs that the county has, butsince Charlotte County is considered a premier veteran
friendly county in the state of Florida. From what I understand, there are
actually a lot of programs in CharlotteCounty that directly address and benefit veterans in
their families. Absolutely, So Iwas looking at one of them, and
can you just talk to us abouthow the department ensures dental care accessibility for

(25:27):
example. I mean, we're goingto talk about multiple more topics. So
for those of you veterans in CharlotteCounty, there's a lot here, but
what can you tell me? Geta notepad out because there's a bunch.
So we've really been focused not onlyon veterans, but we treat the entire
community. But one of the thingsthat we saw is that there's a huge
need for oral health services, andso from the public health model, we

(25:49):
started out focusing on our children,mainly because if we can keep them healthy
during their formative years, they're morelikely to be healthier as an adult.
So we prevent further tooth de kperidonal disease and all that other stuff that
happens. So we really focus alot on our kids at the Health Department,
not only with cleanings and prevention strategies, but also care. We do

(26:12):
dental care at the health department.Most people don't understand that or new that,
and so yeah, home and wehave some amazing dentists. I have
to tell you that our clients absolutelylove them, and we really try to
provide really great services, and wehave hygienics and everything so they can have
their cleanings and then being integrated.Like I mentioned earlier, so we have

(26:32):
the wik program where where moms comein and get formula and things like that.
A lot of times we work closelywith them in our dental program,
so it's a one stop shop.And then we also do a dental sealing
program where we go into the schoolsand if the parents sign the consent forms,
we actually go in do an assessment, apply to fluoride, varnish and
everything to prevent those baby teeth fromgetting getting cavities and things like that,

(26:56):
and then helping catch early gum disease. And you know, sometimes we see
up to thirty forty percent untreated toothdecay and kids. So if we can
prevent that, then those those kidscan get into a healthy routine and then
keep their gums healthy and then wedon't have to pull teeth and all the
other stuff that happens, so that'sa really great service that we're proud of.

(27:18):
And then obviously all of the otherwrap around clinical type things that we
provide from a prevention strategy with immunizationsand things like that. But we really
do try to provide as much oralhealth service as we can. And then
we also do occasionally have adult emergencieswhere people come in there in pain,
you know, they have an infectionor whatever, and our dentists will see

(27:40):
them get them stabilized, and thenour goal is to really link them to
care, because we have some otherdental services in the community that operate on
a sliding fee scale and all kindsof other things as well, so we
really do try to link them tocare and with our if you remember our
previous guest, Nicholas Cannon, he'son the East side, East coast,
excuse me, and he has anorganization that's a nonprofit and they provide funds

(28:06):
for veterans for for dental care.With the veteran the dental care because a
lot of people don't know this.If you're not a veteran, or even
if you are, you may notknow. The VA only provides dental care
to those who are one hundred percentdisabled and service connected insurrect and so there
are a lot of veterans unfortunately thatdon't fall under either of those categories,

(28:26):
whether it's service connected injury or onehundred percent disability. So there is a
gap for sure where sure, maybea veteran can't afford seven hundred dollars a
year for dental insurance. And eventhen that dental insurance only pays so much.
It really only pays for like cleanings, exams, anything beyond that.
I mean, god forbid, ifthey need a bridge, a crown,

(28:48):
whatever, their insurance isn't really goingto cover that. So it's nice to
know that there are options in thecommunity, you know, whether it's for
your children or as the veteran,to have that option to be able to
get dental care. Because you're right, I mean, it affects so much,
not just from like an oral standpoint, but it can also affect neurological,

(29:10):
cardiac all different kinds of facets andself esteem. Yes, if you're
missing a tooth and you're going fora job interview, that type of thing,
So it has a huge impact onyour self esteem. And I'm folks.
For those out in radio land,I'm a veteran service officer and to
set the record straight, and thisis what I think is insane over my
VA or our VA, is thatyou need to have both conditions in order

(29:33):
to get dental care. So youneed to be one hundred percent disabled and
be able to link your dental situationto an event while in service to qualify
for dental work in the VA,which there is probably have a total population
three percent that meet both criteria andthere are no exceptions, absolutely none.

