Friday Facts

Friday Facts is a short (8:30 – 9:00AM), weekly, news style “show” designed to provide you with the latest updates on a variety of topics and features different guest speakers each week.

Although our work as a Coalition can be formal with legislators, webinars, policy changes, and education, our work is also about changing the culture of Serious Illness Care.

Rich sharing, building community, and creativity comes from these informal conversations that impact more than information, but also our vulnerabilities as human beings.

Friday Facts is much about how we relate to one another, how we operate in our professions, and helps us strengthen resilience in the work that we do.

**Friday facts occur every Friday except on Holidays and the 3rd Friday of each month**

See our schedule below along with past broadcasts.

Friday Facts are open and available to the public.
Click here to join during a scheduled livecast.
Meeting ID: 852 2075 1096

Latest Recordings

Please note, as of March 2022, all Friday Facts recordings are now found in our Insights section here.

Speaker: Rev. Odell Cleveland

Speaker, Facilitator, Trainer

Rev. Odell joins this edition of Friday Facts to share his experience as a professional, an advocate, and as a community leader. In addition to recent recognition from AARP as one of 12 selected Local Heroes for his impact in advancing policy, the discussion joins his career journey and expertise as a speaker, facilitator, and trainer.

Speaker: Dr. Heather Altman

Aging, Caregiving & Public Health Advocate, Harmony Advisors

Dr. Heather Altman joins this edition of Friday Facts to share more than 20 years’ experience in the non-profit, healthcare and aging services sectors. In addition to discussing her own journey with chronic illness and working as a teen with seniors at a care facility, she discusses the power of community-based initiatives addressing service delivery, workforce development and policy and planning related to aging services and supports, with particular emphasis on improving care transitions and supporting aging-in-place and caregiver resources.

Speaker: Shane Lukas

Creative Strategist, A Great Idea

Shane Lukas of A Great Idea, a care and community brand communications firm, supports the NC SI Coalition behind the scenes as Creative Strategist. During this Friday Facts, he shares about growing up in the Midwest, the impact of caregiving on his activism, and the importance of LGBTQ+ inclusion in serious illness conversations.

Speaker: Christie Burris

Executive Director, NC Health Information Exchange Authority

Christie Burris shares her personal journey and career as a communications professional working with nonprofit and community programs. She also shares about her role as Executive Director at NC Health Information Exchange (HIE) Authority and how the network of HIEs can advance the future of serious illness care for North Carolinians as well as the whole nation.

Speaker: Christie Burris

Executive Director, NC Health Information Exchange Authority

Christie Burris shares her personal journey and career as a communications professional working with nonprofit and community programs. She also shares about her role as Executive Director at NC Health Information Exchange (HIE) Authority and how the network of HIEs can advance the future of serious illness care for North Carolinians as well as the whole nation.

Speaker: Catherine Sevier, RN, DrPH, AOCN

State president for AARP North Carolina, Co-Chair of the NC Future of Nursing Action Coalition, and Co-Director of NC SI Coalition

Catherine Sevier, RN, DrPH, AOCN, the state president for AARP North Carolina and Co-Chair of the NC Future of Nursing Action Coalition shares her personal story and experience as a professional provider. She is the Co-Director of the NC SI Coalition and has has a background in clinical nursing (oncology), hospital administration, and health policy.

Speaker: Angela Beamer-Ratliff, MSW, ACM-SW

Regional Coordinator, Novant Health’s Choices and Champions Program

Angela Beamer-Ratliff, MSW, ACM-SW of Novant Health shares her story and experience as a caregiver. She is the Regional Coordinator for their Choices and Champions program in advance care planning as well as a member of the NC SI Coalition’s Patients and Caregivers work group.

Speaker: Gale Adcock, FNP

NC State Representative (41st District)

Gale Adcock, FNP, is a family nurse practitioner. She has served in the North Carolina House of Representatives representing the 41st district (including constituents in Wake County) since 2015. She is also the House Deputy Democratic Leader. She shares her experience as a health care provider and the importance of health care legislation.

Speaker: Kathy Colville, MSPH, MSW

President and CEO, North Carolina Institute of Medicine

Kathy Colville, MSPH, MSW, is the President and CEO of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine. She shares her experience and insights with the North Carolina Serious Illness Coalition during this weekly interview series.

Speaker: Chester Williams, MS

Founder, A Better Chance A Better Community

Chester Williams is the Founder of A Better Chance A Better Community (ABC2), a program to “empower young people by providing a life skills program that promotes positive values, healthy habits, and education through community development, culture, and awareness– resulting in real life power, World Changers as Game Changers.” Williams is a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University with a Masters in Mathematical Physics from Indiana University. He shares about ABC2 and the importance of health advocacy in rural North Carolinian communities.

Speaker: Tina Gordon, MPA, CAE, FACHE

Chief Executive Officer, North Carolina Nurses Association

Tina Gordon is a the Chief Executive Officer for North Carolina Nurses Association (NCNA). She shares about growing up in rural North Carolina and her career path through politics to representing the state’s nurse practitioners.

Speaker: Erin E. Kent, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Member, Lineberger Comprehensive Center Cancer Prevention and Control Program

Dr. Erin Kent is a social epidemiologist and brings significant insights especially to the social support needs and opportunities for people with serious illness.

