In this special episode of "Off the Charts," co-hosts Steven Jackson, MD, Kari Haley, MD, and producer Jimmy Bellamy reflect on the past year since the podcast launched. They share the conversations they’re still thinking about, the quotes that have stuck with them and feedback from listeners that inspire them to keep going. "Off the Charts" will return soon with Season 3.
In this special episode of Off the Charts, co-hosts Steven Jackson, MD, Kari Haley, MD, and producer Jimmy Bellamy reflect on the past year since the podcast launched. They share the conversations they’re still thinking about, the quotes that have stuck with them and feedback from listeners that inspire them to keep going. Off the Charts will return soon with Season 3.
Hosts: Kari Haley, MD, and Steven Jackson, MD
Guest: Jimmy Bellamy
HealthPartners website: Off the Charts podcast
YouTube link to the 2020 Regions EMS roundtable discussion with St. Paul first responders referenced in this episode: Diversity in EMS Podcast
Got an idea? Have thoughts to share? We want to hear from you. Email us at offthecharts@healthpartners.com.
Dr. Kari Haley:
He's a rehab doctor from Chicago.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
She's an emergency medicine doctor from the Twin Cities.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Together, we're examining the health equity emergency.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Inviting voices for change without the cue cards.
Dr. Kari Haley:
I'm Dr. Kari Haley.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
I'm Dr. Steven Jackson.
Both, together:
And this is Off the Charts.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
You guys are in for a treat. Today we're going to be having a conversation with Jimmy Bellamy. He is our senior communications consultant for HealthPartners, and he is Mr. Behind the Scenes. You guys hear myself and Dr. Haley every other week, and he kind of makes it happen behind the scenes, so we're going to be talking to him about everything. Jimmy, how are you doing today?
Jimmy Bellamy:
I'm good. You're too kind, Steve. Thank you.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
I try.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yes. If you've made it to the end of the episodes, you will have at least heard his name because he is listed a few times, I think, in our credits.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And that's the only reason I do this at all, just to have the name said at the end of it.
Dr. Kari Haley:
You need to have that important piece thrown in there.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah. It's nice to be on mic with you both.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Long overdue, man. We're really, really happy to have you on officially with us.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
You are back. So for those that are listening, this is totally off the charts. This is totally off script.
Dr. Kari Haley:
We don't even have a script. There's like not even an outline of a script.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
No notes, no nothing.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Nothing.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Basically, because I didn't do my job and make one.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
This is his last episode. He is officially fired after this. No, we're just joking.
Jimmy Bellamy:
It was fun. It was a good run.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Well, we launched January 3rd of this year (2022), and I don't know when this will be released or when you guys will listen into it, but we've had a good run so far, I think. We're, I think, finishing up Season 2. We're already making plans for Season 3, and the powers that be have been gracious enough to give us undying support, and we've had support also just from our listeners and people saying, 'Hey, I listened to the podcast and great episode. Looking forward to the next one." It's just been really good. And from your standpoint, from your bird's eye view, man, how have things been going?
Jimmy Bellamy:
It's been really fun. I have loved the variety of work that I get to do as a part of the communications team, and this has been right up there, if not at the top spot of things I love to do the most with my work. Getting to work with you two has been awesome. And then also, being able to explore the topics. I should say Beth Gibbs, who edits our podcast, shout-out to Beth.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Thanks, Beth.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Does a tremendous job, and it's not too often that she isn't telling me, "Oh, I learned something this episode." She usually tells me that after editing an episode that she learns stuff. And I feel the same way. When we do this, I sit here while the guest is with you, and I take notes of the conversation, marking things like, "OK, we can delete this part or we can shorten this part," everything from a lengthy pause to if we need to start over.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Steve goes off cuff.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah, if we need to start over again.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Bring them back, reel them back.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Remove Steve's reference to a major sponsor. I'm kidding.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Sorry.
Jimmy Bellamy:
So then, the following day I listen to the entire conversation again and take even more detailed notes before I send it off to Beth. And I feel the same way when I listen, and I think I probably either text you or email you or when I see you again tell you in person, "This episode is going to be great when it comes out. It was so nice to hear," not referring to this episode. This episode is pure trash. If you want to stop now you can. But every guest we've had on, I feel like, "I can't believe this is what I get to do, to just sit with these minds and learn from these individuals." You two, Kari and Steve, Dr. Jackson, Dr. Haley, brilliant minds. I am just some dope who somehow weaseled his way into working here. So I'll take it.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Not true, not true.
