Check out the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA)’s 100th episode of its “Patients Come First” podcast, featuring U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, and hosted as always by VHHA’s Vice President of Communications, Julian Walker. Among other things, Sen. Kaine talks about his own bout with COVID-19 (including continuing neurological symptoms); the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package (Kaine says the danger is “going too small,” not going “too big”); his experience on 1/6/21 (“it was a day that I never would have imagined, that I’m never going to forget, and that I never want to repeat…I was just furious…the president preaching the Big Lie over and over and over again had led to this” and people “have fallen for it”…”I hope America is wiser…for having put a person with no moral character into the most important office”); the challenges of the mass vaccination rollout; the amazing job done by the Virginia National Guard on COVID-19 and protecting the U.S. Capitol; his Medicare X proposal; his “entertainment survival kit picks”; etc.
VHHA Releases 100th Episode of Patients Come First Podcast Featuring U.S. Senator Tim Kaine
Podcast Debuted in May 2017 to Highlight Health Care Professionals and Others Whose Work Focuses on Health Care, the Series has Accumulated Thousands of Plays and Downloads Since Then
RICHMOND, VA – The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) this week published the 100th episode of the Patients Come First podcast featuring United States Senator Tim Kaine for a conversation about his personal experience with contracting COVID-19, health care policy issues, the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and much more.
Launched to coincide with National Hospital Week in May of 2017, the Patients Come First podcast for nearly four years has profiled the stories of frontline health care providers, hospital administrators, support staff, volunteers, other noteworthy people and professionals with unique health care stories, and elected officials engaged in health care policy. Podcast episodes have been downloaded nearly 2,200 times, played nearly 4,400 times on SoundCloud, and accumulated thousands of additional plays from listeners across the globe on VHHA platforms and social media channels. Episodes of the podcast are also broadcast each Saturday at noon and Sunday at 10 a.m. on 100.5 FM, 92.7 FM, and 820 AM across Central Virginia.
Guests on the podcast have included team members and affiliates from Augusta Health, Ballad Health, Bon Secours, Carilion Clinic, Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, Children’s National Health System, Fauquier Health, HCA Virginia, Inova, Mary Washington Healthcare, Riverside Health System, Sentara Healthcare, Southside Regional Medical Center, Sovah Health – Danville, UVA Health, VCU Health, and Virginia Hospital Center.
The podcast has also featured interviews with leaders at state agencies including the Virginia Department for Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Virginia Department of Health, the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, the Virginia Health Practitioners’ Monitoring Program, and the Virginia Military Medics and Corpsmen Program. And it has hosted leaders including Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, MD, Virginia Health and Human Resources Secretary Dr. Daniel Carey, Virginia Health Commissioner Dr. M. Norman Oliver, DBHDS Commissioner Alison Land, Virginia Senator Siobhan Dunnavant, MD, Virginia Senator Louise Lucas, Virginia Senator Jennifer McClellan, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, American Hospital Association President and CEO Rick Pollack, and many others.
“The past year has served as a reminder of the incredibly important, life-saving work done by the people who work in Virginia hospitals and across the health care sector,” said VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton. “Those circumstances have appropriately focused attention on Virginia’s many health care heroes. For the past four years, that’s what the Patients Come First podcast has done: Shined a light on sometimes unheralded or overlooked stories about the people who work in Virginia hospitals and other health care settings, as well as those who work in partnership with health care organizations or agencies, and their efforts to improve patient outcomes and public health in the Commonwealth. VHHA is proud to showcase these stories in podcast form.”
Listen to the latest episode with U.S. Senator Tim Kaine here and access past episodes here. The Patients Come First podcast is available on apps including Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, SoundCloud, Blubrry, iHeart Radio, Deezer, Podbay, Overcast, and Pocket Casts. Podcast topic or guest suggestions may be submitted to pcfpodcast@vhha.com.
About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 110 hospitals and 26 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to achieve excellence in both health care and health. Its vision is through the power of collaboration to be recognized as a driving force behind making Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
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