Speaker: Mary Bethel

Aging Advocate

Mary Bethel joined us for Friday Facts today to discuss issues around Aging and how aging advocates can be involved in Caregiving.

Speaker: Lily Gillmor, MSPC, BSN, RN, CHPPN

Associate VP of Palliative Care & Kids, Transitions Life Care

Lily is the Associate VP of Palliative Care & Kids and started the Transitions Kids program six years ago. She currently serves on NHPCO’s Pediatric Advisory Council and is the Chair of the NC Pediatric Palliative Care Coalition.

Speaker: Bill Lamb

Board Chair, Friends of Residents in Long Term Care

Bill joined us as our featured guest speaker for this week’s Friday Facts to discuss his background, his role with FORLTC, and to share an invite to the upcoming Fall Gala.

Speaker: Ann McNellis Elmore

NC Department of the Secretary of State, Agency Legal Specialist: Investor Protection, Business Outreach, Advance Health Care Directive Registry Awareness

Ann Elmore joined us as our featured guest speaker for this week’s Friday Facts to discuss her family background, her career path, and how the NC SOS and NCSI can come together to achieve a better future.

Speaker: Dr. Giselle Corbie-Smith

UNC Kenan Distinguished Professor of Social Medicine, Director of the Center for Health and Equity Research, Professor of Internal Medicine

Dr. Corbie-Smith is nationally recognized for her scholarly work on the inclusion of disparity populations in research, and has over a decade of experience in using community engagement to conduct innovative, translational health equity research. She has shown a deep commitment to working in North Carolina by bringing research to communities, involving community members as partners in research, and improving health of minority populations and underserved areas.

Speaker: Stan Walters

Caregiver

Join us as we welcome Caregiver and Patient Engagement Work Group member, Stan Walter. In this interview, Stan talks about his personal experience as a caregiver and why self-care is so important. Stan’s selfless caregiving serves as an inspiration and reinforces why the voices of caregivers always belong at the table.

Speaker: Dr. John Moskop

Professor of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine

Dr. Moskop is Professor of Internal Medicine and Wallace and Mona Wu Chair of Biomedical Ethics at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. He is author of more than one hundred articles and book chapters on ethical issues in emergency medicine, death and dying, the allocation of health care, and other topics in bioethics. Dr. Moskop is a member and 2020-2021 chair of the Ethics Committee of the American College of Emergency Physicians and a member of the Ethical and Judicial Affairs Task Force of the North Carolina Medical Society.

Speaker: Michelle Ries

Associate Director, NCIOM

Join us as we welcome NCIOM’s Michelle Ries. In this interview, Michelle highlights her work within the serious illness space and shares how she went from Broadway to Public Health.

Speaker: Mark Hensley

Associate State Director, AARP North Carolina

Mark Hensley, member of the NCSI Caregiving and Patient Engagement Work Group, joined us as our featured guest speaker for this week’s Friday Facts. As an advocate for older adults and the LGBTQIA+ community, Mark discussed his background, his career path, and his caregiving experience. Mark also highlighted resources related to alzheimer’s and dementia.

Speaker: Julia Adams-Scheurich, MSL

Vice President of Government Relations & Public Policy , Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina and South Carolina Home Care & Hospice Association

If you’ve been following the current ACP legislation closely, you’ve most likely seen and heard from Julia. Julie Adams-Scheurich joined us as our featured guest speaker for this week’s Friday Facts to discuss her family background, her career path, and to highlight the importance of self-advocacy.

Speaker: Jai Kumar, MPH

Senior Director, Program Design, Carolinas Health Innovation Institute

If you missed the May Coalition meeting, not to worry! Jai Kumar came back as our featured guest speaker for this week’s Friday Facts. Kumar discussed his background, how his mother’s serious illness journey inspired his career, and how the Coalition and CHII can collaborate in the serious illness space.

Speaker: Jeff Thigpen

Register of Deeds, Guilford County

This Friday, Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen, joined as our featured guest speaker. Thigpen discussed his background, what inspired his career choices, his podcast, and how the Coalition can use “connection and collaboration” to reach a common goal.

Speaker: Bebe Smith, MSW, LCSW

Director of Mental Health/NCEBPC Project Coordinator, Southern Regional AHEC

This Friday, NCSI Coalition member, Bebe Smith, MSW, LCSW, joined as our featured guest speaker. She discussed her background, what inspired her career choices including her role as Director of Mental Health/NCEBPC Project Coordinator (Southern Regional AHEC), and how the Coalition can get support and include mental health advance care planning documents.

Speaker: Ellie Ward, BSN, RN

Advance Care Planning Coordinator, Vidant Health

This Friday, NCSI Coalition member, Ellie Ward, BSN, RN, joined as our featured guest speaker. She discussed her background and what inspired her career choices including her role as Advance Care Planning Coordinator at Vidant Health.

Speaker: Rev. F. Keith Stirewalt PA-C MBA MDiv

Program Director FaithHealth and Clinical Medicine, Wake Forest Baptist Health

This Friday, NCSI Coalition member, Keith Stirewalt, joined as our featured guest speaker. Rev. Stirewalt discussed his background, what inspired his career choices, and how the Coalition can get more involved with faith-based partners.

Upcoming

Got a suggestion for someone to appear on Friday Facts? Would you like to join Friday Facts? Please contact a member of the Coalition administrative team.