Dr. Kari Haley:
False.
Jimmy Bellamy:
So it's nice to be able to hear from subject-matter experts and also just people about their life experiences, things they've gone through, things they are going through, and the ways that they've helped people who go through similar things. So yeah, it's really fun to be a part of this and just learn, learn, learn.
Dr. Kari Haley:
So you kind of mentioned we've been doing this a while now, and we all kind of got together even before we started. So it was 2020, right?
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah. 2020.
Dr. Kari Haley:
When we initially thought of this idea. And I think we got you on after Steve and I had met, and we approached you to be like, "Hey, Jimmy, want to help us get this started?" Do you remember how things started? What was going through your mind and what were you thinking about this project that we were like, "Hey, what do you think, man?"
Jimmy Bellamy:
I absolutely remember the origin story. If there's one thing I can offer, it's... people who are really good artists when it comes to drawing, painting, all that stuff, I imagine that they see the image in their brains before they produce it. I don't have that at all.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Me either, me either.
Jimmy Bellamy:
I have numbers, and not even in the good math way. I just have numbers and dates in my head and that's kind of how I bookmark my entire life. Before we hit record, we just referenced a song, and I knew it came out in like '96 or '97 based on where I was at that point in time. It's kind of like that with this. So it's 2020, I think a year none of us will forget.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Right.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Much of which happened in that year we probably would like to forget, but others, no. But so much... One of those moments where time will always be marked is, unfortunately, the murder of George Floyd. So May 25th, 2020, and the aftermath and everything that followed. We've talked about it a little bit on this show, the round table that you hosted, Kari, with other first responders from the Twin Cities area, St. Paul in particular, metro area. And that's the other cool thing is we're talking right now to a global audience.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yes.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
So I'll have to remember if I talk about, "Oh, I'm from Duluth, I'll (say) Duluth, Minnesota." But not long after that roundtable video came out on YouTube, Ashley Burt, who's another member of our communications team who, at the time she was my direct supervisor; we changed roles within communications since then so she's no longer my direct supervisor. At that time, I mainly focused on Regions Hospital work. Now I focus on all of HealthPartners' hospitals, so I'm on a different team within the communications team. But Ashley had said, "Hey, have you seen this?" And she's the one who brought the roundtable to my attention. I watched it and was enthralled, I think that's the word to use.
Dr. Kari Haley:
That's a great word. I love that word.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah. I agree.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Don't ask me what it means, I don't know.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Scrabble. Scrabble.
Jimmy Bellamy:
I just heard it somewhere. So I'm watching it. I think it was roughly an hour and 20 minutes long.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yeah. It was a pretty long conversation.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah.
Jimmy Bellamy:
So I'm watching it on two times speed, because I don't have time for that. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding, I did not. I did watch it all, though, regular speed. And one, I was impressed that given that... We're talking, I think this is June 2020 when that took place?
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yeah, it was not long after. It was the end of June.
Jimmy Bellamy:
So we're all still in our homes, for the most part. I'm not in direct patient care, so I'm working from home at this point. And I just remember thinking, one, it's a minor miracle that you were able to get all of those people into the same room at that time, at that point in time, given the circumstances. And number two, I continue to be amazed at what Regions EMS does from a technology standpoint or a production standpoint.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Shout-out to Dr. Bjorn Peterson.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Absolutely. The quality of video and anything else that is pushed out. I saw this and thought, "This is great." And I have to give kudos to Ashley Burt again, because she had said, "We need to find a way to get this across as many of our communications channels as possible. Can you reach out to Dr. Haley?" And, "Sure." And you don't know this, I don't think, but when I started here in May 2019, the director of the emergency department at the time at Regions Hospital was Richelle Jader.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yep.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And Richelle, I believe, had emailed Ashley and said, "I have four emergency doctors who I would like to have media training." And you were one of those people on that list.
Dr. Kari Haley:
I do remember that, yes.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And Ashley had given it to me as one of my first assignments at Regions Hospital, was to take these doctors through media training. I don't know if you were able to actually attend.
