Mother and Daughter Dynamic Duo: Fighting For Women ’s Health Equality
This essay was first published on MsMagazine.com.
For decades, my mom and I have been a dynamic duo using the arts to creatively fight for women’s rights. And now we are using the arts to fight for my life.
In the ’60-70s, during the burgeoning “Women’s Liberation Movement,” my mother, Bobbi Ausubel, co-wrote America’s first feminist play, How to Make a Woman. After each performance, cutting edge and ruckus consciousness raising groups helped women and men grapple with just how much gender roles dictated their lives.
As a little girl, I couldn’t care less. I played with my toys under the adults...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - June 8, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Celiac Disease: A Serious, Life-Changing Condition
I met Paul Graham courtesy of one of his essays. Then, we talked by phone and I read – no devoured – his book, In Memory of Bread: A Memoir. Pardon the pun. Paul is a professor of English Department at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY and on July 1 becomes Department Chair. He focuses on fiction and non-fiction creative writing and lives with his wife, Bec and their German shepherds.
Paul, your book is the best description I’ve read about the challenges of being diagnosed with celiac. Can you summarize what happened? Given your experience, what recommendations would you have for clinicians? Should celiac be su...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - June 5, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Failure to Launch: How to Avoid the 5 Common Mistakes That Cause Digital Health Ventures to Crash and Burn
The digital health market in the first quarter of 2017 enjoyed continued momentum, with 71 deals totaling over $1B (which by some accounts, is actually a conservative estimate).[1] But don’t let the steady deal flow fool you – it’s extremely challenging to successfully launch a digital health venture and even tougher to sustain it over the long-term.
Many first-time founders and even serial entrepreneurs new to digital health expect to employ a lot of the tactics they learned in business school or had success with in other industries. They craft well-meaning plans to develop a minimum viable product (MVP) and lau...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - May 22, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
The time is now: Addressing health inequities in rural minority populations
In 1966 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech to the Medical Committee for Human Rights and said “of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” In 2017 inequality in healthcare still exists and the consequences are striking.
Health inequities or disparities in urban communities are well known and in some cases more resources may be available to address them than in a rural community. In rural previously homogenous communities these issues are even more significant as the minority community begins to grow but the healthcare systems have not changed or are not moving fast ...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - May 17, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Saving a life through health IT
I recently watched Jimmy Kimmel share a personal story about his new son on live television. His son, Billy Kimmel, was born with an undetected heart defect that required immediate surgery. Because of the great healthcare his son received, Billy lives to see his future. While my heart ached as I listened to Jimmy’s emotional message, I was overcome with appreciation for all the work medical professionals do within healthcare.
I think of the compassion and care that clinicians provide every day for patient-centered care – within our own healthcare system and beyond. These prestigious professionals have humanity as t...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - May 16, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Sparking Inspiration in Front Line Leaders
As an operation leader in ambulatory healthcare, my days are filled with “fire-fighting”—staffing the clinics, managing physician schedules, moving improvement work forward, etc. Little time is spent on individual leadership development. Let me be more honest–no part of my day is usually spent thinking about leadership. Yet, it is absolutely essential for all of us to carve out time to further develop ourselves as leaders.
Over the years, I have benefited from various forms of leadership development. Whether from structured classes, coaching, or making tough mistakes, these experiences have shaped me ...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - May 15, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
On Becoming a (Positively) Disruptive Woman, and Passing It on to Others
When I was 22 years old, I received my A.B. honors from the University of Chicago. I had been taught that the world was entirely open to me. I wanted to pursue a career in public health and healthcare, and began an intensive job search. My heart was set on an Administrative Internship at Hennepin County Medical Center – an organization that fit well with my passion for health equity.
I was told by my interviewer that I couldn’t apply for the position because I was female. He added that the field of health leadership was limited to men, nuns and nurses, and I wasn’t any of them, so I should rethink my career o...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - May 12, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Increasing the Diversity of the Physician Workforce
“Any economist will tell you that diversification is the key to a secure portfolio. Any geneticist will tell you that diversification is key to maintaining hardy species of plants and animals. But somehow, when it comes to racial politics, the virtues of diversity are lost. Diversity in healthcare is not about fair representation – it is about saving lives.”
