January 26, 2025 • 43 mins
Reimagine women’s healthcare! This episode explores the groundbreaking work of Herself Health, redefining care for women 65+ with a bold, whole-person approach.
Join Becca Kummer, Clinic Manager, and Morgan Lange, Physician Assistant, as they share how they’re charting new paths with empathy, connection, and innovative value-based care—giving women the respect, attention, and healthcare they deserve. Packed with insights and powerful stories of transformation and resilience, this is not just medicine—it’s a movement!
Today's episode is brought to you by the Joan of Arc Scroll Medal, a beautiful brass alloy medal, designed by award-winning artist, Pat Benincasa. This uniquely shaped medal is ideal for holiday or as a special occasion gift! Visit www.patbenincasa-art.com
For international listeners the medal is available on Etsy.
Please Note: The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcaster.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Fill to Capacity, where heart, grit and irreverent
humor collide.
A podcast for people toostubborn to quit and too
creative not to make adifference.
Creative not to make adifference.
(00:32):
Hi, I'm Pat Benincasa andwelcome to Fill to Capacity
Today, episode number 94,trailblazing Triumph Rewriting
Healthcare for Women 65 Plus.
Rewriting Healthcare for Women65+.
Now, today, we're spotlightinga healthcare model that is
transforming lives.
(00:52):
It's called Herself Health.
It was founded in 2022 byKristen Helton in collaboration
with the Venture StudioJuxtaposition.
Okay, I know you guys, listeners, are saying Venture Studio.
Now what is this?
Okay, a Venture Studio is acompany that builds and launches
(01:14):
new businesses by providing theideas, the funding and hands-on
support needed to make themsuccessful.
Unlike venture capital firmsthat only invest in startups,
venture studios actively createand develop companies from the
(01:35):
ground up.
Wow, I just feel like I juststepped off the pages of the
Wall Street Journal.
Okay, definitely sounded likeit.
Okay, moving on, her self-healthprovides personalized care
tailored to women 65 and older,focusing on the unique
challenges this often overlookedgroup faces, from value-based
(02:01):
care to fostering community.
Their approach is revolutionary.
Okay, listeners, imagine ahealthcare system where your
well-being, not the number ofappointments or procedures, is
the top priority.
Welcome to the world ofvalue-based care, a model that
(02:26):
shifts the focus from quantityto quality, ensuring that
doctors and hospitals arerewarded for how well they help
you heal and thrive.
It's not about how much careyou receive, but how effective
and impactful that care is.
(02:46):
So today we're diving into thisgame-changing approach that's
reshaping healthcare as we knowit, and my two very busy guests
have taken time off this morningto join us, and they're going
to take us inside atransformative approach to
healthcare.
(03:06):
Becca Coomer, clinic Manager atHerself Health, and Morgan
Lange, physician Assistant, arehere to discuss how their
groundbreaking work is reshapingcare for women 65 and older.
Together, they'll explore thevision, challenges and successes
(03:29):
driving Her Self Health'sinnovative mission.
So welcome you guys.
I'm so happy to have you here.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Oh my gosh, it's a pleasure to be here.
Thank you for asking us to join.
It's an honor and we're soexcited to share exactly what
you just said Reallyrevolutionary.
Frankly, healthcare issomething I really believe in
and feel firmly that this is thefuture.
This is how to solve apotentially a broken system.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah Well, I'm glad to have you here Now, Becca.
I'll start with you.
What inspired you to joinHerself Health and champion its
mission of addressing the uniquehealthcare needs of women, 65
and older?
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, great question, pat.
I was reading a job descriptionactually I was in a big
healthcare company doing justfine, you know, making a
difference in some ways and readthis job description and I
truly felt like it was made forBecca Coomer.
I was like holy smokes, Ireached out.
The rest is kind of history.
It's been an incredible journey.
(04:35):
I've never worked in a startup,I've never worked in a small
company, I've not worked in acompany that rewards creativity
openly and where I leave everysingle day knowing I've made a
difference.
It's truly a remarkableposition and I'm very lucky to
be here.
When I think of my operationsand my goals in the clinic, I
(04:58):
think of my mom, right, and Ithink of my grandma and I think
of my aunt, who I'm really closewith, and all the other
wonderful females that are 65plus in my life who have shaped
me in many different ways andtaught me so many things.
And I think you know, does thismake sense for them?
And that drives pretty muchevery operational decision I
(05:19):
make, of course, aligning withherself's health.
Values of mission, too, and I'ma mission driven person.
It's really easy to get behindthis.
It's really values of mission,too, and I'm a mission-driven
person.
It's really easy to get behindthis.
It's really easy whenever day Iknow I'm making a difference
for these women, so it'sincredible.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yeah, how am I supposed to follow up?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Okay, Morgan, I'm going to go back now to you.
What drew you to herselfhealthand how does it align with your
personal and professional values?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
So I started off working in rural health care and
I appreciated the communitythat was there, the trust that
was there between patientprovider and it actually became
value-based care towards the endof while I was there and I
remember just loving this idea,appreciating that it's trying to
(06:08):
change healthcare for good andreally focused on the patient
rather than checking boxes andchecking numbers.
Then I've been doing urgentcare the past few years, so
definitely a step back to thatclassic traditional
fee-for-service model and Ireally miss that patient
camaraderie and getting to havethese strong relationships and
(06:30):
getting to really care aboutthese people and care for people
.
So learned about herself-health and loved the
value-based care model becauseagain I just appreciate it how
it looks at whole care of theperson.
It's not strictly like I'mcoming in for X, I need
treatment with Y to get us toBill Z, it's more okay.
(06:55):
I'm meeting Pat.
Pat has a podcast that isimportant to her so we need to
make sure she's feeling well.
We want to make sure she hascommunity here.
We want to make sure that whenwe see her she's meeting her
goals and expectations and we'rehelping fostering a strong
medical community and autonomyfor her and, in addition to that
(07:18):
.
My mom's one of five women and Igrew up they're all Irish,
philadelphia Irish so we're allvery outspoken and we all really
create these strongenvironments of discussion and I
get to now come to work whereit feels like I'm hanging out
(07:39):
with my family every day.
So it's just been reallywonderful to get to do that and
get to meet all these reallystrong, great women.
And we actually do have we'refocused on 65 plus but we do see
a few people outside of thatprimary 65 plus women and I just
(08:00):
really appreciate, as far as myvalues go, that it meets, that
I get to meet somebody and be apart of their care, not be the
one telling them exactly what todo, but instead getting to work
with them and build this trustand build their autonomy in
their own health.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I have to tell you I have been amazed by the care.
I switched over to herselfhealth about two years ago and I
could honestly say wow, what adifference.
So and by the way, listeners,I'm not being paid to do this.
I don't even earn money on mypodcast.
(08:39):
Please don't think that this issomething that I am being paid
to do.
I am not, so thank you.
Now, women over 65 are oftenoverlooked in healthcare.
How is Her Self Health creatinga care model that truly serves
their unique needs andchallenges?
(09:01):
What is it you guys dospecifically?
Speaker 1 (09:04):
and challenges.
What is it you guys dospecifically?
I think what we do is different, right?
I think we're trying to takewhat we know and what women 65
plus know to be healthcare for65 plus years and change it.
You know, as we kind of touchedon already, we want to know the
whole being.
Our biggest value is her first,and so truly like understanding
(09:24):
and meeting that patient wherethey're at.
This isn't quick in and out,this is get to know, you Like
truly spend an hour initiallywith the patient to understand
who they are, where they comefrom, what their values are and
how us as healthcare team canfit into that and kind of mesh
(09:45):
with their own personal goals.
So it's everything from keepingyou kind of what the tag team I
tell my team often is we seeyou more often to keep you well.
The value-based care approach isabout quality and about
preventative care.
So often we've gone to thedoctor when we're ill in the
past.
Right, we only see them whenwe're ill.
(10:07):
This approach is we see youmore often to keep you well so
we can prevent exacerbations orED admissions or all of those
things.