Dr. Kari Haley:
I don't think I did, because I remember actually getting the email and being like, "Oh, I've already done media training," because I did it when I was a fellow during my EMS fellowship. So I had done it the year or two before that, so I was like, "Eh, I am working."
Jimmy Bellamy:
Well, it's good-
Dr. Kari Haley:
"I won't be able to make it."
Jimmy Bellamy:
... because you didn't miss anything. You probably would have fallen asleep during my presentation. But your name stuck with me. When I saw you host that roundtable, "Oh, I know this person's name from last year." This was '20, thinking about '19. So I knew right away, "Yeah, I'll reach out to her and ask." And I'd reached out to you and said, "Hey, are you okay with us sharing this on our communications channels, social media, internally, maybe finding a way to pitch a reporter on covering this as like, 'Hey, this might be a nice story we could do.'" And in your reply to me CC'd Steve and said, "Hey, why don't we start a podcast?"
Dr. Kari Haley:
That's pretty sketchy of me, just CC'ing Steve in there.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And to circle back, I met you (Steve), and I don't expect you to remember, I think I've told you this already, but in August of 2019, during what Regions Hospital calls Leadership Council... For the listening audience, Leadership Council meetings at Regions Hospital take place in an auditorium, and leaders in the hospital, managers and other people who are far smarter than me attend this and updates are given. And they hear from the hospital president, Megan Remark, and then other leaders in other areas. And then, there's usually other speakers depending on the topic de jour.
And Steve, you were giving a talk during one of the Leadership Council meetings in August. And I just remember I'm sitting front row, and I usually did because I would take notes because I would usually help work on Megan's presentation and then also just be there in a support role if anything is needed technically because I'm the one setting up and making sure that the iPad is working.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
I'm trying to think about what I was talking about.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And I couldn't tell you. You could give me a...
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Thanks a lot.
Jimmy Bellamy:
We're talking three-plus years ago. And I would maybe normally remember three years back, but with everything that's happened in the last three years...
Dr. Steven Jackson:
We've had a unique last three years.
Dr. Kari Haley:
It's been, yeah, very unique.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
I'm having a hard time remembering.
Jimmy Bellamy:
But all I do remember is that you were hilarious.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
OK.
Jimmy Bellamy:
I just remember you were really funny and you did a good job riffing. I don't know if you've ever done improv or anything, but you just rolled with things and you'd have great one-liners and you'd play off the audience. It was really fun, and so you stood out to me, like, "This guy's really funny, and he's a doctor? I think he missed his calling." And then I find out, "He's a musician, he's this." It was just like, "Oh geez, what don't you do?"
Dr. Steven Jackson:
So shout-out to my mentor, Bret Haake. He forwarded it to me and said, "Steve, check this out." And I checked it out. I said, "Well, what do you think about us making this even more widespread across the hospital, across the organization?" He was like, "Reach out to her then." And that's what I did, and so that's kind of how that started.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And that's perfect. So when you CC'd him, I knew exactly who Steve was and the connection to Regions and everything and the organization. And my initial reaction was, "Oh, geez, this is going to be a ton of work." And that was my honest gut-
Dr. Steven Jackson:
The real truth comes out.
Jimmy Bellamy:
... that was my reaction. It was simply, "This is just... No, I just want to share this on social media and then move on."
Dr. Kari Haley:
You're like, "Kari, come on."
Jimmy Bellamy:
"I just want to move on with my life and do the other list of things I've got going on." And after that initial reaction, I thought more about it. I don't know if it was maybe the next day and I'm like, "This would be really cool if we did this." So again, kind of going back to my start, in a former life, I had done a podcast. And when I started here in 2019, the people who hired me knew that because I had it on my resume. And Ashley Burt, again, had asked me, not long after I started, "If we were to do a podcast, how would that work? Could you put a rough plan together for me to show my boss? And then we can kind of go from there." So I had done that, and the brakes got put on it when COVID came into the picture.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Like a lot of things, yeah.
Jimmy Bellamy:
So I was able to dust off that plan and then customize it for this vision of what was, for a long time our working title was just the HealthPartners DEI Podcast. We didn't have a name.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
That's true.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And that's what we called it.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
That's true.
Jimmy Bellamy:
So I put together basically a pitch via PowerPoint to present to leaders in communications as well as other parts of the organization to say, "We want to do a podcast hosted by these two doctors." And it was you two. We didn't have tryouts. You two were it.
