Tim Talk

The Morehouse Mission: A medical school on a mission to improve health outcomes for people of color

Did you know that people of color have better health outcomes when they are treated by people who share their racial/ethnic background and better understand their lived experiences. As our nation diversifies, there will be a growing need to have more people of color in the medical field. Dr. Linwood McAllister of Morehouse School of Medicine, an historically black college, talks with Tim about the efforts to diversify the medical workforce. They also talk about the significance of the Juneteenth holiday and why it’s important that it be recognized as a holiday for all Americans.

Our Climate, Our Health

Did you know that changes to our climate, is affecting everything in Maine from the fishing and lumber industries to the air we breathe when enjoying the outdoors?

In this episode of Tim Talk, we tackle climate change.  Our guests include a climate scientist who’s travelled to the ends of the earth, and a pair of Bangor High School students with a passion for making a brighter future.

Episode 42: Women who Challenge the System

During this Tim Talk, We honor women’s history month with Dr. Mazie Hough, a University of Maine professor emerita of history and women’s gender and sexuality studies. Her work has included research on women and reform, legal history, social activism, and Maine women’s history. She and Tim discuss social and medical justice issues facing women today. She also talks about her work with the Somali Narratives Project – in Lewiston and the Maine Feminist Oral History Project which worked to produce a history of Partners for Peace, a domestic violence agency in Bangor.

Listen to the Story

In celebration of Black History Month, we invite James Fullwood, DPM, podiatrist at Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital and a member of the Northern Light Health Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, back on Tim Talk to share his family history in North Carolina and how it relates to America’s rich story. Dr. Fullwood relates how the family history was retained through the stories passed down by generations.

Workplace Violence

During this Tim Talk, Hear healthcare workers share their personal experiences with workplace violence. And, learn how we’re convincing lawmakers to take action. 

Tim speaks with Abigail Sears, a registered nurse in the Emergency Department at Northern Light Inland Hospital about her personal experience with workplace violence. In addition, Lisa Harvey-McPherson, RN, MBA, vice president, Government Relations, Northern Light Health, explains how stories like Abigail’s are providing important information to help in ongoing efforts to get meaningful laws passed by the Maine Legislature to address workplace violence against healthcare workers. We hope you will join us for this very important discussion.

Step forward and connect, a conversation with Rabbi Samuel Weiss

This week, Tim has a conversation with Rabbi Sam Weiss, the new Rabbi of Congregation Beth El in Bangor. Rabbi Weiss shares parallels between his work in New York as well as in more rural communities, such as in Maine, especially with the issue of social isolation and the importance of connection. He also talks about his new connections in the Beth El community and what he hopes to bring to Bangor. Tim and Rabbi Weiss also discuss the pandemic and the perceived need to “repair the world” (or Tikkun Olam in Hebrew) and how we can connect that to the work we do every day in healthcare.

”Someone who loves me.” - Overcoming stigma in healthcare

During this episode of Tim Talk, Tim speaks with renowned expert in the stigma of diseases Sohail Rana, MD, from Howard University Hospital. Dr. Rana, has been leading a crusade against stigma in healthcare for decades. You will hear the heartwrenching story that motivated him to action about a teenage aids patient who felt so unloved she stopped taking her medications.  This story will inform the larger discussion about what we need to do to erase stigma in healthcare.

“I’m still Cara.” One woman’s story of recovery, stigma, and hope

We kick off season three of Tim Talk with a frank and eye-opening conversation about the stigma people in recovery face when seeking medical care. Tim speaks with Cara Oleksyk, a former financial counselor at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center and also a member of the recovery community, as well as is Jacquelyn Cyr, a family nurse practitioner at Northern Light Acadia Hospital specializing in addiction care. Cara openly and courageously shares her personal experiences as well as views on whether we’ve made progress with stigma towards addiction. Jacquelyn emphasize the importance of using patient-centered supportive language when helping those in recovery from substance abuse.

Juneteenth and Defining Justice

During this episode of Tim Talk, Tim speaks with Bobby Keith, PA-C, MPA, who practices medicine at the Lovejoy Health Center in Albion Maine. Mr. Keith is also a vocal advocate for medical justice for underserved populations, and as such has testified in support of legislation such as single payer healthcare, which he knows a thing or two about as he previously practiced medicine in Canada. On June 19 the nation celebrates Juneteenth. Tim and Mr. Keith dive into the historical significance of this new national holiday and the effect it has on racial and social justice.

Inside the Northern Light Health DEI Council

During this episode of Tim Talk, Tim hosts his very first panel discussion with four members of Northern Light Health’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Council: Olamide Sobowale, MD, OB/GYN, Northern Light Women’s Health; Emily Tolman, MSN, RN, system director, Health Equity and Access; Melissa Skahan, vice president, Mission Integration, Northern Light Mercy; and Mia Dubois, MSN, RN, associate vice president, Patient Experience, Northern Light Health. Northern Light’s DEI Council is a dynamic, diverse, and talented group of 20 individuals who are behind all the hard work that is happening around our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which ultimately supports our culture of caring. Each panelist discusses why they choose to be a member of the Northern Light DEI Council and why this work inspires them. In addition, the panel gives an overview of the work of the council, an explanation of an important provider anti-discrimination policy change implemented by the council just this past year, a bit about the current initiatives of the gender identity task force, and more.