And so we just look at thingsvery differently Like how is
that asthma?
Is that COPD in check?
How is your A1C?
Can we keep that diabetes undercontrol right To prevent bigger
(10:29):
issues down the line?
Essentially, we want you doingwhat you love and we want to
keep you well to do that.
So the other piece to this wholepuzzle that Morgan started
talking about is community.
Like this population, andfrankly, all of our demographic
in the world is looking forconnection right.
So we bring this communityapproach to healthcare that you
(10:52):
don't typically see.
We have community rooms at eachof our locations.
We spend a lot of time andresources on an outreach team to
make sure that we're bringingin speakers that meet our
patients' needs, whether that'sabout grief or whether that's a
sound bath or acupuncture orhelp with billing or insurance
pieces or scams that target thispopulation all those things and
(11:15):
we bring that right to theclinic.
So it's very community-based.
I was just hearing a story Twopatients didn't know each other
and I guess this happens oftenafter I kind of pushed further,
met after their appointment inthe lobby right here and had a
coffee together and ended uphugging and leaving saying you
know, like this place justchanged my day, maybe my life
(11:37):
Again.
When you hear things like that.
It pushes our employees to betheir best.
I think that's the other pieceof this.
As a clinic manager,operationally, I'm working
really hard to have this reallycool culture where folks can
show up and be themselvesauthentically and that this is a
safe space for them asemployees, and what that does is
(11:59):
trickles down to our patientexperience and makes this whole
thing work.
We're smaller.
We can do these things.
There's less red tape.
I have creativity to roll allpilots and make operational
decisions that make sense for mysite and because of all that, I
guess the word is revolutionary.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Yeah, morgan, what's?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
your take.
I agree with what Becca'ssaying and I do.
I like that we look at theentire individual.
So something that I reallyenjoy is that we have an events
calendar and that can range fromthings more educational, so
we'll have different topics,like Becca said, every month to
cover things Like this month wemight focus on osteoporosis, and
(12:40):
we'll even have meetings withproviders to get them up to
speed on the most recentrecommendations for that.
And then, in addition to that,this population as a whole, I
feel like, are very used tocaring for everyone else,
putting other people, pets, work, things ahead of themselves,
and it's really exciting to getto take it back to them and get
(13:04):
them to focus.
What are your goals?
We don't have to worry aboutall these other things outside
the room when you're here.
What are your goals?
What would make you happy,healthy?
And we have things in thatevent calendar, including
community, like we have bookclub, there's been cooking
classes, we have yoga classesoffered online and just really
(13:27):
trying to make sure it's notjust oh, you have high blood
pressure, get on this medication.
Good luck.
Well, you have high bloodpressure, let's talk about it.
Have you had a salty week?
Because Thanksgiving, christmasholidays happen, so let's
figure out some goodalternatives.
Are you open to medication?
Do you prefer supplements?
(13:48):
Like Becca said, we want tomeet you where you're at because
you are welcome here.
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
It's just so opposite of the assembly line approach
to medicine that so many of usfind very frustrating.
So what you're talking about isreally reinventing community
and using medical care as thenucleus for this community.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
I love how you said that.
Yeah, agreed, it's really quiteremarkable how this demographic
has reacted to that too, afterthe culture shock because truly
I think there is an element ofculture shock.
It's a whole new thing.
Wait, you see me when I'm well.
Wait, I can go to my doctor'soffice and sit in a lounge chair
(14:37):
and read a book.
It's just, it's new, it'sdifferent, and it takes a while
to grasp onto that.
And when they see the resultsof their work, meaning the
patient and that providerhelping them along or that care
team helping them along, it'sreally exciting and we're seeing
great quality care, which isthe bottom line.
(14:58):
We're taking care of ourpatients, we're making them
better.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Now I'm going to go in a different direction.
So, listeners, buckle up, we'regoing to go there.
This brings me to my nextquestion In Grey's Anatomy,
season 14, episode 11, don'tFear the Reaper.
Dr Miranda Bailey, I loveBailey.
I love Bailey.
Okay, dr Miranda Bailey, I loveBailey, okay.
Dr Miranda Bailey, respectedchief of surgery, experiences a
(15:27):
heart attack and goes to anotherhospital instead of her own.
The treating doctor knows herprofessionally, dismisses her
concerns because they don't fitthe typical male-centered
profile of a heart attack,despite him knowing that she is
(15:49):
the chief of surgery at GraceSloan Memorial Hospital.
Her expertise and self-advocacyare dismissed.
To make matters worse, when sheasks for a second opinion, she
is given a psychiatrist.
(16:11):
Now, this episode exploresthemes of implicit bias in
medicine.
Implicit bias in medicine,particularly for women and women
of color.
Ultimately, her condition isconfirmed as a heart attack and
(16:35):
she undergoes successfultreatment.
Now, for both of you.
How does her self-healthaddress these deeply ingrained
biases in the healthcare system?
Speaker 3 (16:46):
I think one of the major things is that a lot of
medical studies that we heavilyrely on were done on these
sample sizes that tended to beCaucasian males of a certain age
.
There's studies that also showthat women of color,
specifically, are the mostundertreated, underdiagnosed
(17:06):
individuals, have some higherrisk factors for different
things, and Her Self-Healthtries to be very aware of that
and trying to keep as updated onstudies, studies that are now
all encompassing of populations,because it's about time and we
try to make sure everythingyou're saying is heard.
(17:28):
For example, if a patient comesto me, then they just feel off.
They can't explain whySomething feels off.
They know something's wrongwith them.
Who am I to tell them?
No, you're fine, because Idon't live every day how you
live, you know you're normal,you know when something's off.
So let's investigate, let's seewhat we can do.
(17:49):
What are your thoughts?
Oh, it turns out there's asignificant family history and
that's why you feel this way.
Yes, different things, like aheart attack can mimic acid
reflux, it can mimic anxiety, itcan mimic all these different
things.
But let's figure that outtogether, because what is doing
an EKG and running a lab test tomake sure it's not a heart
(18:12):
attack.
Let's make sure you're doingokay.
And that episode grinds mygears watching it Because, as
you said, chief of surgery likeshe knows these symptoms, she
knows what's going on with herbody and, yes, she has a
stressful job.
There might be components ofanxiety, but anxiety can also be
tied to heart attack risk.
(18:32):
And again, you have to look atMiranda as a whole person.
She's working crazy hours.
What's her diet like Becauseshe's working these crazy hours?
What's her stress like Becauseshe's working these crazy hours?
What's her stress level?
Probably pretty high, I'dimagine.
So if someone comes and they'relike, listen, something's off,
we try to take that as seriouslyas possible and also talk you
through.
Let's take this stepwise.
(19:00):
If we do an EKG and it'stotally normal, let's get some
labs.
Do you feel comfortable withthat?
Is that one of those big boxeswe need to check for you to make
sure you're okay?
So including you in thatdecision process as well, trying
to fight the bias by being asup to date as possible,
including we do have up to date,which is a subscription service
where we get it's aconglomeration of all the most
(19:23):
recent medical data into thisreadable format that we can
apply to our patients.
So it tells us, likediverticulitis in Asian
population, they actually canpresent with right-sided
abdominal pain instead oftraditional left-sided abdominal
pain.
So being aware of those things,I think, is a huge thing, and
(19:45):
those little differences thatmake a person an individual, and
listening to their specificconcerns.
I think that's, across theboard, what we try to do.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Now, according to the Association of American Medical
Colleges, in the 2024-25academic year, women made up
54.9% of medical schoolenrollment, marking the fifth
consecutive year of a femalemajority, and, morgan, you
(20:18):
alluded to this.
Policies from the NIH, theNational Institutes of Health,
requiring medical research tonow include both men and women,
along with recent governmentactions focusing on women's
health, are beginning to closethat long-standing gap that
(20:40):
overlooked women in medicalstudies that, morgan, you were
talking about.