Dr. Kari Haley:
I would have failed.
Jimmy Bellamy:
You were always the two.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Tryouts.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And like you said at the beginning of the show, Steve, instant support from-
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Oh, yeah.
Jimmy Bellamy:
... every turn. And then, it went from, "Oh man, I don't want to do this" to, "Oh, this is going to be awesome." And some people may shake their heads, but we spent roughly a year and a half.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah. It was like 16, 17 months.
Dr. Kari Haley:
It was a long time.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Crafting this thing.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah, it was a while.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And I say things, I'm like a Tarantino movie, I'm always out of order here. But I've enjoyed the time we've had together. That 16, 17 months of planning, yes, 16, 17 months of planning, I feel like this needed that. And there were definitely times throughout that period of time where it felt like, "Is this ever going to happen? Is this ever going to get off the ground?" There were a lot of false starts. And I remember when we initially had put the plan together, I think I had said we could do it by the end of 2020 or the start of 2021. And I think we ended up recording our first episode February 3rd of 2021.
Dr. Kari Haley:
'21, yeah, because it was right after the vaccine-
Dr. Steven Jackson:
That's what it was.
Dr. Kari Haley:
... rolled out and everything.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
That was Zeke McKinney first.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Zeke McKinney.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yeah.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And I forget that until you said that, Kari. We waited for the vaccine because we knew, "Well, we could do virtual conversations." And we certainly have in the life of the show, but we really wanted it to be that in-person, one-on-one or two-on-one or two-on-two, however, because we have had two guests at one time. We wanted it to be that intimate feel so that the listener feels like they're in the room with us. So we did wait for the vaccine rollout, that's right. But then, Zeke's episode wasn't heard until January 3rd, 2022.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
2022.
Dr. Kari Haley:
2022, yeah.
Jimmy Bellamy:
But the beauty of this show is, for the most part, the topics are evergreen. And I would love for there to be a time in history where somebody could listen to this and be like, "Well, we don't have to worry about diversity, equity and inclusion. We've solved it all." But I have a feeling that the stuff we've covered and the guests we've had, these conversations will always be relevant no matter at what point in time you're listening.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Now we've had a lot of episodes. I have it pulled up here on my phone.
Dr. Kari Haley:
We do. We have. We've had a lot of guests and a lot of episodes.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
We've had 20+ episodes.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah. As of this recording, and people won't be hearing this for the first time until mid-January, I think, of 2023.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
OK.
Jimmy Bellamy:
So I hope New Year's was awesome. I hope everybody stayed safe.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Happy New Year, everybody.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Hope you didn't indulge too much. But as of this recording right now, we've had 22 episodes come out. We have recorded more than 22 episodes, and more will have come out by the time people hear this. But yeah, if I can pat myself on the back, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think you two really knew each other at all.
Dr. Kari Haley:
No.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Prior to.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Nope.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Nope.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
I don't even think I ever saw you.
Dr. Kari Haley:
No. I think one of the first things he's told me is, "Where have you been hiding?"
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah.
Dr. Kari Haley:
And I was like, "In the Valley hospitals in Western Wisconsin."
Dr. Steven Jackson:
I'm not there very often. But it's been a good ride. And going back to the different guests that we've had, so we've recorded, or we've released 22 episodes, I think, including this one maybe.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Willie Braziel is Episode #22. Willie is the operations manager of HealthPartners' Office of Health Professional Education. I did that off the top of head.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Good job.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
That was no notes.
Dr. Kari Haley:
There was a lot of letters in there.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
No notes.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Numbers and letters up in my head here. That's all I've got. So that came out this week as of this recording; the Willie Braziel episode came out, it's 22.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
OK. OK.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And I just had somebody stop me on the way in here, and I'm not making this up. Someone stopped me in the hallway and said, "I'm in the middle of listening to the Willie Braziel episode and I am loving it."
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Wow. That's awesome. And a shout-out to just the members of the organization that have pulled us aside in the hallway or sent emails or text messages and have said, "Thank you for what you do. I'm just letting you guys know that's really helpful." We love what we do.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yes.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
But it's definitely a time commitment. But like I said, we love it, and those things are just bursts of energy and breaths of fresh air when you hear, "Thank you. Keep going. Thank you for what you do," those kinds of things. So I really appreciate it.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yeah, I do, too. It's so great to hear some of the small just side stories that some people have, like, "Oh, this is going to change how I ask this question when I'm talking to patients" or "This is how different how I'm going to approach a situation." Or we had Munira, and she messaged us or you, right, Jimmy?
