Over the next decade, experts are predicting healthcare provider shortages in the tens of thousands, from primary care and nursing to behavioral health and dentistry. Through the Community Health Scholarship, the Virginia Community Healthcare Association is doing something about it. In this episode of CommonHealth, Kate speaks with Eve Gilles and April Thomas, Community Health Scholarship recipients pursuing advanced degrees in social work and nursing. Their insights on the barriers faced by students and the impact of scholarships and funding are essential in understanding how we can best support the next generation of healthcare professionals and close the care gap that lies ahead.

With special guests:
Eve Gilles, Masters Student, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work and April Thomas, PhD Student, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing

Hosted by:
Kate McCarthy

This week's guest is especially close to host Tracy's heart: her mother, Susan Douglas. In the mid-sixties, Susan left the comfort and familiarity of her hometown to go to Alabama during a time of enormous racial tension to help Black residents register to vote. That decision would change her life. It's where she met Tracy's father, a man from Montgomery, doing the same courageous work. Her journey is a story about risk, conviction and following a moral compass, even when it points you to the hardest places.

With special guest:
Susan Douglas

Hosted by:
Tracy Douglas, CEO, Virginia Community Healthcare Association

In the final episode of the limited audio series Maternal Matters, host Phillip Noel speaks to two leaders at a rural Virginia health center on how maternal healthcare fits into the larger health system. CEO Marsha Mendenhall and Obstetrics Department Operations Manager Tammy Osborne of Piedmont Access to Health Services dive deep on the realities of providing and sustaining an obstetrics department and quality patient care, giving listeners a look behind the curtain on how maternal healthcare comes to be. As rural hospital maternity ward closures persist, the work of health centers like PATHS have become essential in bridging care gaps and ensuring the safe deliveries of the next generation.

With special guests:
Marsha Mendenhall, CEO, Piedmont Access to Health Services (PATHS) and Tammy Osborne, Obstetrics Operations Manager, Piedmont Access to Health Services (PATHS)

Hosted by:
Phillip Noel, Founder & CEO, McCoy Bennett Marketing