Living Healthy Together

Occupational Therapy helps people do the everyday things that make life meaningful, from getting dressing and preparing meals to returning to work, driving and caring for family. On this episode of Living Healthy Together, we celebrate the impact occupational therapists have on lives across our region, and explore how this collaborative, relationship-focused approach to rehabilitation made a difference for three patients dealing with vastly different challenges. Together, these stories reveal how occupational therapy goes beyond rehabilitation, helping people reconnect to purpose, preserve dignity, and take control of their everyday lives. Vermonter Brian Stevens shares his journey of...

Alcohol is deeply woven into American culture and its health risks often go unrecognized or minimized. Join us as we explore alcohol use disorder as a major public health issue impacting our region. You’ll hear from clinicians, public health experts, recovery professionals and a Vermonter who shares his lived experience on how alcohol affects individuals, families and communities across Vermont and northern New York. Peter Jackson, MD, director of the Addiction Treatment Center at UVM Medical Center, and Mallory Richardson, a certified recovery roach with Turning Point of Central Vermont who works in the emergency departmen...

Bone issues and injuries affect millions of Americans, often without warning. Join us as Living Health Together hosts a wide-ranging conversation about osteoporosis, low bone mass, and why bone health is a critical but often overlooked part of lifelong wellness. Hear from experts in orthopedics, physical therapy, nutrition, primary care and gynecolocy about how bones grow, weaken and respond to stress; what puts you most at-risk for fractures and bone health issues; and what you can do to build and protect strong bones at every stage of life. Orthopedic nurse practitioner Deborah Brown, FNP, explores how bone healt...

What happens when personal loss sparks not just grief, but the desire to ensure no one dies alone? In this episode of Living Healthy Together, sit down with Louella Richer, manager of palliative care support services at University of Vermont Health - Porter Medical Center, and explore her deeply personal journey through caregiving, grief and healing. After caring for both parents through terminal illness, and losing them both in 2009, Louella transformed trauma into purpose through creative expression, memoir writing, yoga and ultimately a career in palliative care. She now leads a team of more than 100 volunteers who provide c...

Each year since 2022, University of Vermont Healthy and the University of Vermont bring together clinicians, students, community leaders, educators, artists and advocates for the annual Health Equity Summit – a gathering focused on advancing equitable, person-centered care across Vermont and northern New York. In this episode we explore what health equity truly means, why it matters, and how it shows up in homes, hospitals, classrooms and communities. Hear from Summit organizers Taylor Small of UVM Medical Center and Hajar Anvar of UVM Health - Home Health and Hospice about the summit’s evolving vision and the growing role of community vo...

Artificial intelligence is reshaping medicine: Ambient documentation tools free clinicians to be fully present with patients; AI trained to read medical images helps speed diagnoses in critical moments; chatbots connect patients with clear and prompt information through messages via their electronic medical record. Medical artificial intelligence tools are reducing burnout, improving clinical workflows and raising important questions about trust, privacy and the future of care. In this episode of Living Healthy Together, UVM Health physicians discuss how artificial intelligence is tested, vetted and used across Vermont and northern New York. Join Dr. Justin Stinnett-Donnelly, Dr. Tim Lahey, Dr. Dan...

Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) – nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, CRNAs and others – are reshaping how health care is delivered. In this episode, we sit down with APPs leaders and clinicians from across University of Vermont Health, to learn how these practitioners are impacting everything from the state and national policies that define APP clinical practice, to the team-based care models driving health care delivery. You’ll hear stories from practitioners across Vermont and northern New York who are advancing education, policy, mentoring emerging providers and redefining what modern, team-based health care looks like. From midwifery expansion serving rural communit...

Explore the rapidly evolving world of structural cardiology through the story of Dorsey Naylor of Jericho, Vermont. An avid cross-country skier, hiker and lifelong outdoor enthusiast, Dorsey’s life changed dramatically in 2023 when she was diagnosed with severe mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation. Groundbreaking minimally invasive valve therapies helped Dorsey recover much of her heart function and mobility, ensuring she can continue to do the things that nourish her body and spirit. Structural cardiologists Harold Dauerman, MD, Tanush Gupta, MD, and Rony Lahoud, MD, share insight and expertise on two decades of innovation that have transformed treatment for o...

Even if you don’t have a rare cardiovascular condition or need specialized cardiac care, heart health impacts almost every aspect of your life. Join us for Heart Health on Living Healthy Together, as we sit down with experts in cardiovascular research, heart rehabilitation and prevention, exercise and nutrition related to cardiac health. As we celebrate Heart Month 2026, you’ll learn: How our deepening understanding of cardiac risk factors is improving prevention, early detection and heart care for women. Why “knowing your numbers” is a critical piece of heart health for everyone – and how you can have a conversation w...

Gabby Makatura remembers when her life reached a breaking point. After leaving a high-stress job for what was supposed to be a period of reflection and transition, anxiety and uncertainty took hold, leaving Gabby numb and disconnected. A series of escalating panic attacks left Gabby seeking care and support in the emergency department at UVM Medical Center; she was soon back at home and facing the same challenges. It wasn’t until Gabby’s mother, visiting from out of state, learned about Howard Center’s Mental Health Urgent Care Center in Burlington and convinced her to visit, that she foun...