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah.
Dr. Kari Haley:
And saying a patient heard the podcast and asked to be her patient.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah.
Dr. Kari Haley:
That's so cool.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And that happened just days ago as of this recording again. I had a text from Munira MaalimIsaq, who is an incredible nurse practitioner at the clinic in Maplewood. Prior to that, she was a telemetry nurse at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. Munira is awesome. I got to work with her, I think at first in 2020, and she's just been a joy. I've had an opportunity to work with her a few times. And she is one of those people, it's like the world needs many, many more Muniras.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah.
Jimmy Bellamy:
So she sent me this text and she goes, "You will not believe what I just found out!!! (several exclamation points). Someone who listened to my Off the Charts episode made an appointment to see me for their routine health maintenance and requested me as their primary care provider!!! Thank you again for having me on."
Dr. Steven Jackson:
That's just crazy.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And I sent that to both of you right away, because one of the other perks is we now have a text thread of the three of us.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yes, we do.
Jimmy Bellamy:
No one else is allowed in it.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
That's right, private.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And that's the stuff that when you wonder, "Well, is anybody listening?" Or you hear all the time, especially in communications, "Well, what's the ROI, the return on investment?" Whether you're doing something on social media or something that's hard to quantify, because unless somebody walks through your doors and says, "I saw this social media post and that's why I'm here, or I blah blah blah," that's why it's hard to really tell, is what I'm doing making a difference? That right there, I want to say that's why we do this. That's one of the many reasons why we do this.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And it's just so heartening to know that because we had Munira on, someone found that episode and then found her and is now getting taken better care of.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Better care.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Getting good, primary health care from her.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah. Yeah.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Exactly.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Which is thrilling.
Jimmy Bellamy:
So I was excited to hear that, and just humbled by it. And again, I'm just... To close the loop on getting you two to know each other... I keep hitting this mic. I should be the last one hitting this stuff because it's making noises. I'm so sorry.
Dr. Kari Haley:
That's OK.
Jimmy Bellamy:
To close the loop, that's what I love about my job in communications is, communications, I would argue, is the only part of a health care organization that touches every piece. So I get to know this physical medicine and rehab physician and also know this emergency physician who is at Regions sometimes, but also at any one of four Valley hospitals: Amery, Hudson, Westfields in New Richmond, Lakeview in Stillwater. It's crazy that I, just this simple dude, get to work with both of you and then make those connections.
And I'm not talking about connecting myself to you two, I'm talking about making the connection with you two to each other, that's what I really enjoy about this job. And I can provide several examples of that where it's like, this person didn't know this person. They're both brilliant minds who work for the same org, now they know each other and they're doing cool things with their work. And I love having just even a simple, small role in that.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Well, I don't know how it is in other organizations or if the support would be available elsewhere, but I do know that we've gotten nothing but support. We've had some brilliant minds in this office where we record.
Jimmy Bellamy:
I'm bringing down the average.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
You're actually raising it.
Dr. Kari Haley:
We have gone up 0.1.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
0.1.
Jimmy Bellamy:
0.1.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
But are there any guests or any quotes from particular guests that still stand out to you that have just stuck with you over time?
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah. One jumps out right away, and it always has. It's when we had Toweya Brown-Ochs on, and Toweya is the director of diversity and inclusion here at HealthPartners. She was one of our first guests and she had said, and I'm probably going to not do it justice, but she had said she wants people to leverage their privilege. And that's what I'm aiming to do. And again, you have both heard this from me ad nauseum. I have it down. I should have a card that says this, but as a cisgender, straight, white male-
Dr. Steven Jackson:
I knew you were going to say it.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yep.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yes.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Life has basically been gift wrapped for me, and I've had every opportunity to succeed even when I've failed. And I just want to leverage that privilege to help anybody who doesn't match those traits that I just mentioned, just make life better and easier and simpler and the way it should be for everyone.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Everybody.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And I'm not saying that I need to be somebody who is going to be giving permission because that is not a person in my position's role. That's nobody's role. But I want to be there to advocate for and help in any way that I can to make sure that people have a life that they can enjoy. That's it. So yeah, that quote from Toweya stands out to me. And again, I probably butchered it, but I think she said, "leverage your privilege."