Given what you guys are doing,how do you think these changes
in the macro view are improvinghealth care for women 65 and
older and I know herself, healthis leading the way, but do you
think these changes in morewomen coming into medical school
(21:03):
and the requirements for moreresearch with women included, on
the big picture, how do youthink that's going to shake out?
Are we going to see resultssoon?
You think?
Speaker 3 (21:16):
I was going to say that, women, we need to advocate
for ourselves, we need to beaware of the studies, we need to
know hey, like this is malecentered to have certain
symptoms related to a certaindisease.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
I'll jump in.
I was just at a talk yesterdayactually, where our CEO, kristen
Helton, sat on a panel women inhealthcare and the connection
to AI women in healthcare andthe connection to AI and Kristen
the listeners may not know camefrom Amazon and shaped the
start up of some of theirhealthcare spinoffs from Amazon.
So she's got a lot of thattechnology background and, in
(21:58):
any event, we had a discussionabout a similar topic.
We need to have women in theroom women researchers, women in
medicine because they're justdifferent, right, like we're not
the same as men and that's okay, that's how it is and that's
how the world continues to spinand because of that, we need
more women in the room for thosethings that are more
characteristic of women, whetherthat's empathy or that
(22:20):
connection piece.
And so when we can do that Idon't think it's going to come
soon enough, I guess is theshort answer but when we can get
our kids involved in STEM?
Speaker 2 (22:33):
STEM.
S-t-e-m is an acronym forscience, technology, engineering
and mathematics.
It's a way of learning thatintegrates these four areas of
study.
Stem education helps studentsdevelop critical thinking and
problem-solving skills.
It also promotes innovation andtechnological advancements.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
And medical and continue to see these numbers,
there is going to be a positiveshift that involves some of this
connection and empathy pieceand the whole being.
I believe and I think thefuture of healthcare has to be
this preventative healthcare.
But it's not going to comeuntil we're at the breaking
point where we truly theinfrastructure can't withstand
(23:21):
the healthcare costs here inAmerica, which is unfortunate.
So what we're doing again isrevolutionary and it's hard,
it's really hard from a startupstandpoint to make this work,
but the truth is it's so, soneeded and when we can get women
at the table to be thoughtfulabout women, we are going to see
(23:45):
a difference.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Yeah, I was going to touch base.
You asked like how long is thisgoing to take?
These studies, if done well,are usually over a period of
years.
So even we're seeing, you said,over the past five years, an
increase in like 54% of womentaking over the graduating class
, which is so exciting, and weneed to continue to do that.
(24:07):
We need to continue to advocatefor ourselves and we need to
know that this change is onbringing to the surface is that
people 65 and older men andwomen often in this culture are
(24:28):
dismissed or they feel invisible.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Our culture is so youth-focused and it's really
tragic how people 65 and olderthey have so much wisdom, so
much knowledge and somehow thisculture treats them like
something to be put on the shelfand her self-health comes along
(24:52):
and not only acknowledges women65 and older, it makes them the
centerpiece of their focus andI have to tell you that's really
shocking when you think aboutit.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
It is yeah, we so often hear women say like I know
my body well, I've been in itfor 65 years.
We hear you and that's why wewant you to partner in your care
.
And so that's what makes theinteraction between the provider
and patient so successful.
When they have that trust, theycan share that dialogue,
they're openly communicating,they're sane when those little
(25:29):
things don't feel right becauseI know my body frankly and kind
of moving forward from there andthat's how we can prevent from
getting to a more intense levelthat requires you know a
different workup and such.
So, yeah, it's really fun to seethese women getting back to the
things they love.
These are the folks that canfinally be them right they're at
(25:51):
that retirement age, can choose, you know, how to spend their
day and when.
We can make sure that they'rehealthy enough to do those
things they love, it all makessense.
And they're giving back so muchto our communities.
Frankly, it's a symbiotic thing.
So there's a lot of life leftto live.
We're giving hope back to thisgeneration, frankly.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
We might learn more, probably, from them than they do
from us.
I mean, I have so many patientsthat have had such interesting
lives that it's so exciting toget to be someone who gets to be
a part of it and get to hearfrom them and their experience.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Yeah, as you say, there is a lot of life in that
second part of your life.
Now, a lot of corporations andbusiness models.
They say that from top downwill set the attitude, It'll set
the agenda as to how you treatpeople.
(26:50):
That top down model reallyresonates and we've seen it when
we've done business at placesand the people are kind of rude
and you go, whoa, that's kind ofbizarre.
But what you're proposing issomething that is really it
feels like top down, but reallywhat this organization does is
bottom up.
It's so bottom up where empathyand innovation intersect.
(27:16):
Will you speak to that?
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Yeah, we're trying really hard for that to be the
case that the clinical teamfeels a lot of autonomy and
creativity and is empowered tohelp problem solve as a startup
and to help be the patient'svoice, to meet them where
they're at and so often at ourclinic the team feels that safe
(27:40):
culture and is able to speak upand say this isn't working for
our patients, or you know nowI've heard six times that we
need to change this and that'swhere we can jump in.
So we're really trying to givea lot of support to the clinical
team, the boots on the groundteam, to make sure that they
have all the resources they needto meet the patient where
(28:01):
they're at, to take care of thewomen who for so long been the
caregiver and now need the care.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Yeah, you know what you're really talking about the
components of communication andeducation, okay, and I think a
lot of women, especially olderwomen, don't feel comfortable
advocating for themselves orthey don't want to speak up.
So when the expert, the doctor,comes in and says, well, I
(28:29):
don't see anything wrong, andmaybe this or that, why don't
you go home?
And you know blah, blah, andthey don't want to say no, no, I
don't feel well, they don'twant to say and advocate and say
I think, would you just listento me?
I think something's wrong In away.
This give and take that you'remodeling is encouraging your
(28:52):
patients to say well, let metell you what I'm feeling.
This is happening, and thatalone is priceless.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
And that's exactly what we want.
We want you to be able to cometalk to us, tell us exactly
what's going on, because we wantto know every little detail,
because every single piece ofyou is important to your health.
Yeah, from the minute you walkin the door.
Even when you're out of thedoor, we want to be updated.
We want to make sure we'regiving you that full, whole
(29:21):
person care.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Yeah, and the thing I noticed is that you do not
separate physical care frommental well-being.
I mean, you guys are the,that's the whole package as far
as you're concerned, whensomeone comes in, it's the total
person that you're dealing with.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Yeah, I love that part of her self-help.
It's not just the knee pain,it's the knee pain, but what is
that causing and what caused theknee pain?
It's the whole story and,frankly, when you feel like you
have a trusting relationshipwith that provider I've always
thought so highly of therelationship between the patient
(29:58):
and the primary care providerin any situation, because if
there is that foundational trustand it's a safe space to open
up, the patient's going todivulge more, which leads to
more accurate diagnoses, leadsto more education from the
provider, leads to compliancewith treatment plan, which leads
to better results, and so trulybeing that listening ear here
(30:21):
at herself, health is the reasonwe can see the changes in our
metrics, that our patients aregetting better yeah, I was just
going to touch on how mentalhealth is so foundational for
many different aspects of yourhealth, so to push that aside is
really, it feels, neglectful tonot pay attention.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
Like becca said, knee pain.
This might be someone who is amarathon runner and it's
stopping them from even goingfor walks now and that can be
detrimental and cause a slew ofissues.
So that high stress it can leadto even like high blood
pressure and you're like, oh,why did you get high blood
pressure?
Let's talk about it and we findout it's this knee pain that
stopped your regular walking.
(31:01):
That's starting to lead todepression.
Okay, so let's see what we cando.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Yeah, nutrition in this country.
What goes into food?
Genetically modified foods.
What we eat now is verydifferent than what we ate 30
years ago.
It's very different and we'reseeing more obesity, diabetes
and joint inflammation in people.
(31:27):
So how do you fit in with thisnutritional aspect?
Is that part of when you talkto a patient?