(29:55):
And one of the things I've seenwith my veterans across the board, I
hate to say it, donal workis a little jacked up. And what
you need to understand is your teethor your gateway to your heart, folks.
Pulmonary disease is first. Plaque isin your teeth, Plaque is in
your heart. That's how it goes, folks. And these programs that Nick
Can has across the way, we'llput that on the website for you and

(30:15):
to get access to that, andthat's what they're there for, folks.
There's no shame in the game.Get the help that we need and not
to hijack the conversation. Amanda hadan epiphany when you guys were talking.
I remember that I believe that thehealth Department is helping with a mobile bus
yep talk about more about that.No, that's really exciting and partnership really

(30:37):
Suzanne at Virginia b Andes, whichis a free clinic in town, they're
amazing and they're a great partner withus, and so we recently launched a
mobile clinic and that bus is goingaround the county several different locations, and
Virginia b Andes is actually publishing theschedule on their web page and we're part
of that as well. And sowe were doing all kinds of things bringing

(31:00):
our services into the field, notonly with prevention strategies, but also from
our epidemiology department doing surveillance and lookingat various pockets within the community, going
to the various food banks and homelesscamps and things like that, and really
trying to serve our most vulnerable,and then more importantly, using that same
model I described earlier, So ifwe see someone, especially those who served,

(31:25):
and they come to us as partof a food bank or whatever,
we make sure we link them backto the Family Services Center. So that
the Veterans Service Officer and all ofthose other thirty five different partners can wrap
around that individual and get them wherethey need to be. So we look
at those things as an outreach toprovide service, but really it's a sentinel
event or a surveillance type strategy sothat we can get these folks back into

(31:48):
care. And then Charlotte Transportation isworking with us so that when the mobile
clinic leaves that area, transportation isthere to take those individuals back to Virginia
b Andes or to the health Department, and so that transportation is not a
barrier either exactly. And veterans hearme out in Charlotte County, if you
are a veteran needs an appointment thetransportation system when they'll be on our show

(32:09):
in the near future, they willtake you to your appointment, but you
have to call in advance and we'llput that on the website and we'll get
that information out to you. Butthey will pick you up from your home,
take you to an appointment Cape Coral. I don't know if they go
all the way to Saint Pete,but I doubt that, but they'll take
you to shopping, they'll take youto the doctor depointment, they'll drop you
back off at home. We'll putout the phone number for that. But

(32:30):
that's also available in Charlotte County.Mobile bus and let me tell you something,
folks, I saw that mobile busfor assistance. It is. I'm
impressed, folks. I mean Ibump around in there. But it's fully
functional. And we'll put make surethat you get the access of the locations
and days in Charlotte County where thatbus is going to be at because it's
phenomenal. Folks. I was like, shock. So it's there every Thursday.

(32:54):
How do I know at FSC that'stwenty one five hundred Gibraltar Driver Street.
I was confused on that sometimes driveit's twenty one FAINTI Balta drive the
Family Service Center in Port Charlotte,and folks, they're there for you.
You sign up there, they'll takeyou on the bus and whatever you need
to have done, they'll take careof you. Anything else of Amanda.

