Found in Translation

From WJCT Studios in Jacksonville, Florida, this is what Health got to do with it. This weekend, we ask, how does the brain connect us? And what happens when the usual channels change? Support for what Health got to do with it is provided in part by the American Academy of Neurology Research Program. Every gift helps researchers move closer to critical cures for brain disorders, 100% funds brain research, learn more at brainhealth.com/donate. And by Norellis, a leading neuroscience company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurologic disorders. The company's unique drug portfolios strive to address unmet needs in patient care. Learn more at norellis.com. Walk with me through the corridors of St. Ignatius Memorial Medical Center or Hospital of the mind. Today, though, we don't have to imagine one of those corridors because my first guest works in one. Her name is Bethany Baker. She goes by BB and she is a nurse in the emergency department at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital. Now, in an emergency room, communication is constant. A patient describes where it hurts, a monitor sounds an alarm, a physician gives an order, a nurse reassures a frightened family, but BB experiences the world differently. She is deaf and yet she works in one of the fastest most communication dependent environments in all of healthcare. How? That question takes us somewhere much bigger than hearing. It takes us into the remarkable ways the human brain adapts, communicates and connects. But first, from the moment we're born to our last breath, every American travels through the intricate maze of the healthcare system. These are their stores, one life at a time. I'm Dr. Joe Servin, a practicing neurologist and professor of healthcare administration and policy, and this is what's health got to do with it. So today, we're going to experience communication a little differently ourselves. BB Bakers here with me in the studio. I'm going to be speaking directly with BB and BB will communicate with me in American Sign Language with the help of her American Sign Language interpreter, Amy Pearl, who is sitting right next to me. Who in turn, we're going to hear Beth's responses through Amy's voice for the audio. For those of you listening, you'll hear Beth's words voiced by her interpreter. So although you'll hear another voice answering my questions, the thoughts, experiences and the story you're hearing along to BB. BB, welcome to what's health got to do with it. Hi, thank you for having me here. I'm very excited to work with you today. I'm very excited to have this conversation. I have to admit, this is my first time. I've had a conversation like this on radio, but I'm so honored that you joined us today in studio. Same here. I never thought a deaf person would be on the radio. I love the magic of it. BB, before we talk about the emergency room, I want to take us back. When did you first know that you wanted to become a nurse? Honestly, growing up, I always wanted to be an oncologist as a kid. My family includes a lot of nurses and health care professionals. So I decided that after I graduated high school to go to college, and I actually majored in something completely irrelevant. I majored in history and theatrical arts. I was trying to determine what to do after that to help people. I couldn't really find a good degree that matched. So I just gave up trying to make that work and decided to go in the nursing path. It really opened, you know, how a lot of doors opened for me, and I took advantage of them. I did a free eight week CNA course, and then with that, I was able to get kind of connected into the health care field, and I really just kind of got bit by the bug at that point. And I just loved being in that environment, helping people feel better and helping them improve their lives. I love it. So I'm going to ask this, like, as you grew up with deafness, did you imagine that nursing, and especially emergency nursing, would be a possibility for you? Honestly, I never thought that I would end up in the ER. My first school was to be an L&D nurse, but I was told that an L&D nurse would require ER experience. So I started off in the ER, and then just never left. So just so our listeners know, L&D means labor and delivery, correct? That's correct. Yes, labor and delivery. I loved babies. I thought it would be so fun to help with the birthing process. Then once I took that approach in the ER, it was just an amazing experience. I had to think on my fee, and everything was fast paced. I just loved it. I love it. Now, I understand your path to where you are today was not easy. I want to go back before you had this job. What happened when you began trying to, well, I'll put it this way, to find your place in health care? I didn't have any precedence for me, like anybody to really learn from. I felt like I kind of had to make up things on the go, figure out what it was that I needed for my job. I had to convince people to allow me to go into nursing school, and I applied to about 16 different positions and got very frustrated and was very close to giving up. I just thought I'm just absolutely insane for doing this, but I had a lot of other ideas and maybe I would go into like social work or something along those lines because I just felt like I didn't really know how to continue. It was very tough. I experienced a lot of discrimination. I felt like a lot of people doubted me as a deaf person in this world, but once I got the job, it all just kind of worked out seamlessly. My co-workers, my managers, everyone was very supportive. They believed in me. They challenged me, and I'm a good nurse because of them. I want to ask, I'm curious, just so that people know how discrimination and stigma can work. When you applied up to 16 applications, which is incredible, what were the reasons that you were given for those rejections for the other, I