Encore: The Impact of Grassroots Advocacy in Our Nation with Stephanie Vance

Listeners will understand what grassroots advocacy is, the power it has in influencing, and in shaping public policy. Listeners will also learn how they can become more engaged in advocacy efforts in their communities and at the state and national levels.

Check out the podcast series America 2.0: www.tinyurl.com/AM20Pod

Listeners will meet Ms. Dena Battle, President of the Kidney Cancer Research Alliance (KCCure). 

KCCure is a grassroots organization of patients, caregivers, doctors and medical researchers dedicated to eliminating suffering and death due to kidney cancer through increased funding to accelerate research that will lead to a cure for all patients and prevent future kidney cancer diagnoses. Additionally, listeners will have an opportunity to meet two of  KCCure's patient, hear their stories of how KCCure has made a difference in their treatment outcomes.

Additional Resources:

https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/kidney/index.htm

https://kccure.org/grants/

https://kccure.org/about-us/scientific-advisory-board/

https://kccure.org/about-us/patient-advisory-board/

According to the Centers for Disease Control, from 1999 to 2017, almost 218,000 people died in the United States from overdoses related to prescription opioids. Overdose deaths involving prescription opioids were five times higher in 2017 than in 1999. More people still overdose on prescription painkillers than any other opioid, but heroin and other illicit opioids like fentanyl are now fueling a separate, and perhaps even deadlier, drug epidemic.

We will discuss the epicenter of the opioid epidemic, causes and solutions. Listeners will meet William F. Benson of Health Benefits ABCs.

RESOURCES

https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/index.html

According to the Centers for Disease Control, from 1999 to 2017, almost 218,000 people died in the United States from overdoses related to prescription opioids. Overdose deaths involving prescription opioids were five times higher in 2017 than in 1999. More people still overdose on prescription painkillers than any other opioid, but heroin and other illicit opioids like fentanyl are now fueling a separate, and perhaps even deadlier, drug epidemic.

We will discuss the epicenter of the opioid epidemic, causes and solutions. Listeners will meet William F. Benson of Health Benefits ABCs.

RESOURCES

https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/index.html

Rural older adults are dying from the opioid epidemic at a higher rate than older adults in the nation as a whole, yet fewer than one in 10 opioid treatment centers are located in rural America, and many rural first responders are not trained to administer life-saving medica­tions for overdose.

Resources:

https://www.asaging.org/blog/rural-older-adults-hit-hard-opioid-epidemic

https://philanthropynewyork.org/sites/default/files/resources/GIA_Rural_Opioid_Paper.pdf

https://www.giaging.org/documents/170818_Benson-Aldrich_paper_for_GIA_web_FINAL.pdf

With the increase in opioid use in pockets across the U.S., more grandparents and other relatives are raising children whose parents have died, are incarcerated, are using drugs or are in treatment. These caregivers often step into their role unexpectedly. They may be living on fixed incomes and unaware of where to turn for support and services for the children. Research shows that with support, children thrive in the care of relatives and have better outcomes than those in foster care with non-relatives.

With the increase in opioid use in pockets across the U.S., more grandparents and other relatives are raising children whose parents have died, are incarcerated, are using drugs or are in treatment. These caregivers often step into their role unexpectedly. They may be living on fixed incomes and unaware of where to turn for support and services for the children. Research shows that with support, children thrive in the care of relatives and have better outcomes than those in foster care with non-relatives.

Listeners will understand what grassroots advocacy is, the power it has in influencing, and in shaping public policy. Listeners will also learn how they can become more engaged in advocacy efforts in their communities and at the state and national levels.

Check out the podcast series America 2.0: www.tinyurl.com/AM20Pod

February is American Heart Month! According to the Centers for Disease Control, Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, killing 289,758 women in 2013—that’s about 1 in every 4 female deaths. Although heart disease is sometimes thought of as a “man’s disease,” around the same number of women and men die each year of heart disease in the United States. Despite increases in awareness over the past decade, only 54% of women recognize that heart disease is their number 1 killer.

Join the conversation with Dr. Icilma Fergus, Director of Cardiovascular Disparities at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Mount Sinai Medical Center. We will also meet two heart disease survivors, Gail Harris-Berry and Daniela Leonhardt. They will share their journey with heart disease and how they are giving back through being advocates for the American Heart Association. 

Association of Black Cardiologists

Website: http://abcardio.org/

Facebook Page ID: @ABCardio URL: https://www.facebook.com/abcardio

Twitter Handle: @ABCardio1 URL: https://twitter.com/abcardio1  

Instagram Handle: @ABCardio1 URL: https://www.instagram.com/abcardio1/  

Linkedin URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/association-of-black-cardiologists trk=ape_s000001e_1000    

American Heart Association/The Greater Washington Heart Association

Website:  www.heart.org/dc and www.yourethecure.org.

Listeners will meet Ms. Dena Battle, President of the Kidney Cancer Research Alliance (KCCure). KCCure is a grassroots organization of patients, caregivers, doctors and medical researchers dedicated to eliminating suffering and death due to kidney cancer through increased funding to accelerate research that will lead to a cure for all patients and prevent future kidney cancer diagnoses. Additionally, listeners will have an opportunity to meet a KCCure's patient and hear his story of how KCCure made a difference in his treatment outcomes.

Additional Resources:

https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/kidney/index.htm

https://kccure.org/grants/

https://kccure.org/about-us/scientific-advisory-board/

https://kccure.org/about-us/patient-advisory-board/