(33:16):
Yeah, actually, so being afemale veteran, obviously, women veteran issues
are near and dear to my heart. And from what I can tell what
I can tell here, the countyactually has a lot of different services as
it regards women's health, Can youtalk to those all those different programs.
I mean, I see stuff aboutbreast and cervical cancer, early detection,

(33:36):
family planning, other women's health initiatives, as far as what's available to veterans,
because sometimes it's not easy to getin at the VA. Getting community
care might be a little bit trickyas well. I've seen delays with that
too, and sometimes with women's health, especially times of the essence. Yeah,
and you know, we're part ofthe collaborative as part of the surveillance

(33:57):
for various cancers, breast and cervicalcancer being two, but they're also preventive.
We can you know, certain cancersare associated with human papilloma virus,
so we provide the immunization for thatas well to help those kiddos before they
even develop cancer, which would beamazing. And then the other side for

(34:19):
women's health, you know, youknow, we have a lot of women
come into the health department and they'reconcerned about an infection. We actually can
do a screening. A lot oftimes they have UTIs uterinary tract infections and
rather than sending them to the emergencyroom or wherever, we're able to kind
of call in prescriptions and support themto get them the help they need.
But then from a family planning perspective, we have a lot of women who

(34:44):
maybe don't want to get pregnant rightnow, and they're really just trying to
look out for their health or whatevermight happen. So we have that conversation
with them on what their various optionsare and how we can help them so
that this way, I mean,you know, children are a blessing,
but to you know, but youknow, just to have them be informed
and know their options. And sothat's another big component of what we try

(35:07):
to do for women's health. Andthen with the breast screening, and we
had a mobile Mammo bus at ourlocation and really trying to do more surveillance
type things to help prevent you fromgetting sick in the first place. And
then and then you know, oneof the things that's near and dear to
my heart, no pun intended,is cardiac health. You know, I

(35:27):
lost my father to a cardiac disease, and I think, you know,
one of the things we're working throughright now is doing a cardiac screening event
at the health Department, and andso a lot of people may not seek
screening services. And what we're doingis looking at how we can create a
screening type service so that we canhelp not only moms, but anyone in

(35:50):
our community gets screened before they havea problem and then link them to care
so that we can prevent them fromhaving a major event. One hundred percent.
And I want to put some outthere to my veteran single dads out
there and the radio. Remember thisWICK is stands for Women and Children infants
in children. Your children qualify forWICK. If you're a single dad,

(36:15):
do not feel ostracized and put yourpride aside. They're there to make sure
that that your children have healthy foodsand nutritional education as best that you needed.
So do not let your pride oryour gender prevent you from going from
the health department gain the needs foryour family. Because right now, folks,
come on, I know we're aprideful bunch and we don't need help

(36:37):
all the time, but come on, you already know as in the military
or don't do any mission by ourselves. And raising a child probably takes a
village, so it really does it. And we have a lot of grandparents
raising children, especially in this countYeah, for sure, or multi generational
families that all live together, andso everybody's kind of pitching in to raise
those children, right and and engageddads also help with that whole development of

(36:59):
the child, like, yeah,it takes a village. Yes, so
you know, having dads involved inand then you know there's a there's this
guy. I know that there's acar seat program. Oh yeah, yeah,
some guy named James. I yes, I do, folks, And
again I embraced doing car seats becauseand that's eighteen years ago. Of course,

(37:22):
Joe inspired me that I find thatto eliminate the stress of worrying about
a car seat has tremendous impact ona family. And it seems so ridiculous.
But let me tell you something.I will tell you one of the
best gifts I had for being inCharlotte County is that I don't forget a

(37:44):
client, and they never forget me. And I'll tell you one thing,
You'll never look at a car seatthe same ever again if you take my
class and for that way, wecan reduce fatalities and car crashes and keep
our kids safe and exactly and wedo our service as a car seat tech.
Hopefully instructor fingers crossed and bike helmetsand bike helmets, yes, I

(38:06):
do, folks. Again, I'llsay this, in my heyday, I've
probably gone through about six six bicycles, ten speeds, twelve speeds, face
first, face plant. Why Idon't have TBI, I don't know,
brain injury. That explains a lot. I will tell you that the importance
of a helmet nowadays is critical.And I'll say, my friend Benjamin led