guess, 15 rejections that you got? Of course, they're smart enough to not tell me why. That would be against the ADA law, which would be discrimination. But there was one woman who called me in for an interview and the first thing she asked me, she said, "How do you become a nurse if you can't hear?" There was so focused on my inability to hear that they never asked me anything about my skills, about my certification, about my training, all of that. I did all of that just like my hearing peers did, and they just wanted to focus on my disability. Some of them even ghosted me after the interview. They never called back. They never emailed, et cetera. I understand that eventually your path took you to Gallaudet University. I'm actually familiar because I actually studied in the Washington DC area. What did being at Gallaudet change for you if you could kind of explain that to our listeners? I was born deaf, raised in a deaf environment, deaf school, always around deaf people. My entire family learned sign language for me. But Gallaudet is such a unique situation. It's very much its own world where everyone signs, including hearing people, including cafeteria staff, people at the coffee shop, libraries, et cetera. It really was a culture change for me. I had to develop my deaf identity to become more comfortable with who I am as a deaf person. Being a deaf person in the hearing world is difficult. At Gallaudet, I felt like I was finally the same as everyone around me. It was a really wonderful experience. Even though I went for a completely irrelevant major, then when I'm working in now, it was a wonderful experience that I wouldn't change. I'm actually going to be opening some doors for students that are currently at Gallaudet by going there to talk about my experience. I love it. Yes, I'm very excited for that. Most of our listeners may not know how someone who is deaf experiences the world, particularly in the world of communication. What do you wish we understood? Those of us that are not deaf, about how a deaf person experiences the world and communicates. Just don't be scared. Hearing people will come up and they'll see that I'm deaf and they try and run. Don't be scared. We can ask questions by writing back and forth using text messages. The first thing they always ask is, "Can you read lips?" I'll say, "Can you sign?" I can't. We'll just write back and forth. At HCA, they gave me an interpreter that comes with me all 12 hours of my shift all day long. I never have to have any communication barriers while I'm at work. I'm able to develop relationships with my co-workers and patients and it's a huge benefit to have an interpreter, a designated interpreter, who I have been able to personally train and work with. We've gone through medical terminology, the processes, where or what to do in an emergency, where to stand, etc. So my interpreters are very skilled with me and most of the time an interpreter would just be there for a deaf patient. It's kind of the opposite in the situation where they're with the actual professional and so people will see the interpreter and go, "Who do I talk to?" It's really interesting, but when they [BLANK_AUDIO] feel like they now will become more comfortable interacting with other deaf people because of me. So that's one of the main reasons why I feel like I'm here. I love that. You chose the emergency department and we're going to get into the story of how you got to your position, but you chose the emergency department with the most intense fast-moving communication, heavy places in the entire hospital. So I'm going to ask this question right up front here. Why the ER? You know, people have asked me that before and I think, I don't really, I'm not even sure, you know, I went to, I was in my clinicals in the ER during COVID and I think that was one of the worst points ever to be in an emergency room. And so I saw what it was like to be in such a unique situation and I just just became very motivated and, you know, patients were coming in and out and I like that process of, you know, seeing so many people in a day and I thought that, you know, I would only be in the ER for like a year or two, develop my skills and then transition out and I just ended up staying. I absolutely love it. It's just an exciting place to be. BB, what was the hardest barrier about what other people's expectations and what their assumptions are of what a deaf nurse can do? To meet the expectations while also representing an entire deaf community is a big challenge because I'm not just representing myself. I have my community behind me and so if I miss up or if I do something wrong, I feel like that affects other people and so that's a huge responsibility that I carry and so I feel like I have to work twice as hard as my hearing peers and at the same time some of them feel threatened by me because I'm doing their job meaning I have to keep them on their toes. We're gonna take a short break right now and if you're just joining us, BB had done the work, she had earned the education, she had become a nurse but there was still one question she couldn't answer by herself. With a hospital and ER nonetheless actually let her do the job. When we return, BB takes us inside the emergency room and shows us how she'll actually do it and we'll be right back. