Veteran's Day is Friday, November 11. In this episode, we celebrate those who have and who currently serve and the special skill set they bring to their civilian roles. Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coates talks with Keith Grant, APRN, vice president of operations for the Hartford Region and United States Air Force reservist.

Keith also served as Hartford HeathCare’s senior system director of infection prevention throughout the pandemic. Once COVID-19 hit Connecticut, Keith became one of the trusted voices and faces that would update the state regularly through the crisis. His expertise and leadership skills helped both his colleagues and the general public navigate through very uncertain times.

Check this episode’s links to learn more about Keith Grant, COVID 19 vaccines and resources and Hartford HealthCare’s partnership with Jamaica.

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Watch: Keith Grant - We Stand Together

Read: Hartford HealthCare Celebrates Special Partnership with the Jamaican Health Consulate

Hartford HealthCare: COVID 19 Vaccines and resources

In this episode, Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coates talks with Laura Bailey, vice president of Patient Care Services at Hartford Hospital. It's been almost three years since the onset of the pandemic and Laura gives us important perspective looking back - where we are now – and what the future looks like for healthcare workers, their patients and the general public.

Laura also addresses the current nursing shortage – how Baby Boomer retirement is affecting the numbers and how new hiring and recruitment efforts are helping. 

Learn more about nursing careers at Hartford HealthCare at HHCCareers.org.

Follow More Life to be notified each time a new episode drops. Just search Hartford HealthCare on your favorite podcast platform. 

Welcome to More Life. In this episode, Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coats welcomes Angel Rentas. Angel is an APRN who works at Hartford HealthCare’s Heart & Vascular Institute EP Lab at Hartford Hospital. He’s also a professional stand-up comedian!

Angel has a great story about breaking on to the comedy scene in the 80’s - which is no easy task - and how his career in healthcare came to be. He also talks about his family’s journey from Puerto Rico to mainland America and how comedy helped him with that sometimes-difficult transition. 

Check the links in this episode’s notes to learn more about Angel. Subscribe to More Life to be notified each time a new episode drops. Just search Hartford HealthCare on your favorite podcast platform. 

Angel Rentas featured in the Hartford Courant

Angel Rentas stand-up comedy

In this episode of More Life, Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coates digs into the topic of hoarding with Dr. David Tolin, medical director of the Anxiety Disorders Center at the Institute of Living, part of the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network.

Hoarding disorder is surprisingly common and can range from tolerable to hazardous and can make the person suffering, or the people around them, miserable.

Dr. Tolin helps us identify the difference between messy and hoarding and sheds some light on how a genetic predisposition, previous life event, or even impaired cognitive function may contribute to the disorder. 

Who is Dr. Tolin?

Dr. David Tolin is the author of over 200 scientific journal articles, as well as the books Doing CBT: A Comprehensive Guide to Working with Behaviors, Thoughts, and Emotions, Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding and Face Your Fears: A Proven Plan to Beat Anxiety, Panic, Phobias, and Obsessions.

Dr. Tolin has been featured on the reality TV series “Hoarders,” “The OCD Project,” and “My Shopping Addiction,” and has been a recurrent guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “The Dr. Oz Show.”

Learn more about compulsive hoarding

Hoarding Disorder Research

The Anxiety Disorders Center at Hartford Hospital/Institute of Living is conducting a study investigating changes in brain functioning after treatment in people with Hoarding Disorder.
Learn more

Welcome to a special 3-part series of Hartford HealthCare's More Life that will focus on how different generations engage on  various healthcare topics. 

Hosted by Tina Varona, director of Media Relations on the Hartford HealthCare content strategy team, and administrative graduate intern Levell Williams - a health equity scholar at the Brown University School of Public Health in Rhode Island.

The idea behind the series: identify the “generation gap” in various health-related topics while Tina and Levell share their own, unique experiences representing Generation X and Gen Z.  

The goal:  to “bridge that gap” through a lively discussion with Hartford HealthCare experts to educate audience members of all age groups.

In episode three, Tina and Levell get very honest about the physical, emotional and social generation gap when it comes to COVID-19. Their guest, Keith Grant, APRN, is Senior System Director of Infection Prevention for Hartford HealthCare and has been on the front line, helping every generation navigate this pandemic from the start.

Listen to the other episodes in this series:
Episode 1 with Dr. Laura Saunders
Episode 2 with Dr. Godfrey Pearlson

Watch: Keith Grant featured on  NBC CT
Keith Grant Recognized as Local Hero for All, including People of Color

Welcome to a special 3-part series of Hartford HealthCare's More Life that will focus on how different generations engage on  various healthcare topics.

