Talk! with Audrey

Throughout the national emergency, Vietnam War veteran  and American Legion National Commander Bill Oxford has continued to lead the nation’s largest veterans’ organisation as many American Legion posts closed their homes and postponed events due to coronavirus concerns. Commander Oxford tells us how they are supporting national, community recovery efforts throughout  the Coronavirus Epidemic.

Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, recent surveys found a broad worsening of mental health indicators among college students. Two leading groups specialising in evidence-based technology to support youth well-being have teamed up to help students cope with these challenges and combat isolation, filling the gap widened by COVID-19.  Hopelab and Grit Digital Health recently released NOD, an app that helps young adults develop and cultivate deep social connections and develop resilience . My guest is Dr. Danielle Ramo. Senior Director of Research at Hopelab and Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UC San Francisco.

COVID-19 is affecting communities around the world. To support communities, IBM is offering a Watson-based virtual agent dubbed "Watson Assistant for Citizens" to government agencies, healthcare and academic institutions free of charge for at least 90 days so they can provide their citizens/constituents with answers to their questions about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. My guest is  Toby Cappello, Vice President in IBM's Data and A.I. business.

In honor of the Month of the Military Child in April , Hunt Military Communities (HMC) is recognising dependent children of military members nationwide, who are making a difference, with its ”Hunt Little Heroes” program. Lynette Hegeman, Marketing Director, Hunt Military Communities has the details.

The Wounded Warrior project has made a $10 million commitment to help meet the immediate needs of warriors who are in financial crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, Retired Lieutenant General Mike Linnington the CEO of the Wounded Warrior Project is going to tell us how they're helping these veterans and their families.

Dr. Stella Safo is an internist and primary care physician, based in New York City, Chief Clinical Transformation Officer for Premier Applied Sciences. In 2020, Modern Healthcare listed Safo as a “Top 25 Minority Leader to Watch”. She has served as lead for the Minority in Medicine special interest group for the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) and is an active member of the Health Equity Committee (HEC) at SGIM. We talk about the Covid- 19 Pandemic, some of the challenges that healthcare providers are facing in treating patients, the racial disparities in healthcare, the emotional and psychological impact on healthcare workers, how the decision is made to take someone off a ventilator and more!

Insurers pay billions of dollars each year to cover losses caused by severe weather but, unfortunately, sometimes those payments end up in the pockets of unscrupulous contractors. Those contractors follow the path of damage caused by severe storms around the country soliciting business door-to-door. Dr. Tanya Brown-Giammanco, Managing Director of Research at IBHS joins me to talk about common roofing scams and the fight to stop the criminals who commit them.

As companies nationwide begin to implement new measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, hundreds of thousands of employees are now finding themselves working from home, many for the first time.  Many schools have also adopted an online learning system, putting wi-fi networks to the test, potentially leaving them vulnerable to capacity issues as well as security risks. Mike Caudill, Technology Expert, and Dad, has tech tips to help  keep your network secure while navigating the new landscape of conducting  business and learning  from home.

As millions set up shop / school at home, learn how to become "Good Stewards" of your home network; Tech expert Sarah Evans gives her best bandwidth savings tips!

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the country, IBM is offering free tools to help consumers track the reported cases of coronavirus in their local communities. Sheri Bachstein, Global Head of Consumer Business, The Weather Company is my guest.

I wanted to speak with a medical professional who is on the front lines each and every day when it comes to the risk of exposure to all sorts of illness and so I asked my dentist, Dr. Donna Williams, who has a solo practice in Harlem NY called Morningside Dental Care. Her practice, Morningside Dental Care, is celebrating 25 years in Harlem.

The leading U.S. medical and health organisations today called on the American people to stay home to help reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and limit its long-term health effect on our country.

John Wang, President /CEO of the Asian American Business Development Center, Inc. (AABDC) which he founded in New York City.

The president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) , Dr. Sandra Weber joins me to discuss the impact of Coronavirus on people with diabetes. Dr. Weber practices endocrinology in Greenville, South Carolina and is affiliated with Prisma Health System, where she serves as Chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Chair of Continuing Medical Education.  

Since COVID-19 was declared a global health emergency, Facebook has been working closely with global and national health authorities to promote credible information to keep people safe and informed my guest is Kang-Xing Head of Health, Facebook.

For the first time in three decades, PETA didn’t unveil a celebrity “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” ad at Fashion Week. The animal rights group is celebrating the demise of the fur trade by ending its iconic campaign. Dan Mathews, PETA Senior Vice President who conceived of the ad in the 90’s, joins me with how the world of fashion is undergoing a vegan revolution and how PETA has become a sustainability resource.

Learning you or your loved one needs open heart surgery can be frightening. The term “open-heart surgery” can be misleading.  Open-heart surgery is sometimes called traditional heart surgery but today, many new heart procedures can be performed with only small incisions, Cardiac surgeon, Dr. S. Chris Malaisrie from the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute in Chicago to talk about the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States - heart disease: what steps to take to halt its progress and what you need to know if a Doctor recommends surgery.

The medical community now has some of the most powerful tools in history giving us the opportunity to end the HIV epidemic; However, persistent disparities in care and treatment contribute to continued burden amongst African Americans. Dr. Eugene McCray, Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and I talk about prevention and putting an end to this epidemic.

In celebration of Black History Month – listen to my full interview with Ruth Hunt, a genealogist, who was inspired by Alex Haley to trace her family's lineage. She has tips to help your trace your family roots.

Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain that is characterized by seizures that can be debilitating and even life threatening. Although epilepsy is widely recognized, few understand it – even those who know someone with the disorder.1 And this misunderstanding causes stigma that makes it harder to treat, while the number of adults and children challenged by epilepsy in the U.S. is increasing. Dr. James Wheless, Professor and Chief of Paediatric Neurology, Le Bonheur Chair in Paediatric Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center offers steps to mitigate deadly risks, reduce related healthcare costs and burden.