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HealthCetera, Medicare & Medicaid, Radio/Podcast

Long-Term Care: When the Money Follows the Person

Tyree Brown, wearing a shirt of her own design

The ability to physically enter a building probably hasn’t ever come into question for most non-disabled people; for artist Tyree Brown, however, this consideration and many more like it may limit the spaces where she lives, works, and travels.

At 20 years old, Tyree survived a car accident that left her with an incomplete spinal cord injury; in her case, the injury renders most of her body paralyzed, with limited use of her arms and hands. But, adjusting to this dramatic change in accessibility has come with more than the physical fight. Tyree, along with millions of other Americans with various conditions affecting their mobility, found herself reliant upon healthcare that faces a long road ahead in instilling a system of long-term care that significantly improves independence and accessibility for all.

*Tyree Brown (middle) speaks at The White House alongside President Biden (left) and Vice President Harris (right).*

On the 31st anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Tyree joined President Biden and Vice President Harris at the White House for a conversation about resources for people living with disabilities, and how some of these resources have impacted her life. One such program, known most popularly as “Money Follows the Person”, has eased the transition from nursing home residency to independent living for Tyree, along with over 100,000 other Americans living with disabilities.

Now, at 26 years old, Tyree speaks about her life, its challenges to date, and how she has helped others like herself gain independence and access to their specific needs. In this HealthCetera podcast, Diana Mason, PhD, RN, host of this program, interviews both Tyree and Ani Turner. Ani is a Senior Economist with the Center for Eldercare Improvement at Altarum, a nonprofit research and consulting organization that creates and implements solutions to advance health among at-risk and disenfranchised populations.

This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on July 14^th, 2021.

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August 16, 2021

author: Kai Volcy

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On the 31st anniversary of the enactment

HealthCetera, Radio/Podcast

The Discussion of Death

Image by Kenny Orr via Unsplash

While American ideals and views continue to evolve in important ways, the needle remains relatively stagnant on shifting our view of death. Death is inevitable for all of us, but American culture has long been one in which the discussion of dying is taboo. Our “death-denying” culture, as Ernest Becker coined in the publication of “The Denial of Death”, impacts every aspect of how we view dying, including how we speak about death, how we react to death, and even how we explain death to children. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised the specter of dying alone, as even family members were prohibited from visiting those who were seriously ill with the virus. Now, Americans are grappling with the truth: death is inevitable, random, and very real.

Dr. Marianne Matzo, PhD, FAAN, is a registered nurse and gerontologist who knows this history and our culture’s struggles with embracing our own mortality. She has been a hospice and palliative care nurse, spending much of her career being with people who are facing death or actively dying, supporting their families, and training nurses and physicians in the best practices in end of life care. On this podcast, Dr. Diana Mason, PhD, RN, host of this program, speaks with Dr. Matzo about her efforts to make it easier to talk about death and to care for those who are dying.

This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on June 2, 2021.

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August 11, 2021

author: Diana J. Mason

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Dr. Diana Mason, PhD, RN, speaks with

HealthCetera, Prevention & Treatment, Radio/Podcast

The COVID-19 Vaccine and Comparative Risk

Image by National Cancer Institute via Unsplash

The efforts of health officials to promote the COVID-19 vaccine continue to be undermined by misinformation. Particularly on social media, people are claiming and believing that the vaccine is killing those who receive it. To date, 9,000 deaths in the U.S. have been reported to have occurred after inoculation; however, this does not mean that these deaths occurred because of the vaccine. But, the spread of vaccine misinformation persists, by way of social media platforms, and claims from certain voices within particular communities. Over the course of this pandemic, we have seen coronavirus claim over 600,000 lives in the U.S alone; a new and worse Delta variant is now claiming the lives of those who weren’t at risk of severe complications from the original form of COVID-19.

There is risk involved with everything we do in life. Every time we get in our cars, or even drink too much water, we take the risk of dying. That reality is why providing misinformation regarding the COVID-19 vaccine in a manner that highlights certain negative statistics, rather than factually contextualizing them in a way that discusses risks and benefits, is irresponsible, and continues to be the largest barrier curbing vaccination efforts.

Dr. Blima Marcus, RN, DNP, is an oncology nurse practitioner who is an expert in vaccine education. She has been a leader in providing scientific evidence on vaccines to people in the Orthodox Jewish community, and continues to enable people to make informed decisions about vaccinating themselves and their families. On this podcast, Dr. Diana Mason, RN, host of this program, speaks with Dr. Marcus about COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and the idea of comparative risk.

This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on July 28th, 2021.

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Long-Term Care: When the Money Follows the Person

The Discussion of Death

The COVID-19 Vaccine and Comparative Risk

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