Root of the Issue

Welcome to Root of the Issue, the podcast of the Root Cause Coalition. Our program explores the motivations and stories behind the individuals who have dedicated their lives to achieving health equity for all. In this episode, we speak with Ipyana Spencer, the Chief Health Officer of Meals on Wheels America (MOWA). Ipyana leads the newly created Meals on Wheels Health division, partnering with healthcare payers and health ...

Welcome to Root of the Issue, the podcast of the Root Cause Coalition where we delve into the motivations and stories behind those dedicated to achieving health equity for all. In this week's episode, we are joined by Kim Prendergast, Vice President of Policy for Community Care Cooperative (C3), a federally qualified health center-led accountable care organization serving health centers in seven states. Kim shares her...

 In this episode of the Root of the Issue, host Barb Petee speaks with Stacy Wathen, Secretary of the Board of Trustees at the Root Cause Coalition and Manager of Community and Child Health at the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA). CHA advances child health through innovation and quality cost and delivery of care with its 220 member children's hospitals and health systems.

Many CHA member hospitals were fo...

In this episode of Root of the Issue, we delve into the inspiring journey of Tracy Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of the Virginia Community Health Care Association. Tracy shares her insights, challenges, and triumphs as she champions health equity for all in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Join us as we uncover the motivations and stories behind Tracy's relentless advocacy for improved access to primary care for underserve...

In this episode of Root of the Issue, we are honored to be joined by two remarkable individuals: Marcie Mir, the Chief Executive Officer of El Centro de Corazón, and Simone Simon Gardner, Lead Director of Senior Community Affairs at Aetna, a CVS Health Company.

Sponsored by Aetna, El Centro de Corazón has been a cornerstone of Houston's East End community since 1994. As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), ...

Welcome to "Root of the Issue"! In this episode, we delve into the vital intersection of food and health with our esteemed guest, Alissa Wassung, Executive Director of the Food Is Medicine Coalition (FIMC). With over a decade of experience in policy and strategy, Alissa leads FIMC in its mission to provide medically tailored meals (MTMs) and groceries, medical nutrition therapy, and education to individuals grappling with ...

In this episode of Root of the Issue, we sit down with Angela Brandt, Chief Administrative Officer, ProMedica. With over two decades of experience in not-for-profit healthcare, Angela is a seasoned executive known for her transformative leadership and strategic acumen. From her early days at ProMedica to her current role steering enterprise-wide transformations, Angela shares insights into her journey, highlighting ke...

In this episode of "Root of the Issue," our host Barbara Petee engages in a compelling conversation with Kim Reno, a senior manager in the Policy and Advocacy department of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The discussion explores Kim's role at the Foundation, her healthcare roots in Toledo, Ohio, and the impact of healthcare access disparities on individuals with Cystic Fibrosis. They delve into the crucial issues of nutrit...

This week on Root of the Issue, join our host Barbara Petee as she sits down with Priya Bathija, Founder and CEO of Nyoo Health, for an eye-opening conversation. In this episode, they uncover the stark disparities in healthcare accessibility for women and the concerning lack of readily available information about women's health. Together, they explore the systemic issues leading to unequal care and how we can work tow...

In this week's episode of Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Scott Carter and Will Thomas of Conduit Government Relations; a government relations firm that specializes in grassroots organization and issue advocacy services through public affairs; with a focus on the social drivers of health that affect and impede too many Americans from a life of health and ...

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by William - Bill - Novelli, Emeritus Professor of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Over the course of their conversation, they discuss Bill’s pivot from the advertising world, what he sees in the students that he works with, his various mentors over the course of his career, as well as what ways he sees for us to combat the immense divisi...

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Anthony Weekly, Chief Community Reinvestment Officer at Truist Bank. In this role, Anthony is responsible for collaborating with community development partners and regulators to help meet the credit needs of low- to moderate-income (LMI) individuals and communities. Over the course of their conversation they discuss the histori...

This week on Root of the Issue we’ve turned the tables and our guest is our very own Barbara Petee, President of the Root Cause Coalition. Over the course of the conversation with our special guest host, Alexandra Lewin-Zwerdling, Barbara discusses the origins of the inception of the Coalition, her inspirations for pursuing work in the social determinants of health and health equity, and the power of mentoring the next gen...

This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Amy Yaroch, PhD, Executive Director of the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition. Over the course of their conversation Barbara and Amy discuss the work of the Gretchen Swanson Center, the increased awareness of the social determinants of health and health equity, Amy’s optimism for alleviating hunger by 2030, and much more. 

When asked what...

This week on Root of the Issue our host Barbara Petee is joined by Alfreda Rooks, MPA, Director of Community Health Services (CHS) at Michigan Medicine, UM Health. In this role, Alreda works to advance the mission to identify creative solutions to address the various health and social needs of the community. Over the course of their conversation they discuss the work that CHS does across the region and state, Alfreda’s fam...

This week on Root of the Issue, our host Barbara Petee, is joined by Domonic Hopson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neighborhood Family Practice (NFP). NFP serves more than 21,000 patients across eight sites in Cleveland and Lakewood, OH and provides primary and preventive care, and integrated services, including behavioral health, pharmacy, midwifery and dental care.

Over the course of their ...

In this special encore, we revisit a conversation with Susan Benigas, the Executive Director of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM). Susan shares the powerful work of the ACLM, and its focus on lifestyle medicine, a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine – a whole-food, plant-predominant ...

This week on Root of the Issue our host, Barbara Petee, is joined by Wendi Huntley, President and CEO of Connecting Kids to Meals. In her role, Wendy guides the nonprofit organization in providing hot, nutritious meals, at no cost, to at-risk kids ages 18 and under in low income and underserved areas of northwest Ohio. Over the course of their conversation Barbara and Wendi discuss the history of the organization, the role...