Healthcare

During this time of social distancing, APB is doing our part in bringing the world a little closer. Check out this week's volume of HealthCast, which showcases a range of content—podcasts, TED talks, current articles and interviews—from some of our most informative, inspiring, sought-after speakers.

Award-winning author and APB speaker Dr. Donna Hicks is the pioneering mind behind the Dignity Model, a signature approach that she has applied to the most divisive and deep-seated conflicts around the world. In her recent blog post, Donna mentions how the assaults to the dignity of African Americans perpetrated by police have a long history in this country.

Over 55 years ago, APB was founded on the mission to provide an open forum for individuals to voice their opinions and points of view. Now is the time to speak out. Now is the time to stand together. Now is the time for change. We have a long history of working toward racial justice and providing a platform to those giving a voice to the voiceless, from such leaders as Martin Luther King, Jr., Dick Gregory, and Adam Clayton Powell to the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter. As we reflect on everything that is happening, let’s be confident that change will come – and smart enough to know that it must involve all of us.

Widow of country music legend Glen Campbell, Kim Campbell has made it her personal mission to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and their caregivers. Along with her daughter Ashley Campbell, they set out to share their family’s journey with Alzheimer’s after Glen was diagnosed in 2011. Kim and Ashley recently joined a Zoom call with families who are not able to visit their loved ones in nursing homes due to the coronavirus.

With Americans believing COVID-19 might end by the summer, APB speaker, COVID-19 expert and Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, Dr. Michael Osterholm, says that this pandemic can last up to 18 months, or more. Dr. Osterholm told CNN, "This thing's not going to stop until it infects 60 to 70 percent of people (…) the idea that this is going to be done soon defies microbiology.” He believes that government officials should not be telling citizens that COVID-19 will be ending soon, but instead, they should tell them to prepare for the long haul. Out of the three different scenarios experts laid out for CNN, they all agreed on the common theme of constant “waves” for this pandemic in the coming years.

Former NFL player, Rhodes Scholar and sought-after speaker Myron Rolle is now on the front lines against COVID-19. He describes the similarities in battling his opponents on the football field to the spread of coronavirus. Rolle, a neurosurgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, is working hard with others in the healthcare industry to end this pandemic. He said to CNN, “In football we had to prepare (…) and now we have to prepare for what COVID-19 has prepared for us. Are there antibodies coming, is there a vaccine coming, who does it affect the most?”

APB speaker and Emmy Award-winning medical journalist Dr. Seema Yasmin gave an APB Ideacast on COVID-19, updating us on where are we now in the medical world and where are we going. Not only did Dr. Yasmin debunk some COVID-19 myths, she also discussed the progress being made to tackle the spread of the virus, including an unprecedented vaccine trial, new tests and preparations for a second wave of infections.

APB speaker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, a six-time NBA champion and the league’s only six-time MVP. However, Abdul-Jabbar is not just a basketball legend, he is also a humanitarian, helping others during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Practicing HIV/infectious diseases specialist and medical analyst on CNN, APB speaker Dr. Celine Gounder is getting a lot of questions from both American citizens and healthcare professionals on how to deal with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Dr. Gounder, epidemiologist (aka disease detective), wrote on Clinical Care Options that one of the biggest challenges during this epidemic is how to test for COVID-19.

The Healthcare Technology Report issued their annual list of the top 25 Biotech CEOs of the year, and APB’s own John Crowley tops the list at #1! Crowley is being recognized for his groundbreaking work as the Chairperson and CEO of Amicus Therapeutics, which he has grown from a 4-person startup operation to an international biopharmaceutical firm with over 500 employees. Crowley is uniquely mission-driven, having left his original career and founded his own company after both his children were given fatal diagnoses of the rare neuromuscular disorder, Pompe disease. Crowley was frustrated with the slow pace of Pompe research, so he took matters into his own hands at his own company, eventually finding a life-saving enzyme treatment for his two young children and thousands of others like them.