Do you bring that up?
Is that part of what youexchange in terms of the
information?
Speaker 3 (31:42):
I usually like to start that conversation first,
though, with is this somethingyou're comfortable talking about
?
Because food can be a verysensitive topic for a number of
reasons.
So usually I'll try to say,like, is this something you're
comfortable talking about?
Okay, let's go through what'syour normal diet look like, and
if you're not getting enoughwhole foods, where can we make
(32:04):
subtle changes?
Because that can, like you said, reduce inflammation and
similar.
Or again with, like, high bloodpressure.
Well, it sounds like you have alot of processed salty foods
which can directly correlate toyour blood pressure, or you're
really carb heavy and we justfound out you have diabetes.
What simple changes can we make?
(32:25):
And also, let's do it in a waythat you're able to do it
lifelong and not for a week ortwo before you burn out and then
we're just left with, like, Ican't do it.
I tried so, trying to see wherethey're at.
What are they comfortabletalking about?
Are changes needed?
If so, what are some ways wecan actually do that in your
(32:47):
daily life and then go fromthere, but trying to encourage
as many whole foods as possible,limit processed foods.
Okay, I'm Miranda Bailey.
I'm working crazy hours.
Well, miranda, you probably.
Maybe meal prep could be a goodidea for you.
Or if you're going to begetting bulk items, let's try to
(33:08):
get some bulk healthy items andgo from there.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Yeah, good point Now.
Kristen Helton, the CEO ofHerself Health, has spoken often
about helping women find joyand purpose through better
health.
Can you share some stories orexamples where you've seen this
transformation in a patient?
(33:33):
I know we don't have 10 hours,Okay, girls.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, so every Thursday I actually go through
our patient comments Well, I gothrough them more often than
that, but every Thursday Iactually send them out to the
team.
We call it Thankful Thursdayhere and we send all those
positive comments.
And we've heard stories andlikewise in clinic when I'm
talking to patients face-to-face, heard stories of folks who it
could be as simple as a changetheir outlook on health care,
(34:01):
right, like they're more apt nowto come in.
So this wasn't like they wentfrom you know knee pain.
They couldn't run a marathon.
We solved that.
We solved the depression.
They got back to the marathon.
It could be as simple, and isas simple sometimes, as changing
their outlook on healthcare andinviting them back into the
field to relearn or to unlearnmaybe, what they had known and
(34:26):
instead prevent some of thosethings from happening in the
first place.
That you know, things thatcould have progressed, that we
didn't let get too far.
Maureen, do you want to talkmore about specific patient
examples?
Right?
Speaker 3 (34:37):
I was going to mention how one of the biggest
compliments I think we can getis that a patient comes in and
says they feel heard.
So I've had patients find outthey've been feeling so crummy
it's because they actually havehad longstanding diabetes they
had no idea they had.
I've had a patient mentionissues with like significant
brain fog and it turns out it'scorrelated to their current
(35:02):
medication regimen and it was asimple change that we made that
made a huge difference.
Or I've been on this medicationmy whole life and I have this
weird chronic cough and no one'sever figured it out and it's
actually a side effect from yourmedication.
We changed their medication andthey're like oh, that was
(35:23):
pretty simple.
So I feel like, holistically,it's been these subtle changes
that we see, as well as helpingthem feel heard, and that
autonomy is the underlying thing.
And seeing patients more often,it's exciting to get to see
these subtle little changes that, in the long run, are life
(35:44):
changing.
And yeah, like that patient Imentioned had that weird cough,
oh, I had a pet for X amount ofyears and I didn't know if it
was his pet and I didn't want toget rid of it.
Good news, you don't have to,and I would never want you to
have to get rid of a pet becauseof that.
So all that's exciting and Iknow it's like not about me and
(36:07):
how great that makes me feel,but it is a good day when you
realize you've helped someone insuch a way.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
In architecture and construction, there is a project
manager who oversees thesuccessful completion of a
building.
Their role involvescoordination, communication and
problem solving.
They handle everything going onwith that building Planning and
scheduling, team coordination,quality assurance, risk
(36:40):
management, client communication, communication the total
package.
But in modern health care, if Ihave a problem, you know, I
have chest pains, or I go to theemergency room, they see me, I
leave, I go to my doctor aboutsomething else, I'm on different
medications.
(37:01):
It's like you're a free agentout there and you got all these
things going on and there's noproject manager.
You're on your own.
And people who are caregivers,they're the project managers big
time.
So, coming full circle, allthis is to say what you're
offering is not only thiscommunity and connection.
(37:23):
You're basically saying let usbe project managers, we'll help
you coordinate all the differentcomponents to your health care.
And that alone is revolutionary, if not giving someone peace of
mind.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
Yeah, I love how you're saying that.
I'm sitting over here smilingbroadly, because that's exactly
what our hope is is that we cansteer the ship with you and
coordinate some of thosespecialty visits right and
taking all the information infrom other providers or
specialty providers that youhave and making sure that
everything still tracks andaligns, because that specialty
(38:01):
provider is just worried aboutthat one system, whereas we take
into account the whole thing.
So that really is the true roleof a primary care provider, and
I feel like our providers hereare steering the ship you know
herself.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
health is expanding rapidly.
How many clinics do you haveand what challenges and
opportunities do you see as youbring this model to more women
in Minnesota and maybe beyond?
Speaker 1 (38:32):
Great question.
Love this question because Ithink that's our entire team's
question.
We just had an all teamstalking about this very specific
topic.
What does 2026 and beyond looklike for her self-health?
And first up is some seriousdefunding because we are
investment-backed.
We're already at five clinicshere in the Twin Cities metro.
We just opened our fifth clinicand had our grand opening on
(38:55):
Wednesday in Eagan, Minnesota.
Yeah, we now have CrystalMinnesota, Roseville Minnesota,
Highland Park, which is in StPaul, Lindale, which is South
Minneapolis Really excited aboutthe five clinics we have here.
We're working on building areally strong foundation through
the year of 2025 with processand workflow and shoring up lots
(39:17):
of good things so that when wedo expand come 2026, it is as
smooth and as efficient as itcan be so that we can provide
these services to more women.
We know there's a gap, we knowthere's a need.
That isn't the question, it'show much and when.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
I think at this point , so, becca and Morgan, did we
leave anything unsaid oranything you'd want to add?
Speaker 1 (39:43):
Oh my gosh, I think so.
I think there's so.
I could talk all day about herself-help.
I've been here six months and Itruly feel not only is this my
calling, but also, like I said,I think so many women are
finding themselves again fromthe model that is her self-help,
(40:03):
from this preventative qualitymodel that we're trying so hard
to build, and it's, frankly,really amazing to be a part of
and then just also encourage.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Like you said, like we were discussing, we want to
hear from our patients.
We want to know what's goingright, we want to know what's
going wrong, because our goal isto keep the focus on you.
We want you to feel heard.
We want herself health to growin a way that's truly supportive
of this demographic.
(40:36):
And also we end Becca's wholetitles every day where we get to
check in with the team what aresome things we're going to need
to focus on?
So-and-so's out.
We have a patient schedule,things like that, and she ends
every huddle with a phrase thatI think she should say now.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
So we actually physically put our hands in and
say let's go make a differenceat 8.20 every morning before we
see our first patient, and it'spalpable, as cheesy as it sounds
it is, and the team they let meknow it's pretty cheesy but it
also is true.
I tell these folks every day onthis team like we are making a
(41:17):
difference we really are.
All the little things matterand little things turn into big
things.
So if we can do thefoundational little things right
, what we've done has made a bigdifference here in the Twin
Cities area.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
You know, as we wind down the hour, I have to say
this conversation shines a lighton a remarkable, much needed
shift in healthcare for women 65and older.
It's timely, it'stransformative and it's filling
a void that has been overlookedfor too long.
(41:55):
What Becca and Morgan haveshared today is more than
innovation it's a revolution incare that honors women, respects
their needs and empowers themto live their fullest lives.
