HealthCetera

Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash In June of 2022 in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court overruled Roe v.Wade on the basis that access to abortion is a state issue. Since that decision, some states have passed laws restricting or banning altogether women’s access to abortion. But the Food and Drug Administration approved the distribution of Mifepristone for medical abortions without an in-person visit as a safe practice. Louisiana filed a lawsuit against the FDA for this action and at the end of April 2026, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Louisiana, restricting women’s access to the drug in states that have banned abortions. On May 4th, the Supreme Court ordered a halt to stopping access to the drug until May 11th so that both sides could respond and the court could consider the issue more fully. HealthCetera host Diana Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN, discussed the case of Louisiana v. the FDA and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal’s ruling with Anna Beernstein, principal federal policy advisor for the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on May 6, 2026. The post The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals & Women’s Health appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Sergiu Vălenaș on Unsplash Wars and other life circumstances can result in children being orphaned and neglected. Around the world, including in our own community, grandparents are becoming caregivers for their grandchildren, but often with little support. Someone who has been studying this issue is Dr. Schola Matovu, a gerontological nurse scientist, Assistant Professor and Director of Global Learning and Engagement at the University of Utah College of Nursing, where she also serves as the Principal Investigator for the Matovu Research Lab. She is a Fellow in the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators. HealthCetera host Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, talked with Dr. Matovu about her work on grandparents as caregivers for their grandchildren. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on April 29, 2026. The post Grandparents Becoming Caregivers appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash Artificial intelligence (AI) is already upending our world. It’s being used in health care in a variety of ways, including for interpreting x-rays and other imaging, flagging potential concerns that a clinician may overlook, and supporting diagnostic decision-making. There have been suggestions that robots and AI could even replace nurses. Needless to say, there are a lot of concerns within the nursing community about how AI is used in health care. In recognition of these concerns, the American Academy of Nursing issued a position statement on Artificial Intelligence in Health Care. HealthCetera host Diana J. Mason, RN, PhD, FAAN, discussed this position statement with  Debra Barksdale, RN, PhD, FAAN, president of the Academy and Dean of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Nursing. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOC Radio on April 15, 2026. The post AI and Healthcare appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Meg Sanchez on Unsplash Summer is upon us and, even in spring, people are enjoying the outdoors after a rough winter. But the sunny days are not innocuous. Public health nurse and HealthCetera Correspondent Barbara Glickstein, MPH, RN, FAAN, who worked for a time in a dermatologist’s office many years ago and continues to pay attention to issues related to skin cancer, talked with HealthCetera host Diana Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN, about this important topic, including the Trump Administration’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s removal of a proposal that would have banned the use of indoor tanning beds by children. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on May 13, 2026. The post The Importance of Skin Cancer Awareness appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Patty Brito on Unsplash The U.S. healthcare system is in crisis.  COVID strained health care organizations and stressed healthcare workers; and it seems that we’ve not yet recovered from that nightmare. We’re unlikely to see the system recover in the short term and it may take a lot longer, as the Trump Administration and Congress make cuts to tax credits for health insurance, Medicaid, and other health programs. The leaders of healthcare organizations are focused on the bottom line to survive but some exceptional healthcare administrators are also focused on supporting their staff, particularly nurses who provide the bulk of care. They know that you can’t have quality healthcare with good outcomes if you don’t address employee satisfaction. But what does this work look like? How do healthcare organizations such as hospitals ensure that nurses and other healthcare workers are provided with the support they need to be able to do their jobs well and feel joy in their practice? The American Nurses Credentialing Center has looked at this for nurses and has an initiative called Pathway to Excellence that focuses on how organizations can create positive practice environments that empower and engage staff, and recognizes the organizations that do create such environments. HealthCetera host Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, talked about this work with Christine Pabico, RN, PhD, FAAN, Senior Director of the Pathway to Excellence Program for the American Nurses Credentialing Center. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on April 29, 2026. The post Providing Nurses & Other Healthcare Workers with Support appeared first on HealthCetera.

