Grass Roots Health

Many citizens of the U.S. think that they have the best health care system in the world. I have bad news for them: The U.S does not. It has one of the worst health care systems in the world. Of similar developed countries, the U.S. has the most expensive, broken, reactive, sick care system that yields some of the worst patient outcomes. Our sick care system has little to do with health.    

Maternal and child death rates are ofte...

People think like this:  If it is not in my “backyard” and not affecting me and/or my family, I really do not pay much attention to it and really do not care. Well, this is an issue that impacts at least 12 million of you. That’s how many of you get your drinking water from the Lake Erie watershed.

Do you care about your health? Do you care about the quality of your drinking water? You should care enough to listen to this podcast...

On October 7, 2024, Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip killed at least 1,139 Israelis and injured many more (Aljazeera News, 2024). Hamas also took more than 250 from Israel to the Gaza Strip, including older people, women, children, and men. According to the Washington Post (2024), 84 hostages are believed to be still alive and in captivity. Since the attack this past October, 112 hostages have been freed. 

In retaliation, the...

In the U.S., informal, family caregiving is on the rise. In 2015, there were 43.5 million, informal care givers. In 2023, there were more than 100 million adults who are informal care givers. The direct cost of caregiving is nearly $44 million dollars, given the loss of 650,000 jobs and approximately 800,000 individuals who report absenteeism from work.

Providing care to others is personally costly. According to research, 70% to ...

Every day in this country, hundreds of patients of all ages receive bad news from their health care providers. What is it like to be diagnosed with a life-threatening illness? What do you think about? What are your emotions? How does you cope with the associated losses such as a loss of energy, function, a job, or a career? How do others treat you?

Many patients in this condition say that it feels like they have a “scarlet letter...

At the end of February 2024, I talked to people in Ohio’s snowbelt region, and they all said the same thing, “I think the snowplow guy maybe came twice.” Only twice! Wow! The snowplow guys probably liked the lack of snow!   

You see, in major parts of the U.S., winter never arrived. According to preliminary data from AccuWeather, this winter was the warmest on record in the U.S thanks to El Nino and our warming climate. 

This p...

Let me ask you a question. Are these things related? Historic redlining, racism, food scarcity, and obesity. Are people who live in previously redlined areas worse off, and do they have worse health outcomes than those who live elsewhere?

In this February 2024 episode, host Tim Jordan explores these questions and more with Anthony Goodwin, the ...

Were you aware that we are literally “swimming” in a sea of chemicals that may be killing us?

These chemicals are everywhere and in everything including our air, food, water, medical devices, medical implants, non-stick pans, personal care products, stain-resistant carpet and furniture, cardboard packaging, building materials, and firefighting foam.

These chemicals called “forever chemicals” or PFAS (i.e., per and polyfluoroalk...

Most Americans do not like to think about or talk about death. Death is like the “elephant in the middle of the room.”  Everyone sees the elephant and knows that it is there, but no one says a peep! We prefer to avoid the topic. We certainly do not want to jinx ourselves! 

Death is viewed negatively as loss. When someone close to us dies (be it a person or a companion animal), we feel sadness and grief.   

But what if death is ...

In this November 2023 episode, host Tim Jordan explores this question with his guests: Why don’t more American adults do this?  Do what? Advance Care Planning. Only about 1 in 3 American adults have done Advance Care Planning. Yet it is free! Why have so few done this?  

Special Guests, Debra Jackson, RN of VITAS Health Care and Kimberly Schmidt, RN of Promedica Health System help Tim answer this very perplexing and important que...

In this October 2023 episode, host Tim Jordan interviews the nieces of Nancy Cruzan: Angela Broaddus and Miranda Lewis. Who was Nancy Cruzan?

She was at the center of the first “right to die with dignity” case ever heard by the United States Supreme Court. Together, Tim and his guests explore this topic:  Who was Nancy Cruzan?    

Resources for this podcast:

• National Institutes of Health (NIH): Advance Care Planning: Advanc...

In this September 2023 episode, host Tim Jordan and his guest, Patrick Johnston, Vice President of Community Investments at the Greater Toledo Community Foundation, explore this topic:

“Common Mistakes People Make When Writing Grant Applications.”

Do you want to become the best grant writer that you can be? Are you interested in obtaining more grant funding for your organization? If the answer to e...

In this August 2023 episode, host Tim Jordan explores the topic, “Is the mental health of shooters to blame for mass shootings? His guest for this thought-provoking interview is Dr. Lisa Pescara Kovach.

Fact: This year (2023), is on pace to become the deadliest year for mass shootings in recent history. A mass shooting is defined as 4 or more people shot, wounded, or killed.

Fact: Public mass casualty events are becoming more c...

In this Independence Day 2023 special episode, Tim Jordan, host, explores the topic, “When Gun Violence Becomes Personal.”

In the early morning hours of Friday May 18, 2018, gun violence became personal for Rhonda Hart. She did not ask for it; did not deserve it; and certainly did not want it!

In a first period art class at Santa Fe High School (Texas), her 14-year-old daughter, Kimberly, was shot to death along with seven othe...

Did you notice more mis/disinformation since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially on social media? Have you noticed how mis/disinformation (and conspiracy theories) are used by certain groups to motivate acts of hate and violence toward our government, towards Black and Brown people, Jews, and other racial and ethnic minorities? 

In this episode, Tim Jordan (host), interviews Dr. Yotam Ophir, Assistant Professor in the De...

In episode # 9, Tim Jordan (host), interviews Dr. Jeffrey Layne Blevins, Professor, Department of Journalism and School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Have you ever wondered by scamming seems to be on the increase? Or why anti-Semitism is now higher than it ever has been at any time since the Anti-Defamation League started recording such incidents in the 1970’s? Or the role that social ...

In episode # 8, host Tim Jordan interviews Dr. Amy Thompson, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Wright State in Ohio. Together they explore some of the unprecedented challenges facing colleges and universities (and their customers). Be sure to listen to this thought-provoking conversation!

Resources for this podcast:

•  Wright State University Website:  www.wright.edu
•  Write State University Office of th...

In episode # 7, host Tim Jordan interviews Hospice Nurse Penny Hawkins-Smith about her perspective on death and dying. During this fascinating interview, they discuss many topics including the recommended educational and training path to become a hospice nurse; the challenges involved for families in letting their dying loved one decide how much they want to eat or drink; myths of hospice care; the death rattle; how the dying often...

In this episode, host Tim Jordan interviews three hall-of-famers from the field of health education about their past, their mentors, the present, and the future. The discussion is wide ranging and covers the definition of health, how health education developed as a profession, and the development of credentialing, certification, and the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing.

The three hall-of-famers who were the sp...