Healthcare is Human
Since 2020, Healthcare is Human (HIH) has been telling authentic healthcare stories.
Dr. Ryan McCarthy created HIH in Martinsburg, WV, to give voice to individuals who were under-represented as the Covid-19 pandemic began. Since then, HIH has grown exponentially and is now a complex narrative medicine initiative. Writer, poet, and narrative medicine expert Renée K. Nicholson co-hosts the podcast.
Molly Humphreys, native of Shepherdstown, WV, photographer on the project, has captured hundred of images of healthcare workers in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Visit HIH on Facebook and Instagram to see these incredible photos . Molly's world class portfolio can be found by searching for Piccadilly Posh.
Kym Mattioli produces the podcast.
HIH is supported by grants from the West Virginia Humanities Council, WVU Foundation, and generous donors across West Virginia.
Our first exhibit "Wild, Wonderful and Brave: Fighting the Pandemic in the Eastern Panhandle" ran at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, VA, from June 2022-June 2023.
Our most recent exhibit was in the Pylons Commons at the Robert C. Byrd Health Science Center in Morgantown, WV, feom September 2023 through June 2024. Dozens of the best photographs were featured alongside poetry by Marc Harshman, Torli Bush, Renée K. Nicholson, and Randi Ward. Our companion film, HEALTHCARE IS HUMAN, directed by Corwyn “Cory” Garman, can be viewed inside the William A. Neal Museum.
Original music for our films and museum exhibitions is composed by Robert Sears and Jared Sims. Isaac McCarthy plays the banjo on the podcast.
Healthcare is Human has been featured in 100 Days in Appalachia, West Virginia Public Radio, Synapsis, INSider, KevinMD, and the Gold Foundation.
A book is in development as is HIH curricula at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. HIH is a signature program of the WVU Internal Medicine Residency at the Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg, WV.
Find us on TED.com to hear our origin story.
Healthcare is Human
Mountain Metabolics: Amanda Staubs PharmD
Healthcare is Human: Mountain Metabolics series continues an in-depth look at individuals working in obesity, diabetes, and metabolic healthcare in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. We meet Amanda Staubs PharmD, who tells Healthcare is Human:
“Being a pharmacist here at the Berkeley Medical Center is really important to me. I grew up in Charles Town, West Virginia, and then left for college. I came back because I wanted to give back to the community where I grew up, and have worked as a pharmacist since 2011. I did my residency at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center and then I worked in Maryland for a while. I have been at Berkeley Medical Center since 2015, with most of my career predominantly as an ICU pharmacist.
As a pharmacist you're not the star of the show, and people don't think about you, but I treat patients who are septic in the ICU. And, while I don't talk to a lot of patients, I see them. I hear them and I root for them to have a better life and get out of the hospital.
Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro have been a revolution in diabetes and obesity care. They have been a game-changer for those patients who have had a hard time losing weight. These medications help increase insulin when you eat and also decrease gastric emptying, providing a sense of feeling full and eating less. Some data shows activity in our brains which decreases hunger and we are seeing these medications have reduced obesity-related cancers. This is a huge chance to reduce cardiovascular complications like strokes and heart attacks.”
Healthcare is Human was created by Ryan McCarthy and is a signature program of the Internal Medicine Residency at the Berkeley Medical Center.
Original Poem, “Diagnosis Color by Number,” is read by its author, Renée K.Nicholson.
This podcast is engineered by Kym Mattioli.
Visit Healthcare is Human on Facebook and Instagram to see incredible photography by Molly Humphreys, native of Shepherdstown, WV, whose world-class portfolio can be found by searching for Piccadilly Posh Photography.
Healthcare is Human is supported by the West Virginia Humanities Council, WVU Medicine, and generous donors in our community.
Isaac McCarthy plays the banjo to open and close the show.
Healthcare is Human is featured on TED.com, KevinMD, Synapsis, Narrative Mindworks, and 100 Days in Appalachia.
#healthcareishuman
Be sure to visit Healthcare is Human on Facebook and Instagram. If you have a great idea for a podcast, we would love to hear from you.