In mid-2025, Jayme Richland of Burlington was facing multiple crises: a serious medical condition left neglected for too long had put his health – and his foot – at risk; years of living with substance use disorder had left him isolated and struggling to ensure his basic needs were met; and the sudden and looming threat of eviction while he was in the hospital recovering from surgery had put in jeopardy Jayme’s ability to continue getting the care and treatment he needed. Join us as Jayme shares his remarkable story of recovery and healing, and how after eviction he foun...

At 14 years old, Kian Ruid’s life was suddenly turned upside down by debilitating headaches so powerful he couldn’t even stand upright.  An MRI revealed the reason: a rare abnormality in Kian’s brain known as an AVM – a dangerous tangle of blood vessels that causes headaches, pain, vision problems and more, as well as posing serious risks for internal bleeding resulting in seizures, stroke-like symptoms, cognitive difficulties, movement problems and other life-changing impacts. Once doctors found the AVM entangled with the motor center of Kian’s brain, surgery quickly became an imperative, though it came with potential...

Our relationship with food is always changing. But one thing that doesn’t is its powerful impact on our health and wellness. Join us as we dive into the concept of Culinary Medicine, a paradigm-shifting approach to food and wellness at University of Vermont Medical Center that includes everything from the hospital’s nutritional services department, to specialty programs that support cancer patients, members of the community, individuals struggling with chronic pain and much more. Leah Pryor, Culinary Medicine manager at UVM Medical Center, breaks down how the program has grown and developed through the years, as well as...

Alexa Valyou has faced more health care challenges in her 8 years than most people do in a lifetime. She underwent her first heart procedure less than 24 hours after being born and her first open heart surgery when she was less than a month old. Since then, Alexa has had four more – along with 17 other heart procedures, near fatal brain bleeds, emergency brain surgery and more. Despite Alexa’s resilience and courage, routine medical appointments like blood draws and other diagnostic procedures often tested her resolve – until Alexa and her mother, Brittany, discovered The Comfort Zone at Golisano Childre...

Across America, heart disease causes nearly 1 million deaths each year. In Vermont and northern New York, tens of thousands are impacted annually. At UVM Medical Center, a small but mighty team of heart specialists has spent decades advancing cardiac care for patients and our understanding of the complex factors that impact heart health.Join us to learn more about the paradigm-shifting work of the Cardiology team at our region’s only academic medical center. You’ll hear about a new biomarker test that gives physicians prescribing blood thinning medications more information than ever before, new treatments for the...

For as long as he can remember, Jon Carey of Erie, Pennsylvania has lived with dysthymia, also known as persistent depressive disorder. But it wasn’t until well into Jon’s adult years that his struggles with depression took a life-threatening turn. Then Jon met Dr. Ennio Ammendola, whose work as part of a team of suicide care experts proved life-changing for the 58-year-old biologist and father. Suicide touches the lives of many Vermonters and New Yorkers each year and is a leading cause of death across the United States. It is also a serious challenge for rural...

Only 10% of physicians practice in rural areas – and just one percent of graduate medical training programs are located in rural communities, meaning many, if not most, providers-in-training aren’t exposed to rural health care at all.  We explore two residency programs that buck this trend: the Family Medicine Residency Programs at University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vt. and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, NY. Learn how the next generation of physicians are thinking about practicing medicine in rural America, and dive into how these programs have found success in both attracting medical students and keeping...

Nearly 15 years ago, a kitchen grease spill at home left Aaron Blair with burns on his foot so severe that he needed skin grafts and months of recovery. What Aaron could never have predicted at the time was that his traumatic injury would also begin a years-long struggle with opioid use disorder. Before Aaron knew it, he was taking 15 Percocet a day – along with oxycontin and other prescription painkillers. Join us as we follow Aaron’s journey through opioid use disorder and meet the mental health and substance use clinicians, peer recovery coaches and primary care physicians who h...

Somdeb Chatterjee and Valerie Hunter have both accomplished something extraordinary: losing and then regaining their ability not just to walk but move all of their extremities. For Somdeb, the journey began with an international trip during which he contracted a rare and mysterious condition called Gillian-Barre syndrome. For Valerie, it as a trip-and-fall accident while feeding her horses that resulted in a traumatic spinal cord injury. Their stories could not be more different, but they both walked the same path to recovery: through the inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation programs at University of Vermont Health – University of Vermont Medical Center. Th...

At barely four months old, Weston Bird faced a life-threatening battle with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) that kept him in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of Golisano Children’s Hospital at University of Vermont Health for weeks. This week, we follow Weston’s journey back to health through the eyes of his mother, Kristen Bird, a pediatric provider in Burlington, and learn about medical advances that are changing the risks of respiratory disease season for children, parents and senior citizens. As respiratory disease season ramps up, join us as we talk with leading experts from across UVM Health and expl...