Hosted by Tina Varona, director of Media Relations on the Hartford HealthCare content strategy team, and administrative graduate intern Levell Williams - a health equity scholar at the Brown University School of Public Health in Rhode Island.

The idea behind the series: identify the “generation gap” in various health-related topics while Tina and Levell share their own, unique experiences representing Generation X and Gen Z.  

The goal:  to “bridge that gap” through a lively discussion with Hartford HealthCare experts to educate audience members of all age groups.

In episode two, Tina and Levell explore the generational use of marijuana – who likes it, and why – medicinal or recreational?  Their guest, Dr. Godfrey Pearlson of the Olin Neuropsychiatry Center at the Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital, is also the author of Weed Science, and he has some fascinating insight.

Listen to the other episodes in this series:
Episode 1 with Dr. Laura Saunders
Episode 3 with Keith Grant, APRN

Welcome to a special 3-part series of Hartford HealthCare's More Life that will focus on how different generations engage on  various healthcare topics.

Hosted by Tina Varona, director of Media Relations on the Hartford HealthCare content strategy team, and administrative graduate intern Levell Williams - a health equity scholar at the Brown University School of Public Health in Rhode Island.

The idea behind the series: identify the “generation gap” in various health-related topics while Tina and Levell share their own, unique experiences representing Generation X and Gen Z.  

The goal:  to “bridge that gap” through a lively discussion with Hartford HealthCare experts to educate audience members of all age groups.

In episode one, Tina and Levell explore the generational shift in social media with special guest Dr. Laura Saunders, Psychologist at Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living.

You've been listening to the first episode in a special 3-part series on More Life, focusing on how members of different generational age groups engage various health care topics.

Listen to the other episodes in this series:
Episode 2 with Dr. Godfrey Pearlson
Episode 3 with Keith Grant, APRN

Learn more about the Institute of Living

Watch more from Dr. Laura Saunders:

Taking a Break from Social Media

How Social Media Affects Teens

In this episode, Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coates talks with Dr. Amir Masoud, Co-Medical Director of the Hartford HealthCare Nuerogastroenterology & Motility Center.

What is IBS? What is GERD? Dr. Masoud answers these questions and more. He explains the function of motility - and describes the important interplay between our brain and our gut. 

Check the links in this episode’s notes to learn more about Dr. Masoud and the Neurogastroenterology & Motility Center.

Follow More Life to be notified each time a new episode drops. Just search “Hartford HealthCare” on your favorite podcast platform. Thanks for listening to More Life.

VISIT: Hartford HealthCare Nuerogastroenterology & Motility Center

WATCH: Meet Dr. Amir Masoud

This important episode is a must-share and could save a life this holiday weekend – or at any time of the year. Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coates talks with Dr. Jonathan Gates, chief of trauma at Hartford Hospital.

Dr. Gates gives us a rare perspective from behind-the-scenes of a Level 1 trauma center. He also shares some of the chaos and seamless coordination he experienced during the Boston Marathon bombings and the Haitian earthquake in 2010.

Closer to home, Dr. Gates and Hartford HealthCare have joined forces with the Connecticut Department of Transportation for “Not One More” – a campaign designed to prevent the trauma that can result from impaired driving due to alcohol and drugs. He sees the devastating effects every day. It’s an undeniable problem that peaks during the July 4th holiday.

He is asking for Connecticut drivers to pledge that they won’t have that one additional drink or smoke that will put them and others at risk. His story is a compelling one.
 
 Please, explore and share the links in this episode’s notes to “Not One More” with the ones you love. There are some impressive videos and resources there that are guaranteed to make us all think twice about “Not One More.”
 
 Videos, TV spots, resources and more:
Will you sign the pledge? Visit NotOneMore.org.

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Hartford HealthCare’s Steve Coates talks to Hartford, Connecticut Mayor Luke Bronin. They cover some critical challenges U.S. cities are all facing including violence, COVID recovery and how health equity plays an important part in each of these issues.

Mayor Bronin, who recently recovered from COVID himself, shares some important lessons learned in being tasked with leading his city through the pandemic. He also talks about leveraging key partnerships with hospitals, health systems, community and faith organizations and the impact that can have on individuals and the city at large.

DominGO! Hartford, which will temporarily transform a few miles of Hartford’s city streets into car-free public spaces this summer, is one of the mayor’s prime examples of how we are connecting our communities and creating new places for safe, neighborhood fun and healthy activities for all ages and abilities.

Follow More Life to be notified each time a new episode drops. Just search “Hartford HealthCare” on your favorite podcast platform. 

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Listen: The Racial Divide: Acknowledging and addressing disparities in healthcare