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Well, I think one that stands out to me, I think of several, but if I had to pick one off the top of my head, it would be Dr. Miguel Ruiz. He's one of our palliative care docs here at Regions. And talking about the interaction between clinician and patient, he said, "Instead of seeking to be understood, we should seek to understand."
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yeah.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
And man, even when I say it I just get goosebumps, because that's the essence of service. That's the essence of selflessness when it comes to patient care, because how often do I go into a patient's room with my script or my mental script of, "Well, this is what I need to say in order to get the information that I need to do the diagnosis, get the diagnosis, get the treatment." And I think ever since then, I've been a little bit more intentional about just listening better and being present and trying to get my mind off of my personal agenda so I can get through the day. And it's changed my perspective, and I just thought that was a very powerful quote for me.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yeah. I kind of feel the same way with that quote, too, especially with what has been going on in the last two years and working in emergency medicine, just remembering to have that perspective. It has completely changed, because I am not going to lie, and this is showing my bias in my own self of there were nights when you're like, "Oh my gosh, why are you here?" It's dragging. It's 2 in the morning. You just are like, "What is happening right now?"
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah.
Dr. Kari Haley:
And that's coming from my own script and that's coming from myself and my own agendas. But after our conversation with Dr. Ruiz, I feel like I have definitely flipped that switch of, "It's not we're here. I'm going to work. I'm going to listen to your story because it still matters, for sure. And you came at this time and that's the time that worked for you in your story, so that's all that we really need to worry about."
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah. And Dr. Ruiz had so many things he said. That's another episode.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Oh, man.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Oh, yeah.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
That was a lot of meat in that episode.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yes, it was.
Jimmy Bellamy:
It was. Whether you as a listener have checked that out or not, do it again.
Dr. Kari Haley:
I've really appreciated, and I'd love to hear what you think, too, Jimmy. We started a lot with some of our colleagues, our physician colleagues and they are subject matter experts. And we've expanded so much beyond that now, bringing in members from the community and hearing from them. And to me, it's been really great to think about how we are a health care DEI podcast, and that it still really is very important and crucial that we're involving the community and things that we don't traditionally think of as health-related.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah.
Dr. Kari Haley:
How have you felt now, bringing in the community members and maybe outside the organization? And what are your hopeful plans for our podcast in the future as we kind of are expanding our wings a little bit?
Jimmy Bellamy:
I want that to continue, because that's who I want consuming this show. If we had just a HealthPartners- or Park Nicollet-related guest on, we could go for years and still not get to everybody.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yep.
Jimmy Bellamy:
We've just got so many incredible people in this organization, and I'm not just saying that. I'm so glad now that we're starting to incorporate some community members, which was a little harder in the belly of the pandemic beast. And as of this recording, and we are recording to provide some transparency, it's November 30th, 2022, today, and we're still in a pandemic. We're wearing masks in health care facilities, and we haven't been able to bring community members in as much as I had maybe thought at the start of this show. But I want to continue to expand that, because I want the people we have on to share the episode that they do with their respective networks, with their family and friends.
There was an episode most recently, it's not out as of this recording, but it will be out by the time people hear this. We had on an expert from Washington, D.C. And hopefully she will share this episode with her network and we'll get even more ears and eyes on the show.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah.
Jimmy Bellamy:
This community, and I say this community... Community is a funny word, because you say it and it's like everybody pictures something different. Because you say community, well, do you mean the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area?
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Right.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Mm-hmm.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Do you mean St. Paul, because that's where this show is being recorded right now? Or do I mean St. Louis Park where I live? I guess mean Minnesota metro, Twin Cities metro area, but greater Minnesota or really anywhere. And I will say this, too. Getting a peek at the analytics, we get listeners from all over the United States. I think we've had at least one download in 45 countries as of the last time I checked.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Nice.
Jimmy Bellamy:
So wherever you are, we're a global community, I guess. I want this show to resonate with people. So by doing that, I think it's important that you have people within these communities on. And I think back to our conversation with Anthony Taylor, the same person who told me about the Willie Braziel episode was telling me how much they enjoyed the episode with Anthony Taylor.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Yes.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
I listened to that the other night.