(38:31):
Better had a motorcycle accident. Youdidn't have a helmet on, and he
had. He has a TBI.So, folks, whether you're on a
motorcycle or a bicycle, where diddamn helmet? And our older adults,
a lot of them are on blooddinners, yes, and so that is
a huge complication. God forbid.They hit their heads in an accident,
they run the risk of a brainbleed and that has a catastrophic effect on

(38:52):
sounds like from nuggets to tough itsyou kind of cover it all between helmets
and car seats. Definitely, Hey, little miss Muffet sat on her talk,
You're going to tag that line thatagain, from nuggets to toughest and
there you go, folks, itis what it is. So turning the
focus a little bit more to Iguess I'll I'm going to nerd out a

(39:13):
little bit. I was in avery heavily research based career field when I
was in the military, so Ido kind of dig this stuff. But
what was your rank? Again,there are I was a senior Master sergeant,
but I was a bio environmental engineerfirst and foremost. So you know
where I'm going with these questions?Yea community health planning and statistics. Let's
talk about what is the chip andthen kind of explain that for our listeners,

(39:37):
and then how does that benefit veteransin Charlotte County? I mean,
probably it benefits everybody, but howdoes it benefit everyone but especially veterans.
Well, it's a healthy chip,right, so that's a good thing.
So it stands for Community Health ImprovementPlan, right. So it's like any
strategic planning, you have to havewhat we refer to as the CHA,
the community Health Assessment, and thenwe create with our partners the Community Health

(40:00):
Improvement Plan and that really aligns withthe State Health Improvement Plan, which aligns
with the national plan. And whatwe try to do is again going back
to if we can't define the problemand understand the problem. Then we can't
come up with protocols on how totreat the problem, right, And that's
just public health model one oh one, right, And so what we look
at is preventable injuries like bicycle accidents, traumatic brain injuries, mental health issues

(40:24):
and all of those things, andreally take a look and ask ourselves the
questions why, you know, andjust keep drilling down to where we can
build up a system of care andcome up with strategies on that. So
we really are a data driven approachbecause one of the things with public health
is, you know, sometimes thecriticism of public health is where's the return

(40:45):
on investment? Right? Why shouldI give you any money? Because I'm
not really sure you're getting it doneright? And we're mission driven, right.
We want to be the healthiest statein the nation, and we protect,
promote and improve the lives of allmembers of our community. And so
we treat to community. But todo that, we have to do our
assessment and then we dashboard that.So we have Florida Health Charts where you
can go on and there is informationabout everything in there, from Florida youth

(41:08):
substance abuse surveys to behavioral risk factorsto chronic disease and all kinds of things.
And if we can define the problemand see what the prevalence is,
then we can start to identify whatstrategies, who is best equipped to do
that and then work with them andprop them up. So it doesn't have
to be necessarily us at the HealthDepartment that does it, but we can

(41:29):
work through our partner like the HomelessCoalition or someone like Gulf Coast Partners or
Human Services and prop them up tosee them successful. And even Virginia b
Andes is one with the bus andthen Charlotte Behavioral Health is another huge partner.
So we've really really tried to identifythese strategies because you know, like
community paramedicine is one of those areaswe're really trying to work on because in

(41:51):
our fall prevention strategy we didn't eventalk about yet, because we know a
lot of people fall in Charlotte Countyabout twenty to three a day a day,
yes, and so when you lookat that and we know falls are
precursors to other injuries, possible hospitalizationsand things like that. So if we
can prevent people from falling, theycan stay in their homes longer, retire

(42:13):
longer in place. It has ahuge mental health component to it to improve
their overall well being, as wellas a huge economic impact to those who
don't have to go into an assistedliving facility or anything like that. Yeah.
Absolutely, it's everything and a senseof pride, right. So,
and what we're seeing is when peoplefall, there's a fear that happens,
and so then then they start toremove themselves from certain activities because they're afraid

