Douglas County believes healthcare transformation involves more than just access to insurance; it means access to reliable health information from trusted sources, and people talking about healthcare issues that concern them, while listening to others.
That’s where the local newspaper and radio station have joined forces, in partnership with Architrave Health and Umpqua Health Alliance, the coordinated care organization in Douglas County. Through “Ask a Health Question” in The News-Review and “Talking Health” on KQEN News Radio, residents have the opportunity to ask health-related questions to local doctors, and their responses are printed in the Healthy Wednesday section of newspaper and online.
“The whole point was to give doctors and the community a public forum to discuss health issues,” said Ben Kenfield, retail advertising manager for The News-Review, which started the project, then partnered with Architrave Health, and Umpqua Health Alliance. They receive about 25 questions each month.
Some of the questions asked (with published answers) include:
-
“How can I make sure my baby is sleeping as safely as possible?”
-
“Is there a remedy for restless leg syndrome that does not require a prescription?”
-
“Is breast reduction safe? Will Insurance cove this surgery?”
Residents can tune to KQEN News Radio every Monday afternoon and listen to “Talking Health,” a radio show presented by Architrave Health and hosted by Dan Bain, former evening news anchor with KPIC in Roseburg. The show, which started in February, includes guests from the healthcare community.
“People always seem to have questions about their health,” said Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, a Roseburg pediatrician and CEO of Architrave Health. “It’s a topic we all care about, it’s a topic which can sometimes be confusing, and it’s a topic where it would be good to get some good local and well-considered advice.”
So far, guests on the show have included Dannenhoffer, Dr. Ajay Tripuraneni, a cardiologist with Shaw Heart and Vascular Center, Dr. Mary Powell discussing women's healthcare issues, Vanessa Becker discussing the community improvement Plan, Bonnier Guauer, an optometrist in Roseburg, and Kelly Rowe from Umpqua Health Alliance.
“The purpose of the program is to have an informative show and get information out to people, and try to help them with whatever their health questions are,” Dannenhoffer explained. “The hope is to have different doctors over the next year join the show, doctors from various different specialties, who would be experts in their field.”
While the goal is to have “Talking Health” become a program where people can ask questions, thus far it’s only been interview based as the producers figure out how to screen questions, offer medical advice and handle confidentiality in this small community.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.architravehealth.com/about-us
http://www.umpquahealthalliance.org/
http://www.umpquahealthalliance.org/pdf/news/2014.0129_AskAHealthQuestion.pdf
http://www.umpquahealthalliance.org/pdf/news/AskAHealthQuestion_2014.0226.pdf
http://www.541radio.com/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=6705691
http://www.541radio.com/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=6712932
http://podcast.541radio.com/roprt3/4308086.mp3
http://podcast.541radio.com/roprt3/4315095.mp3
http://podcast.541radio.com/roprt3/4322810.mp3
Joanne can be reached at [email protected].