Becca Coomer and Morgan Lange,thank you so much for coming on,
(42:16):
phil to Capacity.
Thank you, pat.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
You're so sweet to have us, Pat.
That was fantastic.
I hope every woman 65 and oldersomeday has the opportunity to
experience trulypatient-centered care.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
There, it is Right there.
Thank you, friends, thank youfor joining us today.
Bye.
Fill to Capacity, where heart, grit and irreverent
humor collide.
A podcast for people toostubborn to quit and too
creative not to make adifference.
Creative not to make adifference.
(00:32):
Hi, I'm Pat Benincasa andwelcome to Fill to Capacity
Today, episode number 94,trailblazing Triumph Rewriting
Healthcare for Women 65 Plus.
Rewriting Healthcare for Women65+.
Now, today, we're spotlightinga healthcare model that is
transforming lives.
(00:52):
It's called Herself Health.
It was founded in 2022 byKristen Helton in collaboration
with the Venture StudioJuxtaposition.
Okay, I know you guys, listeners, are saying Venture Studio.
Now what is this?
Okay, a Venture Studio is acompany that builds and launches
(01:14):
new businesses by providing theideas, the funding and hands-on
support needed to make themsuccessful.
Unlike venture capital firmsthat only invest in startups,
venture studios actively createand develop companies from the
(01:35):
ground up.
Wow, I just feel like I juststepped off the pages of the
Wall Street Journal.
Okay, definitely sounded likeit.
Okay, moving on, her self-healthprovides personalized care
tailored to women 65 and older,focusing on the unique
challenges this often overlookedgroup faces, from value-based
(02:01):
care to fostering community.
Their approach is revolutionary.
Okay, listeners, imagine ahealthcare system where your
well-being, not the number ofappointments or procedures, is
the top priority.
Welcome to the world ofvalue-based care, a model that
(02:26):
shifts the focus from quantityto quality, ensuring that
doctors and hospitals arerewarded for how well they help
you heal and thrive.
It's not about how much careyou receive, but how effective
and impactful that care is.
(02:46):
So today we're diving into thisgame-changing approach that's
reshaping healthcare as we knowit, and my two very busy guests
have taken time off this morningto join us, and they're going
to take us inside atransformative approach to
healthcare.
(03:06):
Becca Coomer, clinic Manager atHerself Health, and Morgan
Lange, physician Assistant, arehere to discuss how their
groundbreaking work is reshapingcare for women 65 and older.
Together, they'll explore thevision, challenges and successes
(03:29):
driving Her Self Health'sinnovative mission.
So welcome you guys.
I'm so happy to have you here.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Oh my gosh, it's a pleasure to be here.
Thank you for asking us to join.
It's an honor and we're soexcited to share exactly what
you just said Reallyrevolutionary.
Frankly, healthcare issomething I really believe in
and feel firmly that this is thefuture.
This is how to solve apotentially a broken system.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah Well, I'm glad to have you here Now, Becca.
I'll start with you.
What inspired you to joinHerself Health and champion its
mission of addressing the uniquehealthcare needs of women, 65
and older?
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, great question, pat.
I was reading a job descriptionactually I was in a big
healthcare company doing justfine, you know, making a
difference in some ways and readthis job description and I
truly felt like it was made forBecca Coomer.
I was like holy smokes, Ireached out.
The rest is kind of history.
It's been an incredible journey.
(04:35):
I've never worked in a startup,I've never worked in a small
company, I've not worked in acompany that rewards creativity
openly and where I leave everysingle day knowing I've made a
difference.
It's truly a remarkableposition and I'm very lucky to
be here.
When I think of my operationsand my goals in the clinic, I
(04:58):
think of my mom, right, and Ithink of my grandma and I think
of my aunt, who I'm really closewith, and all the other
wonderful females that are 65plus in my life who have shaped
me in many different ways andtaught me so many things.
And I think you know, does thismake sense for them?
And that drives pretty muchevery operational decision I
(05:19):
make, of course, aligning withherself's health.
Values of mission, too, and I'ma mission driven person.
It's really easy to get behindthis.
It's really values of mission,too, and I'm a mission-driven
person.
It's really easy to get behindthis.
It's really easy whenever day Iknow I'm making a difference
for these women, so it'sincredible.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yeah, how am I supposed to follow up?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Okay, Morgan, I'm going to go back now to you.
What drew you to herselfhealthand how does it align with your
personal and professional values?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
So I started off working in rural health care and
I appreciated the communitythat was there, the trust that
was there between patientprovider and it actually became
value-based care towards the endof while I was there and I
remember just loving this idea,appreciating that it's trying to
(06:08):
change healthcare for good andreally focused on the patient
rather than checking boxes andchecking numbers.
Then I've been doing urgentcare the past few years, so
definitely a step back to thatclassic traditional
fee-for-service model and Ireally miss that patient
camaraderie and getting to havethese strong relationships and
(06:30):
getting to really care aboutthese people and care for people
.
So learned about herself-health and loved the
value-based care model becauseagain I just appreciate it how
it looks at whole care of theperson.
It's not strictly like I'mcoming in for X, I need
treatment with Y to get us toBill Z, it's more okay.
(06:55):
I'm meeting Pat.
Pat has a podcast that isimportant to her so we need to
make sure she's feeling well.
We want to make sure she hascommunity here.
We want to make sure that whenwe see her she's meeting her
goals and expectations and we'rehelping fostering a strong
medical community and autonomyfor her and, in addition to that
(07:18):
.
My mom's one of five women and Igrew up they're all Irish,
philadelphia Irish so we're allvery outspoken and we all really
create these strongenvironments of discussion and I
get to now come to work whereit feels like I'm hanging out
(07:39):
with my family every day.
So it's just been reallywonderful to get to do that and
get to meet all these reallystrong, great women.
And we actually do have we'refocused on 65 plus but we do see
a few people outside of thatprimary 65 plus women and I just
(08:00):
really appreciate, as far as myvalues go, that it meets, that
I get to meet somebody and be apart of their care, not be the
one telling them exactly what todo, but instead getting to work
with them and build this trustand build their autonomy in
their own health.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I have to tell you I have been amazed by the care.
I switched over to herselfhealth about two years ago and I
could honestly say wow, what adifference.
So and by the way, listeners,I'm not being paid to do this.
I don't even earn money on mypodcast.
(08:39):
Please don't think that this issomething that I am being paid
to do.
I am not, so thank you.
Now, women over 65 are oftenoverlooked in healthcare.
How is Her Self Health creatinga care model that truly serves
their unique needs andchallenges?
(09:01):
What is it you guys dospecifically?
Speaker 1 (09:04):
and challenges.
What is it you guys dospecifically?
I think what we do is different, right?
I think we're trying to takewhat we know and what women 65
plus know to be healthcare for65 plus years and change it.
You know, as we kind of touchedon already, we want to know the
whole being.
Our biggest value is her first,and so truly like understanding
(09:24):
and meeting that patient wherethey're at.
This isn't quick in and out,this is get to know, you Like
truly spend an hour initiallywith the patient to understand
who they are, where they comefrom, what their values are and
how us as healthcare team canfit into that and kind of mesh
(09:45):
with their own personal goals.
So it's everything from keepingyou kind of what the tag team I
tell my team often is we seeyou more often to keep you well.
The value-based care approach isabout quality and about
preventative care.
So often we've gone to thedoctor when we're ill in the
past.
Right, we only see them whenwe're ill.
(10:07):
This approach is we see youmore often to keep you well so
we can prevent exacerbations orED admissions or all of those
things.
And so we just look at thingsvery differently Like how is
that asthma?
Is that COPD in check?
How is your A1C?
Can we keep that diabetes undercontrol right To prevent bigger
(10:29):
issues down the line?
Essentially, we want you doingwhat you love and we want to
keep you well to do that.
So the other piece to this wholepuzzle that Morgan started
talking about is community.