(42:37):
they're going to fall again. Andso if we can use that as a
sentinel event, go out and dothese balance classes and other things, and
and really link with physicians whether theyneed pedietary care or they need to go
see their doctor because their blood pressure, medicine, whatever, and really triage
them and get them where they needto be. But being a little selfish,
going back to the hurricane conversation ishow it all weaves together. We

(42:59):
know that individuals that fall are morevulnerable than others, and so during a
hurricane disaster, these are the sameindividuals three four days out that tend to
start to destabilize. They don't havetheir medications, they're stuck in their home
by themselves, they need whatever,and so if we can get to them
earlier and make them more resilient,then the strategy really is that we can

(43:20):
help them be safer and better andlive better lives. So that's kind of
it all weaves together. So that'ssorry, I nerd it out a little
bit with you. No, I'mright there with you. I had an
officer when I was a young andCEO. He used to do this little
thing where he would kind of actlike he was adjusting his glasses. He'd
be like, Hi, guy,I can, And that's exactly what I
think when I think about this,I'm like, that's awesome. So yeah,

(43:45):
as I am wearing glasses for thoseof the other radios, so I
do resemble that comment. I'm notmaking funny, I'm just like, you
know. But yeah. So theother thing I guess too, to kind
of really tie it all together iswe kind of talked about how the can
benefit you know, maybe people whoare uninsured. But also it looks like
there might be insurance plans that theDepartment of Health accepts to maybe make the

(44:09):
cost of care less for veteran families. So can we talk about like the
type of insurance plans at the countyaccepts. And then also conversely, how
does the county help assist and supportveterans who can't afford insurance, whether it's
dental or healthcare or maybe both,How do both of those work together?

(44:30):
Yeah, those are great questions andwe get them all the time. And
my answer to that is very simplistically, just ask, call or stop into
the health department. If we can'tfigure out something that we can do for
you, we'll link you to someonewho can. That's the easiest answer,
right, because the insurance piece aloneis so confusing and overwhelming, and between
the co payments and the deductibles andwho does what. I would never in

(44:52):
a million year's guest that a departmentof health would accept insurance. I've been
on this earth over forty years andthat never really occurred to me. I
always affiliated health departments with free care, free access. So it's interesting to
know that you can use your insurancebenefits. But I guess really the question
is kind of how, and wedo a financial assessment. So primarily it's

(45:15):
Medicaid and those type of services,right, because that's why I get to
that linkage to care piece of it, Because if someone has insurance that can
go to a place to get privatecare, then we link them to that.
However, a lot of times wewill do whatever we can do within
our umbrella. And we do havesliding fee scale services, which is why
we do that financial assessment on thefront end and how those work too.

(45:37):
Test numbers and me, we're notreally friends. I love, but sometimes
my outlook on that is like freakingnumbers, Like I just our client relations
team are our front office folks areamazing, and what they do is they
work with you and basically you bringin evidence of your income right, whatever
that looks like, and then theywork with you and then and basically there's

(46:00):
a sliding fee scale, so upto zero pay right or down to zero
pay so depending on where you're at, finances should not be a barrier to
care. And so that's really whatwe try to work through. And then
you know, we're always looking atways of sustaining our programs so that we
can continue to provide more of theseservices because our mission is not to make

(46:20):
a profit. Our mission is toserve the community, and so the more
we can do that in a sustainableway so that we don't have to close
programs two years from now and thingslike that. That's why we look at
all of those things and find differentfunding sources like grants, different partnerships and
things like that. So that's whyI say, just very simplistically, just
call and ask, and if wecan't do it, we definitely will find

(46:42):
somebody who can. You've given usa lot of good information, I guess,
like the next for me, thenext logical question is really what's the
process for veterans to get themselves ortheir families started with accessing services through the
Charlotte County Department of Health YEP.And also what message would you like to
convey to veterans in the cure abouttheir health and the services that are available.
So again I think the nine fourone six four seven two zero zero,