Brian Maher is the Assemblyman for NY’s 101st Assembly district that includes parts of Orange, Ulster, Sullivan, and Delaware Counties. Assemblyman Maher is in the Navy reserves and was activated and deployed last year. He remains deployed and his chief of staff, Meghan Hurlburt, is carrying forth with representing him and his positions in the Assembly and the communities he represents. HealthCetera host Diana Mason, RN, PhD, FAAN, talked with Hurlburt about Assemblyman Maher’s positions on several issues that are before the New York State legislature in the 2026 session. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on May 6, 2026. The post Interviewing Meghan Hurlburt about Assemblyman Brian Maher appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash In 2018, NY State passed a law requiring that nurses who graduated with a diploma or associate degree in nursing get a baccalaureate degree within 10 years of becoming licensed in the state if they want to continue to practice as a registered nurse. The NYS Education Department recently issued regulations to implement this law and the regulations were approved by the Board of Regents. HealthCetera host Diana Mason, PhD, RN, talked about this law and the regulations with Ann Harrington, MPA, RN, the Executive Director of the New York Organization of Nurse Leaders, including why the public should care about the issue. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on May 13, 2026. The post Nursing Education New Regulation Law appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash Pediatric providers — whether a pediatrician or pediatric nurse practitioner—are in short supply not just here but across the country. One pediatric nurse practitioner is sounding the alarm about this issue and HealthCetera producer and host, Diana Mason, RN, PhD, talked with this nurse, Dr. Rajashree Koppolu, about the shortage, its impact on access to care for children and their families, and what can be done to address the issue. Dr. Koppolu serves as Manager of Advanced Practice Professional Development for Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and has held advanced clinical roles in pediatric general surgery and cardiology as a pediatric nurse practitioner. She is a past president of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She’s also a Senior Fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at the GWU School of Nursing. In February 2026, she published an article for Medscape titled “Growing Shortage of Pediatric Healthcare Workforce.” This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on April 15, 2026. The post Pediatric Provider Shortage appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Vitalii Pavlyshynets on Unsplash Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., continues to push forward his Make America Healthy Again or MAHA agenda that has been both hailed for its attention to things like nutrition and chemical exposures, and criticized for what some see as its inadequacies in being evidence based and detracting from the importance of protecting the public against infectious diseases. On April 15, 2026, MedPage Today published a commentary on whether Kennedy’s approach to MAHA is more political marketing than evidence-based health guidance. The commentary was written by Adam Brown, MD, Contributing Writer to MedPage Today, a board-certified emergency medicine and lifestyle medicine physician, and founder of ABIG Health that advises healthcare organizations on strategy and innovation. He is a past President of Emergency Medicine at Envision Healthcare and currently a professor at UNC Chapel Hill at Kenan-Flagler Business School and a visiting professor of business at ESCP Business School in London and Paris. HealthCetera producer and host Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, talked with Dr. Brown about his views on MAHA and its promotion by Kennedy. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on April 22, 20026. The post A Commentary on Make America Healthy Again appeared first on HealthCetera.

We now know that things like access to affordable housing and healthy food, good jobs that provide a livable income, education, safe environments, and other factors that make up what we call the “social determinants of health” are more powerful in promoting health of individuals and communities than health care itself. Sir Michael Marmot has been a pioneer in advancing this concept and has created what are called Marmot Cities and Towns or Marmot Places. One nurse who has worked with Marmot is Charlotte McArdle, a Global Nurse Consultant, Visiting Professor Ulster University Belfast, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and a former government chief nurse officer in the United Kingdom. On April 22, 2026, HealthCetera producer and host Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, talked with McArdle about Marmot Places and its relevance for people in the United States. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on April 22, 2026. The post Marmot Places appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash On November 19, 2025, HealthCetera in the Catskills host  Diana Mason, PhD, RN, produced and hosted a 2-hour special on the impact of federal policy changes on the health and wellbeing of the people living in the Catskills region of New York State. Co-hosted by Richard Siegel, a social work administrator who now teaches policy part-time in the social work program at Hunter College.  The special opens with Congressman Josh Riley (D, NY-19) discussing the federal changes that have occurred in the past year in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the issues related to the 2025 government shutdown; followed by a focus on the impact of these changes on hospital systems in the region. This latter discussion is with Carolyn Lewis, the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Basset Health System, and Michael Hochman, the Executive Director of Margaretville Hospital and Mountainside Residential Care Center that are part of Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley and WMC Health. To listen to the second hour, please go to this link. The post The Impact of Federal Policy Changes Part 1 appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash The second hour begins with a focus on two community leaders’ perspectives on the local impact of the federal policy changes: Allen Hinkley, the Supervisor for the town of Roxbury that includes the hamlets of Roxbury and Grand Gorge, as