Jimmy Bellamy:
He talked-
Dr. Kari Haley:
It was good.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
I was like, "Wow."
Jimmy Bellamy:
Anthony brought up biking and trails. And when he had you guess, "If I told you this person-"
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Like the demographics.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Exactly.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Mm-hmm.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yep, yep.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Describe.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Their education level, their income level, their race.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Their race.
Jimmy Bellamy:
All that. This person I was speaking to is a hunter, and said that they see similar things in the hunting community. And he listens to a hunting-centric podcast where they covered this topic as well.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Interesting.
Jimmy Bellamy:
And he himself, the person I was talking to, is an advocate for closing that gap, where they don't want it to just be this overwhelmingly white activity. So it was really nice that he was able to draw comparison to this episode we did with Anthony Taylor about biking and trails.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Well, I want to say we are not just a podcast, we are an award-winning-
Dr. Kari Haley:
Oh, yeah.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
... podcast. Do you want to speak a little bit on that?
Jimmy Bellamy:
Yeah. It's funny we can say it and actually mean it. We are an award-winning podcast. I was at the Minnesota Health Strategy and Communications Network annual meeting or fall conference at Mayo back in September or October. My memory is being tested again. And they had an awards ceremony just before lunch. And while I'm sitting there thinking about the turkey sandwich that I was going to hopefully get my hands on, we were recognized for winning Best in Communications.
It was a third-place award. And it's funny, because some people, when they've shared that, they've conveniently left out the third place. But hey, yeah, award-winning. But yeah. We got third place in Best in Communications, and that came as a total shock to me. I did not know that we were nominated. I did not know that that was happening. All I was thinking about was that turkey sandwich. So it was neat to be able to go up on stage, accept the award. We have a physical, really nice plaque. We are an award-winning podcast. We can say that and we're telling the truth.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Any final thoughts?
Jimmy Bellamy:
I know that there are a lot of people out there like me. I grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, and it's an overwhelmingly white population. And I think there are people who might have an idea or a perception or a conception of how things are, and I want to challenge them to change their thinking. I want them to open up the idea that just because you were told something from your earliest memory doesn't necessarily make it true. And I invite you to just experience the world, experience others, and just know that it's OK to take in new information and have your mind changed. And just don't make life harder for anybody. No matter who you are, no matter where you're from, we want to be safe, we want to be happy, we want to be loved, we want to be healthy. Don't contribute to somebody's bad day. If you can make it better, do that. I guess that's what I'd leave you with.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Wow.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Mic drop.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Seriously.
Dr. Kari Haley:
We often say that for Steve, but think Jimmy gets the nod on that one.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah. I think you do.
Jimmy Bellamy:
I'm not dropping the mic, though. I know how expensive these things are.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Yeah, they're expensive.
Jimmy Bellamy:
So I'm not going to drop it.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
So drop it but catch it. Avoid this camera, now.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Drop it into several pillows.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Bjorn Peterson will bill you.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Several, several.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Regions EMS will bill you.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Several layers of blankets and pillows, drop it into that.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
That's awesome, man. Listen, thank you. We see you often, and definitely when we record, it's awesome. But just even to have you as our featured guest has been more than a treat for me. So thanks for your time, man.
Jimmy Bellamy:
Well, I appreciate it. And I can't say enough how much I enjoy working with you both. You can email us at offthecharts@healthpartners.com. Send your guest ideas, topic ideas, thoughts, what you liked, what you didn't like. Maybe just save that thing that you didn't like as a draft. Don't send it. I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Be kind with your words.
Jimmy Bellamy:
No, send anything you want. We're always happy to check it out. And we have appreciated the feedback we've gotten so far.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Absolutely.
Jimmy Bellamy:
It's been tremendous, even the stuff that people say, "Hey, what about this?" We really appreciate it all. Thank you.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Thanks, everybody.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Thanks.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Off the Charts is a production of HealthPartners and Park Nicollet.
Dr. Kari Haley:
It is recorded by Jimmy Bellamy, with creative by Peggy Arnson, Tina Long, Tim Myers and Jeff Jondahl.
Dr. Steven Jackson:
Production services provided by Matriarch Digital Media.
Dr. Kari Haley:
Our theme music is by Ryan Ike.