(47:06):
that's our main number. Just call. We really try to be easiest
to do business with and remove thosebarriers. If you can't reach us,
reach out to the Family Services Center. Those are two one stop shop locations
and we actually have people embedded atthe Family Services Center, So we really
try to be the path of leastresistance on that. But and then you

(47:27):
know, our web page is justfilled with information if you google the Charlotte
County Health Department. But the otherside to all of this is that I
think the biggest message to all ofour veterans out there, as well as
their families is that you're not alone. There are a lot of resources,
and for those of us who servethe community, we really want to serve

(47:49):
you now. I think that youdeserve that and we're here to help you.
And we're so proud to be ableto do that. So please don't
suffer in silence. Reach out.If we can't help you, we will
find someone who can. There's aton of services out there that you may
or may not know of other thanthe VA, and we're really really happy
to be a part of your careand your family's care. Outstanding wellth folks,

(48:15):
I want to say thank you jobfor being on our show. We'll
be coming back hopefully in the nearfuture. That being said, today we
want to say thank you for beingon our show at the rally point and
we're thankful having you on our community. You take care and we'll see around
the way. Sounds great. Thankyou all right, ladies and gentlemen.

(48:35):
So as we're prepare to kind ofwrap the show up for today, we
just want to give you some followup information. I know when doctor Peppi
was here we were talking about vetvansand how they help transport veterans throughout Charlotte
County. If you're interested in thoseservices and getting more information, they can
be reached at nine four one fiveseven five three six seven zero. And

(48:58):
again that's our vet ban program.They help give transportation two veterans in Charlotte
County. Whether you need to goto an appointment, maybe at Bay Pines
or even down at Lee County,whatever the case might be, you can
call them and see what the fullextent of their service offerings are. And
again to reiterate the Health Department's phonenumber where doctor Peppy works, and many

(49:20):
of those programs that we talked abouttoday can be taken advantage of. You
can get a hold of them bycalling nine four to one six two four
seven to two zero zero. Ijust want to recap a couple events that
we have coming up. Okay,Sarge, I know you got a lot
going on in the community too,so you're aware of these as well.
On May eighth, there's going tobe Southwest Florida Honor Flight give Back Night

(49:43):
at Monty's Restaurant in Pizzeria that's attwo five one five tmm A Trail in
Punta Gorda. On May eighteenth,Southwest Florida Honor Flights having another event hosted
by Local seven four three three atthe O Bar on seven forty eight South
Tammy Emmy Trail in Ausbury. That'sgoing to go from two to six pm.

(50:04):
They'll have raffles, live music andmore. And then also on May
twenty six, there's a Tribute toHeroes block Party in Parade in Lakewood Ranch
on Lakewood Main Street from five toeight pm that night. That's being sponsored
by Veteran Air and Tommy's Express CarWash. And then also Southwest Florida on
our Flight has the second Saturday OakStreet Market that'll be happening on June eighth

(50:28):
from nine am to two pm,and that will be at historic downtown Arcadia
where you can see a bunch ofsmall businesses, give them some patronage and
support a great cause for Southwest Florida. On her Flight outstanding and folks,
as always, want to thank youfor being with us today and with our
guests. I want to thank oursponsor at no Medicare solutions. I'm glad

(50:52):
I met you and if you needany further information from Derek, get it.
Don Anderson and folks want to saythank you for keeping that man busy
and on the air. You cancontact Derek at two three nine eight four
to two zero seven sixty nine forany medicare questions and solutions he'll provide you
and also our reason across America.Thank you for being our partner in our

(51:15):
mission to take care of our veteransand our show and folks as always,
stay safe with your families. Thankyou for tuning in with the Rally Point
Show, Take care, God blessand take I'll see you guys next time.
Stat every day, the men andwomen of the United States Marine Corps

(53:23):
stand ready to defend the American wayof life. The view the Proud the Marines