You Must Resuscitate: How COVID Changed Frank Cutitta

So far in the Respecting Health series we’ve talked about societal values and how they affect a culture’s approach to health; we’ve talked about the experiences of physicians and the changes in approaches to (and ability to address) public health over the course of their careers. This time out, I take a look at what it’s like from one patient’s perspective. Have you ever wondered what it must be like to walk into a hospital and wake up 45 days later? What was that experience like for the patient?

My guest in this episode is Frank Cutitta. His 100-day hospitalization with COVID led to his transformation into a subject matter expert, advocate, and advisor to health systems. Frank helps these organizations better understand patient engagement, a distributed workforce, the concept of institutionalized loneliness, empathic technologies and strategies. He co-chairs the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Network Patient & Family Advisory Council. He has worked in media for many years at International Data Group, is the CEO and founder of HealthTech Decisions Lab, and was recently named Senior Advisor to International Conference Development, which produces events on burnout, patient experience, equity, and more. Frank’s wide range of expertise in health, technology, and media predisposed him to view his COVID experience as “research.”

Over the course of the conversation we also touch on propaganda, communication, emotional artificial intelligence, supply chains, cooking, and his approach to starting life over. Frank also shares a story about his perceptions and dreams while in the induced coma.

Enjoy the conversation!

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