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Welcome back. I'm Dr. Joe Servin and this is what's health got to do with it. Now before the break, we left BB Baker with a question. She'd become a nurse but with a hospital give a deaf nurse the chance to prove she could work in an emergency room. BB after being told no so many times, what did the opportunity of getting this job mean to you? When I read the email that I got from HCA health care, I genuinely thought I was dreaming. I thought maybe I misread it, I was like okay so we had a good orientation that really helped me figure out what type of accommodations, what type of barriers and solutions we needed to come up with and for example responding to any environmental noise and patient safety. Those were the major two concerns that I had and so I discussed with them those opportunities. We talked about having designated interpreter who would be responsible for hearing things like IB, pump going off monitors, any sort of announcement that came out of loudspeaker. If there was a change in patient breathing or voice or slurred speech etc, that's the type of stuff that the interpreter tells me. It's not just the words that are being communicated. So I also have a stethoscope that connects to a Bluetooth on my phone. I have a phone that I can text, you know, doctors and whatnot for me. I have the interpreter. We have to make a lot of phone calls in the air. So I mean the interpreter worked very well as a team to make sure that those things are done efficiently. I've gone through about 12 to 14 different interpreters. Unfortunately Florida doesn't have a require certification in this area so I definitely have gone through many to make sure that they're comfortable with my level of signing and that we're a good fit. And since then I've been very blessed to do the job with the few that I have who have been with me for a while. So anyway we had the orientation we worked out on the accommodations and from there was kind of smooth sailing. I really feel like, you know, my co-workers became more comfortable with me. They always, you know, call and let me know, especially if a deaf patient is coming in so I can go and assist with those. So it's been great. I love it. So take us into the emergency department at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital. A patient arrives. It's busy. Monitors are sounding. People are moving around quickly. How do you do your job? Like just describe that. So when I go into a room I introduce myself. I say hi. My name is Phoebe. I'm a deaf nurse. This is my interpreter. And then a lot of people get that pretty quickly. Of course there are some that I can, you know, tell. I have to explain a little bit more but we'll ask them what's going on. We'll assess maybe their behavior or any symptoms that are they're experiencing. We get all the information, vital signs, etc. I'll do my assessment, my observation. And then of course there's the interpreter to let me know if there's any kind of environmental or auditory things that I'm missing. And then we'll do triage questions. We'll do lab work. You know, we could have get things as done as efficiently as possible because time is not money. Time is life in the ER. So my patients are my priority. Let me kind of dive into that exact point. So someone's having a stroke. A trauma comes in or a heart attack. Something that seconds matter. How do you develop skills to notice things that a hearing nurse might experience differently? When a patient arrives in an emergency, my interpreter knows exactly where to stand to make sure they're out of the way of everyone, of course, because when they, you know, it's eight to ten nurses. When a patient arrives in emergency situation and we all kind of set up our roles. A lot of people think that I do everything myself and I don't. I have co-workers. I have a team that I work with. We have texts. We have doctors. We have respiratory therapists. So, you know, we're a coordinated system and everyone's efforts, you know, matter. And so I'll be assigned a job whether to scribe or if it's to, you know, do compressions. My interpreter will count or let me know how many minutes are left or, you know, 30 seconds left and then switch or I'll get a tap to switch with somebody else to take over compressions. And if I'm doing meds or if the pharmacist is there, they'll pull the meds. They'll give it to me. They'll tap me on the shoulder to let me know. I'll provide the medication name to the interpreter. They'll say it out loud. I'll let them know I'm pushing it in, etc. So it's definitely a coordinated effort among the entire team. I want to ask about patients. When a patient first realizes that their nurse is deaf, what happens? How do you manage that look of the patient who may not just be comfortable or may have a different impression? Honestly, most of the patients love me. They think it's awesome. They're very impressed with HCA for providing that opportunity to me. They'll tell me that, you know, oh, my cousin's deaf or my grandmother's deaf or best friend, etc. Or they'll say, oh, I wish I learned sign language. And I would say that, you know, if I had money for every time a person said that to me, I'd be rich. There are a few patients, of course, that are uncomfortable with me. And I'm always willing to say, you know what? Thank you for your time. I'll switch it with another nurse. There's no hard feelings there. The patients deserve the best care that they can get. If they don't feel like they're getting that with me, then that's completely fine. So we'll just switch out. No problem. I'll take on another patient. You know, during my five years, I can honestly say that's maybe only happened with one or two patients. Most of the time, they're very willing, very flexible to work with me. I'm wondering, I understand that you have one in a ward for identifying a human trafficking case. And it brings up this question. Has being deaf almost made you a better communicator with a vulnerable patient like that one because you paid attention in a different way. I know we don't want to violate any privacy issues. But could you kind of tell us about that whole situation? Yes. So since I don't have the ability to hear, I feel like my eyes are stronger. And so I feel like I noticed things that other people don't. And that patient came in. I feel like there were a lot of red flags right at the beginning. I had just taken a workshop on human trafficking. And I felt like I was able to check off some of the things that