Myers Launches Health Care Series on WUOT

A UT nursing professor hopes to bring the abstract world of health-care issues, coverage, and policy to the public in easy-to-understand digests with a newly launched series on WUOT called HealthConnections.

The series is the brainchild of Carole Myers, an associate professor in the College of Nursing. Twice a month, Myers and WUOT’s Brandon Hollingsworth will discuss health-care issues to help listeners understand what they hear on the news.

“The idea for HealthConnections has been evolving for quite some time,” said Myers. “I have a long-standing interest in policies related to health and health care, how policy is made and evaluated, and access to high-quality,cost-effective care for everyone.”

The idea for a radio show came to Myers after attending a town hall event hosted by Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero in February. Despite having worked with advocacy and community groups for many years, the idea for addressing the concern the general public has about health care had not crystalized before this meeting.

“I saw a need to translate what was being discussed in Nashville and in our nation’s capitol so people assembled at the town hall meeting and beyond could understand it at a personal level,” said Myers. “I saw a need to get even more engaged at the time our federal elected officials were retreating and refusing to attend town hall meetings in their districts.”

HealthConnections will air twice during Morning Edition and once during All Things Considered on the first and third Tuesday of each month for the next three months.

 The premiere episode of the series aired on Tuesday, June 20, and can be streamed online. The next episode will air Tuesday, July 4.

Listener-supported WUOT 91.9 FM is licensed to UT. WUOT is a member of NPR and is an affiliate of Public Radio International and American Public Media. WUOT serves listeners throughout East Tennessee and parts of Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week and streams on the web.