Live Well and Thrive

Welcome to the third and final special episode of Live Well & Thrive - Silver Lining Playbooks. Listen in for a beautiful tapestry of stories from our Kaiser Permanente Northern California caregivers reflecting on how they learned and grew along with the enduring hope they carried throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Welcome back to a special edition of Live Well and Thrive: Silver Lining Playbooks. I'm your host, Carrie Owen Plietz. In our first special episode, it was incredible to hear caregivers’ stories about the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our teams fought a novel virus which sometimes defied treatment. They faced overwhelming odds and their own fears. So how did caregivers find the strength to provide the compassionate care patients and families needed? In this second episode, we'll hear stories of sadness and loss, but also of joy and laughter, and how our teams found strength in the support from their communities, their families, and each other.

Welcome to a special series of Live Well & Thrive - Silver Lining Playbooks, The Beginning. In early 2020, when COVID-19 first hit, there was fear, challenges, confusion, and just overwhelming odds. But then came learning, and hope, and stories we can't forget. We invited a cross-section of our care team to tell us about their first encounter with a COVID-19 patient along with some of the lessons they learned from each other and their patients over the three-plus year pandemic. Over the course of three special episodes, we'll hear what our frontline caregivers experienced from confusion and fear to mutual support and some silver linings. Let's go back to the beginning.

We're continuing to dig into the show archives and highlighting past episodes that each embody why we launched this program in the first place. When we started this podcast three years ago, we wanted to acknowledge the shared experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and its deep impact on our Kaiser Permanente health care workers. We also set out to explore how to take better care of our community... and ourselves. The episode we are highlighting this week is Soul Snacks. If you're new to Live Well and Thrive, we hope you enjoy your first time listening to these three quintessential episodes. We hope you take the time to listen again -- as we have. Here's a bit of a spoiler, keep checking this feed, we're about to release a three part special that you won't want to miss. You'll hear more about it here and elsewhere at KP. Thank you and enjoy!

As we mentioned last week we're digging into the show archives and highlighting past episodes that each embody why we launched this program in the first place. When we started this podcast three years ago, we wanted to acknowledge the shared experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and its deep impact on our Kaiser Permanente health care workers. We also set out to explore how to take better care of our community... and ourselves. The episode we are highlighting this week is Frontline Workers in Their Own Words. If you're new to Live Well and Thrive, we hope you enjoy your first time listening to these three quintessential episodes. We hope you take the time to listen again -- as we have. Thank you and enjoy!

Over the next few weeks, we'll be digging into our show archives. We'll highlight three past episodes that each embody why we launched this program in the first place. When we started this podcast three years ago, we wanted to acknowledge the shared experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and its deep impact on our Kaiser Permanente health care workers. We also set out to explore how to take better care of our community... and ourselves. The first episode we are highlighting is Searching for Hope and features our incredible KP chaplains. If you're new to Live Well and Thrive, we hope you enjoy your first time listening to these three quintessential episodes. We hope you take the time to listen again -- as we have. Thank you and enjoy!

For Breast Cancer Awareness month we’re talking with two female leaders on the Kaiser Permanente Northern California team – both with unique perspectives on breast cancer prevention and early detection. Dr. Monica Kendrick, physician-in-chief, Kaiser Permanente San Francisco medical center and an OB-GYN. Dr. Kendrick is also an expert on women’s health and is passionate about supporting women’s life-long health. Debra Flores, Senior Vice President and Area Manager, Kaiser Permanente Greater Southern Alameda area. She is also a registered nurse and a breast cancer survivor.

We live in a hyperconnected world. So many of us use our phones or other digital devices to access news and information, to stay connected to one another, and to just do our jobs. But at this point, it goes without saying, there is a dark side to digital dependence. To help unravel this conundrum we turn to Dr. Michael Rich, who refers to himself as a Mediatrician. He is also a parent, a pediatrician, a child health researcher, and children's media specialist. Dr. Rich teaches pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. His recent book, The Mediatrician’s Guide: A Joyful Approach to Raising Healthy, Smart, Kind Kids in a Screen-Saturated World, is a science-backed approach to give parents the confidence they need to raise a child well (and to raise a well child) in the digital age.