Leadership class focuses on health care
The 2020 Leadership Shelby class spent Feb. 11 learning all about health care. The objective was to gain knowledge and understanding of healthcare resources and how they impact business and community services and be challenged to take personal responsibility for health and wellness and gain exposure to various healthcare services provided in Shelby County.
The morning began at Shelby Baptist Medical Center in the Physician’s Center Conference Room. Shelby Baptist CEO Daniel Listi, a member of this year’s leadership class, welcomed the group to the campus.
Stroke Program Coordinator, Brittany Stegall, spoke on stroke awareness and said strokes are the fifth leading cause of death and the leading cause of disabilities. She discussed the ways to identify a stroke, how to recognize the symptoms and the importance of getting to the hospital as quickly as possible. Shelby Baptist became a Certified Primary Stroke Center last year and also tripled the number of patients treated.
Dr. Cliff Vance, a cardiologist and President of HeartSouth Cardiovascular Group (located on the Shelby Baptist campus), spoke about innovations in heart health procedures, including that many heart caths are now done through the wrist instead of the groin. The practice serves around 65,000 patients and treatment advances are allowing use of the most current technology.
Robyn James spoke about the Middle Alabama Area Agency on Aging (M4A), one of 13 local area agencies on aging. They operate in all 67 counties, assisting all ages at all stages with an overall mission to help individuals access information, assistance, and resources that will empower them to self-advocate, live independently, and enjoy the highest quality of life and serves Blount, Chilton, Shelby, St. Clair, and Walker Counties. They offer meals to senior centers and homebound meals, prescription assistance and medicare counseling. LaToya Shelton is over the State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) and assists people in choosing a plan and offers individual counseling.
Probate Judge Allison Boyd discussed the consequences of untreated mental illness and said roughly 50,000 people in Shelby County experience mental illness each year. She was also happy to announce that commitment hearings will begin taking place at Shelby Baptist later this week.
Daphne Kendrick, Adult Mental Illness Division Director at Central Alabama Wellness, informed the class about the newly implemented Stepping Up Initiative that began last year. Its goal is to raise awareness of factors that contribute to the over-representation of people with mental illnesses in jails, and to develop practices and strategies to reduce the numbers.
We then boarded the bus and traveled to St. Vincent’s One Nineteen campus where we heard from Jason Alexander, Senior Vice President, Ascension Health & Birmingham Ministry Market Executive President/CEO of St. Vincent’s Health System. His presentation focused on the changing healthcare landscape and that Alabama also receives the lowest reimbursement rates in the country.
Dr. Daniel Marullo, a pediatric psychologist at Children’s of Alabama, presented a slideshow about exposure of technology in children and how it affects them, the benefits and risks.
The last speaker was Dr. David Cox, a cardiologist at St. Vincent’s. He shared that one of every four deaths is from heart disease, but Shelby County has the lowest death rate in the state.
We then took a tour of the St. Vincent’s One Nineteen facility before heading back for a tour of Shelby Baptist Medical Center.
Our next Leadership Day will be March 12 in Montgomery and will focus on state government.
280 Living Editor Leah Ingram Eagle is a member of this year’s Leadership Shelby County class. This article is part of an ongoing series, documenting the group’s year.