well as the Denver-Vega Valley, Hardscrabble, West Settlement; and Glen Faulkner, the Town Supervisor for Middletown that includes Margaretville, Arkville, Fleischmanns, New Kingston and Halcottsville. Assemblyman Brian Maher (R, NYA-101) then discusses how the state is responding to these changes. The special ends with a discussion of the impact of the federal policy changes on social services that are so crucial to health, such as access to healthy food, affordable housing, and more, with the Delaware County Commissioner of Social Services Keith Weaver,  Executive Director of Delaware Opportunities Shelly Bartow, and Founder and manager of Margaretville’s The Hubb Robin Williams. To listen to the first hour, please go to this link. The post The Impact of Federal Policy Changes Part 2 appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by David Kennedy on Unsplash Cell […] The post Cell Phone Ban in Schools Pt. 2 appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Mathurin NAPOLY / matnapo on […] The post Grandparents For Vaccines appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by David Kennedy on Unsplash Cell phones in schools has been a controversial topic, with New York State recently banning students’ use of smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices, including smartwatches, while in school. The ban is required to begin in the 2025-2026 school year and applies during class, lunch, study hall, and hallways and is required for both public and charter schools in the state. Is this a good idea? HealthCetera host Dr. Diana Mason, RN, talked with Dr. Sunny Hallowell, a pediatric nurse practitioner and Associate Professor at Villanova University’s College of Nursing about smart devices in schools. The post Cell Phone Ban in Schools appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash Heat waves are becoming more frequent, longer, and more intense. Extreme heat events pose significant health risks, particularly for vulnerable populations such as older adults, low-income households, and people with pre-existing health conditions. And perhaps more so, the risks are high for people whose jobs are outdoors, such as farm workers. HealthCetera host Dr. Diana Mason, PhD, RN, talked with Dr. Nancy Rudner, DrPH, APRN, about the issue of heat injury among farmworkers.  Dr. Rudner is a nurse practitioner, nurse scholar and population health expert who lives in Florida and has been doing work on heat risks and protections for that state’s farmworkers but her work is relevant everywhere. This interview first aired on WIOX Radio on July 7, 2025. The post Extreme Heat and Its Health Risks appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Hansjörg Keller on Unsplash Most of us know about the Special Olympics as a competitive sports program for people with disabilities. But few people know about the health equity work that Special Olympics does for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Dr. Anne Williams is a Registered Nurse and Vice President of Health Services and Education for Special Olympics International. She spoke with HealthCetera host Dr. Diana Mason, PhD, RN, about the work of Special Olympics International to encourage physical activity and sports among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This interview first aired on WiOX Radio on July 16, 2025. The post Health Equity and the Special Olympics appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Patty Brito on Unsplash Few people who are not nurses or researchers have likely heard about the Nurses Health Study. Begun in 1976, it is one of the most enduring longitudinal health studies and has produced important findings that have improved the lives of everyone. But it is likely to end because of the Trump administration’s battle with Harvard University that has cut about $2.6 billion in research and contracts from that university, including for the Nurses Health Study. Why should people care? HealthCetera host Diana Mason, RN, posed that question to Jean Keifner, RN, a retired school nurse who is one of the original participants in the study; and Robin Cogan, RN, HealthCetera correspondent, school nurse, and creator/writer of the blog, The Relentless School Nurse. Cogan wrote one of her blog posts on the Nurses Health Study and included actions that people can take to oppose its closure. This interview first aired on WIOX Radio on July 30, 2025.  The post Nurses Health Study appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Alexander Van Steenberge on Unsplash The COVID19 pandemic exacerbated food insecurity across the country, including in NYS. Food pantries were ramping up their supplies as the food needs of individuals and families outstripped pantry supplies. But what has happened since the pandemic? The New York Health Foundation undertook an analysis of food insufficiency across the state from May 2020 through October 2024 and issued a report on their findings entitled Hunger on the Rise: New York’s Food Insufficiency Rates Hit New Highs and Exceed Pandemic Levels. HealthCetera producer and host Diana Mason, RN, discussed the report with Julia McCarthy, Senior Program Officer for the NYHealth Foundation, who helps to lead the foundation’s Healthy Food, Healthy Lives priority area, that aims to create a more equitable food system connecting all New Yorkers with the food they need to thrive. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on May 21, 2025. The post Healthy Food, Healthy Lives appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Lincoln Holley on Unsplash It’s been estimated that waste, fraud, and abuse in health care spending in the US ranges from 3% to 10%. The Trump Administration and Elon Musk have been taking a chainsaw to what they are claiming is “cutting waste, fraud, and abuse” in government. But what constitutes waste, fraud and abuse? Can more transparency—including price transparency—be a solution? And can a chainsaw approach to reducing health care spending really address waste, fraud and abuse? Dr. Diana Mason, RN, producer and host of HealthCetera, discusses these questions with Dr. Kumhee Ro, a registered nurse and associate professor in the Seattle University College of Nursing. Dr. Ro also has served as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow, with experiences in Washington, DC, and her home state of Washington. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on May 21, 2025. The post Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Health Care appeared first on HealthCetera.