Like this population, andfrankly, all of our demographic
in the world is looking forconnection right.
So we bring this communityapproach to healthcare that you
(10:52):
don't typically see.
We have community rooms at eachof our locations.
We spend a lot of time andresources on an outreach team to
make sure that we're bringingin speakers that meet our
patients' needs, whether that'sabout grief or whether that's a
sound bath or acupuncture orhelp with billing or insurance
pieces or scams that target thispopulation all those things and
(11:15):
we bring that right to theclinic.
So it's very community-based.
I was just hearing a story Twopatients didn't know each other
and I guess this happens oftenafter I kind of pushed further,
met after their appointment inthe lobby right here and had a
coffee together and ended uphugging and leaving saying you
know, like this place justchanged my day, maybe my life
(11:37):
Again.
When you hear things like that.
It pushes our employees to betheir best.
I think that's the other pieceof this.
As a clinic manager,operationally, I'm working
really hard to have this reallycool culture where folks can
show up and be themselvesauthentically and that this is a
safe space for them asemployees, and what that does is
(11:59):
trickles down to our patientexperience and makes this whole
thing work.
We're smaller.
We can do these things.
There's less red tape.
I have creativity to roll allpilots and make operational
decisions that make sense for mysite and because of all that, I
guess the word is revolutionary.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Yeah, morgan, what's?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
your take.
I agree with what Becca'ssaying and I do.
I like that we look at theentire individual.
So something that I reallyenjoy is that we have an events
calendar and that can range fromthings more educational, so
we'll have different topics,like Becca said, every month to
cover things Like this month wemight focus on osteoporosis, and
(12:40):
we'll even have meetings withproviders to get them up to
speed on the most recentrecommendations for that.
And then, in addition to that,this population as a whole, I
feel like, are very used tocaring for everyone else,
putting other people, pets, work, things ahead of themselves,
and it's really exciting to getto take it back to them and get
(13:04):
them to focus.
What are your goals?
We don't have to worry aboutall these other things outside
the room when you're here.
What are your goals?
What would make you happy,healthy?
And we have things in thatevent calendar, including
community, like we have bookclub, there's been cooking
classes, we have yoga classesoffered online and just really
(13:27):
trying to make sure it's notjust oh, you have high blood
pressure, get on this medication.
Good luck.
Well, you have high bloodpressure, let's talk about it.
Have you had a salty week?
Because Thanksgiving, christmasholidays happen, so let's
figure out some goodalternatives.
Are you open to medication?
Do you prefer supplements?
(13:48):
Like Becca said, we want tomeet you where you're at because
you are welcome here.
Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
It's just so opposite of the assembly line approach
to medicine that so many of usfind very frustrating.
So what you're talking about isreally reinventing community
and using medical care as thenucleus for this community.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
I love how you said that.
Yeah, agreed, it's really quiteremarkable how this demographic
has reacted to that too, afterthe culture shock because truly
I think there is an element ofculture shock.
It's a whole new thing.
Wait, you see me when I'm well.
Wait, I can go to my doctor'soffice and sit in a lounge chair
(14:37):
and read a book.
It's just, it's new, it'sdifferent, and it takes a while
to grasp onto that.
And when they see the resultsof their work, meaning the
patient and that providerhelping them along or that care
team helping them along, it'sreally exciting and we're seeing
great quality care, which isthe bottom line.
(14:58):
We're taking care of ourpatients, we're making them
better.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Now I'm going to go in a different direction.
So, listeners, buckle up, we'regoing to go there.
This brings me to my nextquestion In Grey's Anatomy,
season 14, episode 11, don'tFear the Reaper.
Dr Miranda Bailey, I loveBailey.
I love Bailey.
Okay, dr Miranda Bailey, I loveBailey, okay.
Dr Miranda Bailey, respectedchief of surgery, experiences a
(15:27):
heart attack and goes to anotherhospital instead of her own.
The treating doctor knows herprofessionally, dismisses her
concerns because they don't fitthe typical male-centered
profile of a heart attack,despite him knowing that she is
(15:49):
the chief of surgery at GraceSloan Memorial Hospital.
Her expertise and self-advocacyare dismissed.
To make matters worse, when sheasks for a second opinion, she
is given a psychiatrist.
(16:11):
Now, this episode exploresthemes of implicit bias in
medicine.
Implicit bias in medicine,particularly for women and women
of color.
Ultimately, her condition isconfirmed as a heart attack and
(16:35):
she undergoes successfultreatment.
Now, for both of you.
How does her self-healthaddress these deeply ingrained
biases in the healthcare system?
Speaker 3 (16:46):
I think one of the major things is that a lot of
medical studies that we heavilyrely on were done on these
sample sizes that tended to beCaucasian males of a certain age
.
There's studies that also showthat women of color,
specifically, are the mostundertreated, underdiagnosed
(17:06):
individuals, have some higherrisk factors for different
things, and Her Self-Healthtries to be very aware of that
and trying to keep as updated onstudies, studies that are now
all encompassing of populations,because it's about time and we
try to make sure everythingyou're saying is heard.
(17:28):
For example, if a patient comesto me, then they just feel off.
They can't explain whySomething feels off.
They know something's wrongwith them.
Who am I to tell them?
No, you're fine, because Idon't live every day how you
live, you know you're normal,you know when something's off.
So let's investigate, let's seewhat we can do.
(17:49):
What are your thoughts?
Oh, it turns out there's asignificant family history and
that's why you feel this way.
Yes, different things, like aheart attack can mimic acid
reflux, it can mimic anxiety, itcan mimic all these different
things.
But let's figure that outtogether, because what is doing
an EKG and running a lab test tomake sure it's not a heart
(18:12):
attack.
Let's make sure you're doingokay.
And that episode grinds mygears watching it Because, as
you said, chief of surgery likeshe knows these symptoms, she
knows what's going on with herbody and, yes, she has a
stressful job.
There might be components ofanxiety, but anxiety can also be
tied to heart attack risk.
(18:32):
And again, you have to look atMiranda as a whole person.
She's working crazy hours.
What's her diet like Becauseshe's working these crazy hours?
What's her stress like Becauseshe's working these crazy hours?
What's her stress level?
Probably pretty high, I'dimagine.
So if someone comes and they'relike, listen, something's off,
we try to take that as seriouslyas possible and also talk you
through.
Let's take this stepwise.
(19:00):
If we do an EKG and it'stotally normal, let's get some
labs.
Do you feel comfortable withthat?
Is that one of those big boxeswe need to check for you to make
sure you're okay?
So including you in thatdecision process as well, trying
to fight the bias by being asup to date as possible,
including we do have up to date,which is a subscription service
where we get it's aconglomeration of all the most
(19:23):
recent medical data into thisreadable format that we can
apply to our patients.
So it tells us, likediverticulitis in Asian
population, they actually canpresent with right-sided
abdominal pain instead oftraditional left-sided abdominal
pain.
So being aware of those things,I think, is a huge thing, and
(19:45):
those little differences thatmake a person an individual, and
listening to their specificconcerns.
I think that's, across theboard, what we try to do.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Now, according to the Association of American Medical
Colleges, in the 2024-25academic year, women made up
54.9% of medical schoolenrollment, marking the fifth
consecutive year of a femalemajority, and, morgan, you
(20:18):
alluded to this.
Policies from the NIH, theNational Institutes of Health,
requiring medical research tonow include both men and women,
along with recent governmentactions focusing on women's
health, are beginning to closethat long-standing gap that
(20:40):
overlooked women in medicalstudies that, morgan, you were
talking about.
Given what you guys are doing,how do you think these changes
in the macro view are improvinghealth care for women 65 and
older and I know herself, healthis leading the way, but do you
think these changes in morewomen coming into medical school
(21:03):
and the requirements for moreresearch with women included, on
the big picture, how do youthink that's going to shake out?
Are we going to see resultssoon?
You think?