– Commissioner George Strait, Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs,
University of California, Berkeley
A more diverse physician workforce is critical in health care and medical education in order to further promote excellence in medical education a...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - May 11, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Finding a place
I grew up in the middle of Orange County, California. A neighborhood so homogenous that I saw the Catholic kids in their plaid skirts and white shirts as alien and exotic. We passed on the sidewalk beside the parochial school playground with caution and wonderment. I was 14 and in high school before I realized that my friend, Buzz, was Jewish. This was the 1950s and early 1960s and sensitivity to differences meant not picking on the red-headed kid.
In fits and starts, I found my eyes and ears opened to the reality of a different world–a larger world–than mine. In August of 1966, the Southeast L.A. community of ...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - May 10, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
It ’s Not the Ceiling; It’s the Floor
We have newly designed office space at work. The conference rooms are now elegant glass enclosures with subtle glass doors at their center. One day I sat in a meeting and watched a female colleague approach the doors at full speed, coffee in one hand, papers in the other. She was running late but had arrived at the right room. She was where she was meant to be. I glanced back at the table, preparing to present my work, when I heard the loud thud. I looked up just in time to see the woman collide into the glass door. Papers flew into the air and coffee fell to the floor. She looked stunned, as did everyone in the conference...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - May 9, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Turn Down The Radio So You Can See Better: Distractions in Healthcare
The scene is familiar to any ophthalmologist: Your long-time patient, Mrs. Howell, sits centered in the grand exam chair. She is elderly but not frail. Today she is unusually nervous. Her daughter and son (whom I have never previously met) occupy the bench that lines right wall of every exam room. On my left, a familiar Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles form rests on the computer keyboard– a place where my technicians know it won’t be overlooked.
Everyone knows good vision is essential for safe driving. Vision is critical and vision is measurable. Eye doctors are, therefore, routinely asked to asses...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - May 9, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Honoring Carol Emmott, PhD: Meet the Fellows Coming to Washington, DC
The statistics are draining. We know that while “women comprise over 75% of the healthcare workforce, only 8% of the top 100 hospitals in the US are led by a female CEO.” It isn’t just hospitals, of course. All you have to do is look at the numbers across the board (and in board rooms), in venture funding, in pay disparities, and all through-out the health care sector, and it is hard not to be frustrated and outraged. As Disruptive Women in Health Care, we are also driven to action.
One of the best ways to drive change is to highlight the great work of others and jump in and collaborate. In that spirit, we will be ...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - May 8, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Age Out Loud
May is Older Americans Month. The theme this year, established by the Administration for Community Living is Age Out Loud. It encourages wellness, knowing rights, remaining engaged and exploring new things.
I like the idea of “exploring new things” and the one I’d suggest we explore the support people need to age-well-in-place. Aging challenges faced by older people throughout history are increasingly complicated as traditional “villages” support has eroded and, for many people, no longer exist. This happened for several reasons, among them:
Changes in family size and structure. Families today are smaller and fa...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - May 1, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Tales, Tips and Love from Women Caregivers
Women have always been caregivers. Whether looking after small children, elders, other family members or friends in small communities, tending to others in urban settings with limited support systems, or acting as professional caregivers in institutional settings, we have been the primary providers of physical care and emotional support in a variety of settings and circumstances throughout the ages.
Today that remains true, and being the main caregiver may be more vital than ever. As women have children later and elders live longer, we are challenged by competing demands and shrinking resources. Many of us have elderly par...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - April 27, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Loneliness: A Silent Epidemic
Loneliness. It is an epidemic that has silently gripped the nation. And it is not going away. I wrote about the issue back in February: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2017/02/23/loneliness-and-its-impact-on-health-share-your-story/. In that post, we announced that we were looking for ways to help. And we found one!
Dr. Jeremy Nobel, Founding CEO at the Foundation for Art and Healing, is spearheading The Creatively Connected Film Festival, which involves a film contest, digital platform, public health outreach, and evening of celebration in New York City on May 9, 2017. Sharing information about the Foundation for...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - April 19, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