I had learned to be aware of. And I thought, I can't be the only one that's thinking this. Maybe I'm reading into it. You know, I just, I wasn't sure why I was the only one. So I approached a doctor and I said, hey, I'm seeing this that and the other. And they said, okay. And we got the police involved and we confirmed that it actually was a human trafficking situation and I was just shocked. I thought, wow, I really felt validated in my ability to be a nurse. I definitely felt like I was in the right field in that moment. I was in the right place at the right time and I was able to to save that person's life and so it was a huge honor and all of that oppression, discrimination, etc. that I had felt for this whole entire journey paid off in that moment because I was able to save a patient's life multiple times. Let me ask about that. Just one more question on that. Was it was it something about their eyes? Was there something did that patient vulnerable patient? Did they communicate through a facial expression? I wasn't allowed to talk directly to the patient. I kind of noticed by what they were wearing, they kind of seemed very hidden, reserved. The person that they had with them was very assertive. He was kind of preventing me to build any sort of rapport with the patient and that's not a normal situation to be in. I'm a neurologist, so I deal with issues regarding the brain and people who hear can easily assume that communication, it begins with the ears, ends with speech, but your life completely challenges that idea. So I'm wondering, what has been deaf taught you about what it really means for two people to understand one another? That language access is the most important. A lot of deaf children don't have access to language and there's a lot of language deprivation in the deaf community, so I'm very blessed that my family decided to jump on the wagon immediately. They found out I was deaf when I was six months old and they did everything they could to work with me and what would be best for me. They learned sign language themselves. They put me in every situation to wear my education and my language would be equivalent to the peers around me. So I think without that I wouldn't have been able to make the connections that I've made. You are communicating with me through a sign language interpreter who's voicing your words for our audience. What do you want Lissers to recognize about the fact that this is how we're conducting our interview, how we're communicating your thoughts to everyone out there. I want to make sure I address that. I want the listeners to be able to be open to giving deaf individuals a chance. We can do anything that hearing person can do except here. So if you see a deaf person provide them an opportunity, you know, if they're there to apply for a job, make sure they have access to language, and you know, we don't need to be fixed. A lot of people want to fix us with cochlear implants and hearing aids. I don't have either one of those and I'm still functioning well. I have a job, I have a house, I have, you know, a life and I'm part of society and so just because I use sign language as my language, it doesn't mean that I'm broken. I love that. I want to ask this to help people who don't understand folks who are deaf. What misconceptions about deaf health care professionals that you would most want to change to dispel the myth, get rid of those misconceptions about people who work in health care that have difficulty with hearing. Honestly, people think that because I'm deaf, that we should be working a job that we're hidden from everyone else. You know, we should just kind of be brushed to the side and the reality is that we can do jobs around people that we have the tools, we have the accommodations, we can work with hearing people. We don't need to be hidden. I'm curious how your colleagues, how have they changed? What's occurred to your colleagues as a result of the fact that they are now communicating in a different way? I'm wondering how that's changed the environment for their communication skills. Honestly, because of me, I think they're more comfortable with deaf people, especially deaf patients that come in, because they immediately make sure that that deaf individual has access to communication. They'll ask them, "Do you want BRI? Do you want in-person interpreter? Do you want to read and write?" And at the same time, especially if I'm working, they'll come to me directly and ask for help to work with that patient. So it's nice that they are more aware of what a deaf patient may benefit from. Of course, there are deaf patients that have a long, complicated history with health care. There are a lot of deaf people that don't go to doctors or don't go to emergency rooms because of the communication barriers. And so I'm trying to take down those barriers. And by working with my colleagues, I'm hoping that that improves the patient experience in all of health care. Only 30% of deaf patients go to a doctor regularly. Most of them will typically wait until there's a severe emergency and go to the ER because they really just don't trust the health care profession. You applied to so many hospitals and you're now working beautifully in HCA Memorial. I'm wondering, are there things that other hospitals could do differently to make health care careers more accessible to professionals who are deaf or hard of hearing? Higher them. But of course, yes, offering the training connected to the job. That's how I started. I started with that eight week free CNA course that was under a hospital that I worked as I was graduating. And so people don't realize that they're in the health care field. That there's very few of us. We've just barely scratched the surface. So because they've been told, most of their life that they can't. So really trying to break that expectation, break those barriers and open up doors for them, you know, kind of meet