Speaker 3 (21:16):
I was going to say that, women, we need to advocate
for ourselves, we need to beaware of the studies, we need to
know hey, like this is malecentered to have certain
symptoms related to a certaindisease.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
I'll jump in.
I was just at a talk yesterdayactually, where our CEO, kristen
Helton, sat on a panel women inhealthcare and the connection
to AI women in healthcare andthe connection to AI and Kristen
the listeners may not know camefrom Amazon and shaped the
start up of some of theirhealthcare spinoffs from Amazon.
So she's got a lot of thattechnology background and, in
(21:58):
any event, we had a discussionabout a similar topic.
We need to have women in theroom women researchers, women in
medicine because they're justdifferent, right, like we're not
the same as men and that's okay, that's how it is and that's
how the world continues to spinand because of that, we need
more women in the room for thosethings that are more
characteristic of women, whetherthat's empathy or that
(22:20):
connection piece.
And so when we can do that Idon't think it's going to come
soon enough, I guess is theshort answer but when we can get
our kids involved in STEM?
Speaker 2 (22:33):
STEM.
S-t-e-m is an acronym forscience, technology, engineering
and mathematics.
It's a way of learning thatintegrates these four areas of
study.
Stem education helps studentsdevelop critical thinking and
problem-solving skills.
It also promotes innovation andtechnological advancements.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
And medical and continue to see these numbers,
there is going to be a positiveshift that involves some of this
connection and empathy pieceand the whole being.
I believe and I think thefuture of healthcare has to be
this preventative healthcare.
But it's not going to comeuntil we're at the breaking
point where we truly theinfrastructure can't withstand
(23:21):
the healthcare costs here inAmerica, which is unfortunate.
So what we're doing again isrevolutionary and it's hard,
it's really hard from a startupstandpoint to make this work,
but the truth is it's so, soneeded and when we can get women
at the table to be thoughtfulabout women, we are going to see
(23:45):
a difference.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Yeah, I was going to touch base.
You asked like how long is thisgoing to take?
These studies, if done well,are usually over a period of
years.
So even we're seeing, you said,over the past five years, an
increase in like 54% of womentaking over the graduating class
, which is so exciting, and weneed to continue to do that.
(24:07):
We need to continue to advocatefor ourselves and we need to
know that this change is onbringing to the surface is that
people 65 and older men andwomen often in this culture are
(24:28):
dismissed or they feel invisible.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Our culture is so youth-focused and it's really
tragic how people 65 and olderthey have so much wisdom, so
much knowledge and somehow thisculture treats them like
something to be put on the shelfand her self-health comes along
(24:52):
and not only acknowledges women65 and older, it makes them the
centerpiece of their focus andI have to tell you that's really
shocking when you think aboutit.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
It is yeah, we so often hear women say like I know
my body well, I've been in itfor 65 years.
We hear you and that's why wewant you to partner in your care
.
And so that's what makes theinteraction between the provider
and patient so successful.
When they have that trust, theycan share that dialogue,
they're openly communicating,they're sane when those little
(25:29):
things don't feel right becauseI know my body frankly and kind
of moving forward from there andthat's how we can prevent from
getting to a more intense levelthat requires you know a
different workup and such.
So, yeah, it's really fun to seethese women getting back to the
things they love.
These are the folks that canfinally be them right they're at
(25:51):
that retirement age, can choose, you know, how to spend their
day and when.
We can make sure that they'rehealthy enough to do those
things they love, it all makessense.
And they're giving back so muchto our communities.
Frankly, it's a symbiotic thing.
So there's a lot of life leftto live.
We're giving hope back to thisgeneration, frankly.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
We might learn more, probably, from them than they do
from us.
I mean, I have so many patientsthat have had such interesting
lives that it's so exciting toget to be someone who gets to be
a part of it and get to hearfrom them and their experience.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Yeah, as you say, there is a lot of life in that
second part of your life.
Now, a lot of corporations andbusiness models.
They say that from top downwill set the attitude, It'll set
the agenda as to how you treatpeople.
(26:50):
That top down model reallyresonates and we've seen it when
we've done business at placesand the people are kind of rude
and you go, whoa, that's kind ofbizarre.
But what you're proposing issomething that is really it
feels like top down, but reallywhat this organization does is
bottom up.
It's so bottom up where empathyand innovation intersect.
(27:16):
Will you speak to that?
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Yeah, we're trying really hard for that to be the
case that the clinical teamfeels a lot of autonomy and
creativity and is empowered tohelp problem solve as a startup
and to help be the patient'svoice, to meet them where
they're at and so often at ourclinic the team feels that safe
(27:40):
culture and is able to speak upand say this isn't working for
our patients, or you know nowI've heard six times that we
need to change this and that'swhere we can jump in.
So we're really trying to givea lot of support to the clinical
team, the boots on the groundteam, to make sure that they
have all the resources they needto meet the patient where
(28:01):
they're at, to take care of thewomen who for so long been the
caregiver and now need the care.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Yeah, you know what you're really talking about the
components of communication andeducation, okay, and I think a
lot of women, especially olderwomen, don't feel comfortable
advocating for themselves orthey don't want to speak up.
So when the expert, the doctor,comes in and says, well, I
(28:29):
don't see anything wrong, andmaybe this or that, why don't
you go home?
And you know blah, blah, andthey don't want to say no, no, I
don't feel well, they don'twant to say and advocate and say
I think, would you just listento me?
I think something's wrong In away.
This give and take that you'remodeling is encouraging your
(28:52):
patients to say well, let metell you what I'm feeling.
This is happening, and thatalone is priceless.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
And that's exactly what we want.
We want you to be able to cometalk to us, tell us exactly
what's going on, because we wantto know every little detail,
because every single piece ofyou is important to your health.
Yeah, from the minute you walkin the door.
Even when you're out of thedoor, we want to be updated.
We want to make sure we'regiving you that full, whole
(29:21):
person care.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Yeah, and the thing I noticed is that you do not
separate physical care frommental well-being.
I mean, you guys are the,that's the whole package as far
as you're concerned, whensomeone comes in, it's the total
person that you're dealing with.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Yeah, I love that part of her self-help.
It's not just the knee pain,it's the knee pain, but what is
that causing and what caused theknee pain?
It's the whole story and,frankly, when you feel like you
have a trusting relationshipwith that provider I've always
thought so highly of therelationship between the patient
(29:58):
and the primary care providerin any situation, because if
there is that foundational trustand it's a safe space to open
up, the patient's going todivulge more, which leads to
more accurate diagnoses, leadsto more education from the
provider, leads to compliancewith treatment plan, which leads
to better results, and so trulybeing that listening ear here
(30:21):
at herself, health is the reasonwe can see the changes in our
metrics, that our patients aregetting better yeah, I was just
going to touch on how mentalhealth is so foundational for
many different aspects of yourhealth, so to push that aside is
really, it feels, neglectful tonot pay attention.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
Like becca said, knee pain.
This might be someone who is amarathon runner and it's
stopping them from even goingfor walks now and that can be
detrimental and cause a slew ofissues.
So that high stress it can leadto even like high blood
pressure and you're like, oh,why did you get high blood
pressure?
Let's talk about it and we findout it's this knee pain that
stopped your regular walking.
(31:01):
That's starting to lead todepression.
Okay, so let's see what we cando.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Yeah, nutrition in this country.
What goes into food?
Genetically modified foods.
What we eat now is verydifferent than what we ate 30
years ago.
It's very different and we'reseeing more obesity, diabetes
and joint inflammation in people.
(31:27):
So how do you fit in with thisnutritional aspect?
Is that part of when you talkto a patient?
Do you bring that up?
Is that part of what youexchange in terms of the
information?
Speaker 3 (31:42):
I usually like to start that conversation first,
though, with is this somethingyou're comfortable talking about
?
Because food can be a verysensitive topic for a number of
reasons.
So usually I'll try to say,like, is this something you're
comfortable talking about?
Okay, let's go through what'syour normal diet look like, and
if you're not getting enoughwhole foods, where can we make
(32:04):
subtle changes?
Because that can, like you said, reduce inflammation and
similar.
Or again with, like, high bloodpressure.
Well, it sounds like you have alot of processed salty foods
which can directly correlate toyour blood pressure, or you're
really carb heavy and we justfound out you have diabetes.
What simple changes can we make?
(32:25):
And also, let's do it in a waythat you're able to do it
lifelong and not for a week ortwo before you burn out and then
we're just left with, like, Ican't do it.
I tried so, trying to see wherethey're at.
What are they comfortabletalking about?
Are changes needed?
If so, what are some ways wecan actually do that in your
(32:47):
daily life and then go fromthere, but trying to encourage
as many whole foods as possible,limit processed foods.
Okay, I'm Miranda Bailey.
I'm working crazy hours.
Well, miranda, you probably.
Maybe meal prep could be a goodidea for you.
Or if you're going to begetting bulk items, let's try to
(33:08):
get some bulk healthy items andgo from there.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Yeah, good point Now.
Kristen Helton, the CEO ofHerself Health, has spoken often
about helping women find joyand purpose through better
health.
Can you share some stories orexamples where you've seen this
transformation in a patient?
(33:33):
I know we don't have 10 hours,Okay, girls.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, so every Thursday I actually go through
our patient comments Well, I gothrough them more often than
that, but every Thursday Iactually send them out to the
team.
We call it Thankful Thursdayhere and we send all those
positive comments.
And we've heard stories andlikewise in clinic when I'm
talking to patients face-to-face, heard stories of folks who it
could be as simple as a changetheir outlook on health care,
(34:01):
right, like they're more apt nowto come in.
So this wasn't like they wentfrom you know knee pain.
They couldn't run a marathon.
We solved that.
We solved the depression.
They got back to the marathon.
It could be as simple, and isas simple sometimes, as changing
their outlook on healthcare andinviting them back into the
field to relearn or to unlearnmaybe, what they had known and
(34:26):
instead prevent some of thosethings from happening in the
first place.
That you know, things thatcould have progressed, that we
didn't let get too far.
Maureen, do you want to talkmore about specific patient
examples?
Right?
Speaker 3 (34:37):
I was going to mention how one of the biggest
compliments I think we can getis that a patient comes in and
says they feel heard.
So I've had patients find outthey've been feeling so crummy
it's because they actually havehad longstanding diabetes they
had no idea they had.
I've had a patient mentionissues with like significant
brain fog and it turns out it'scorrelated to their current
(35:02):
medication regimen and it was asimple change that we made that
made a huge difference.
Or I've been on this medicationmy whole life and I have this
weird chronic cough and no one'sever figured it out and it's
actually a side effect from yourmedication.
We changed their medication andthey're like oh, that was
(35:23):
pretty simple.
So I feel like, holistically,it's been these subtle changes
that we see, as well as helpingthem feel heard, and that
autonomy is the underlying thing.
And seeing patients more often,it's exciting to get to see
these subtle little changes that, in the long run, are life
(35:44):
changing.
And yeah, like that patient Imentioned had that weird cough,
oh, I had a pet for X amount ofyears and I didn't know if it
was his pet and I didn't want toget rid of it.
Good news, you don't have to,and I would never want you to
have to get rid of a pet becauseof that.
So all that's exciting and Iknow it's like not about me and
(36:07):
how great that makes me feel,but it is a good day when you
realize you've helped someone insuch a way.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
In architecture and construction, there is a project
manager who oversees thesuccessful completion of a
building.
Their role involvescoordination, communication and
problem solving.
They handle everything going onwith that building Planning and
scheduling, team coordination,quality assurance, risk
(36:40):
management, client communication, communication the total
package.
But in modern health care, if Ihave a problem, you know, I
have chest pains, or I go to theemergency room, they see me, I
leave, I go to my doctor aboutsomething else, I'm on different
medications.
(37:01):
It's like you're a free agentout there and you got all these
things going on and there's noproject manager.
You're on your own.
And people who are caregivers,they're the project managers big
time.
So, coming full circle, allthis is to say what you're
offering is not only thiscommunity and connection.
(37:23):
You're basically saying let usbe project managers, we'll help
you coordinate all the differentcomponents to your health care.
And that alone is revolutionary, if not giving someone peace of
mind.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
Yeah, I love how you're saying that.
I'm sitting over here smilingbroadly, because that's exactly
what our hope is is that we cansteer the ship with you and
coordinate some of thosespecialty visits right and
taking all the information infrom other providers or
specialty providers that youhave and making sure that
everything still tracks andaligns, because that specialty
(38:01):
provider is just worried aboutthat one system, whereas we take
into account the whole thing.
So that really is the true roleof a primary care provider, and
I feel like our providers hereare steering the ship you know
herself.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
health is expanding rapidly.
How many clinics do you haveand what challenges and
opportunities do you see as youbring this model to more women
in Minnesota and maybe beyond?
Speaker 1 (38:32):
Great question.
Love this question because Ithink that's our entire team's
question.
We just had an all teamstalking about this very specific
topic.
What does 2026 and beyond looklike for her self-health?
And first up is some seriousdefunding because we are
investment-backed.
We're already at five clinicshere in the Twin Cities metro.
We just opened our fifth clinicand had our grand opening on
(38:55):
Wednesday in Eagan, Minnesota.
Yeah, we now have CrystalMinnesota, Roseville Minnesota,
Highland Park, which is in StPaul, Lindale, which is South
Minneapolis Really excited aboutthe five clinics we have here.
We're working on building areally strong foundation through
the year of 2025 with processand workflow and shoring up lots
(39:17):
of good things so that when wedo expand come 2026, it is as
smooth and as efficient as itcan be so that we can provide
these services to more women.
We know there's a gap, we knowthere's a need.
That isn't the question, it'show much and when.
Speaker 2 (39:33):
I think at this point , so, becca and Morgan, did we
leave anything unsaid oranything you'd want to add?
Speaker 1 (39:43):
Oh my gosh, I think so.
I think there's so.
I could talk all day about herself-help.
I've been here six months and Itruly feel not only is this my
calling, but also, like I said,I think so many women are
finding themselves again fromthe model that is her self-help,
(40:03):
from this preventative qualitymodel that we're trying so hard
to build, and it's, frankly,really amazing to be a part of
and then just also encourage.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Like you said, like we were discussing, we want to
hear from our patients.
We want to know what's goingright, we want to know what's
going wrong, because our goal isto keep the focus on you.
We want you to feel heard.
We want herself health to growin a way that's truly supportive
of this demographic.
(40:36):
And also we end Becca's wholetitles every day where we get to
check in with the team what aresome things we're going to need
to focus on?
So-and-so's out.
We have a patient schedule,things like that, and she ends
every huddle with a phrase thatI think she should say now.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
So we actually physically put our hands in and
say let's go make a differenceat 8.20 every morning before we
see our first patient, and it'spalpable, as cheesy as it sounds
it is, and the team they let meknow it's pretty cheesy but it
also is true.
I tell these folks every day onthis team like we are making a
(41:17):
difference we really are.
All the little things matterand little things turn into big
things.
So if we can do thefoundational little things right
, what we've done has made a bigdifference here in the Twin
Cities area.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
You know, as we wind down the hour, I have to say
this conversation shines a lighton a remarkable, much needed
shift in healthcare for women 65and older.
It's timely, it'stransformative and it's filling
a void that has been overlookedfor too long.
(41:55):
What Becca and Morgan haveshared today is more than
innovation it's a revolution incare that honors women, respects
their needs and empowers themto live their fullest lives.
Becca Coomer and Morgan Lange,thank you so much for coming on,
(42:16):
phil to Capacity.
Thank you, pat.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
You're so sweet to have us, Pat.
That was fantastic.
I hope every woman 65 and oldersomeday has the opportunity to
experience trulypatient-centered care.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
There, it is Right there.
Thank you, friends, thank youfor joining us today.
Bye.
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