them halfway somehow. Was there a particular person, a teacher, a mentor, another nurse or family member who refused to let you accept other people's assumptions of what you can do? I wouldn't be here without my partner to be honest. She has made sure that I am fed and that I sleep. And when I'm frustrated or when I was ready to give up, she has been the support system. And she is the one that told me that it's bigger than me. So I have always kept that in the back of my mind. I also have one teacher from when I did that CNA course who really helped me figure out what it is that I needed to do my job. She unfortunately passed away a few years ago. But when I graduated nursing school, I contacted her immediately and found out she was gone. And I felt like, you know, I think she's watching me. She's cheering me on from heaven for sure. I love that. I'm wondering also, you know, we cover on the show many different types of therapies, treatments and things going on medicine. In fact, not too long ago, we did an interview with someone with a pioneering gene therapy trial. Actually, first patient in Jacksonville that would correct an underlying hearing problem for a child. And I'm wondering if you could speak to those issues from the community because I know you brought this up earlier that, as you said, you don't need to be fixed. You're working. You're doing well. I'm wondering as those treatments become reality now, things that I couldn't even imagine in my career, what are your thoughts? It's a really heavy topic. In my community, we don't want our community to disappear, which the reality of that is, you know, with technology, it could happen in 50 to 100 years. And our community is so rich. Our culture is so beautiful. And it really is dwindling due to some of these genetic advances. And I think that people should do whatever best opportunities are presented to them. Of course, we want someone to be 100% functioning, like if they're blind or handicapped, etc. But a lot of people in deaf community don't feel like they're missing anything. A hearing parent that gets a deaf kid, of course, they're terrified. And when they're not exposed to, you know, the deaf community, they think that the best option is to fix the baby. So the baby will be fine. If you just expose into language, and that again is the main goal, hearing parents who teach hearing baby sign language, they always think it's so cute. My baby knows sign language, but then they don't do that with a deaf baby. So it gets a little sticky, and it's a very tough topic in our community. That's an ongoing debate. We talk about it constantly. I know that it's getting closer and closer to reality. And, you know, how do we prevent it? How do we prevent our community and our culture from disappearing? But we still, you know, we cherish ASL, Jacksonville and St. Augustine, have such a large community here. You know, you can go into a coffee shop or a grocery store, and you'll get a lot of people who can sign, at least basic signs to me. And so that's the value. I want, in our last moment to ask you this question, somewhere there may be a deaf child or a parent of a deaf child that either is either looking at the transcript of this program or listening on behalf of that deaf person. And wondering what kinds of futures are possible? I want to turn this platform over to you. What do you want to tell those folks? Parents of deaf children, let me tell you, they will be okay. They have a very bright future as a deaf individual. So don't be scared, learn sign language. Deaf people who are reading this, get out of that safe space and do something new, do something challenging. The journey will be extremely tough, people will doubt you, but once you get there, it's absolutely worth it. And it's our our responsibility and our duty to open up those opportunities for our future future generations. BB and Amy, I want to take this opportunity to thank you so much for not only being here and giving us so much of your time, but for the work you've done, it's incredible, it's an honor to have you here. And thank you for sharing your story with us. Thank you. Dr. Dre, I really appreciate it. This is a check off my bucket list to be on a radio show. So thank you for that. We are delighted. We've been talking to Bethany BB Baker. She is a deaf ER nurse at HCA Memorial Hospital. Now Beth's story reminds us that connection isn't defined by how we communicate, but by whether we reach one another. And our brains are remarkably good at finding new ways to do just that. When we return neurologist and brainhealth.com editor and chief Dr. Sarah Song takes us inside the brain and what can we do to keep it healthy and adaptable throughout our lives. And we'll be right back. (upbeat music) (bright music) - Welcome back. I'm Dr. Joseph, and this is what's health got to do with it. You know, we've spent much of this hour exploring how we connect and the remarkable ways the brain adapts when the usual channels change. Now let's bring the conversation directly to brain health. Dr. Sarah Song is a stroke neurologist at Rush University in Chicago. She's also editor-in-chief of the newly launched brainhealth.com, a resource by the American Academy of Neurology designed to help people understand their brains and make sense of an increasingly crowded and sometimes confusing world of brain health information. Dr. Song, welcome to what's health got to do with it. It is an honor to have you here. - Oh, it's so nice to be here. Thank you for having me. - It is a delight. We just had our nurse, BB Baker. She's a deaf nurse, and she was describing navigating an emergency room without hearing, communicating, adapting, and doing an extraordinarily demanding job while deaf. And I'm just wondering, you know, if when a channel like that changes, when a communication channel changes, what does it tell us about the brain's ability to adapt? I wonder if you could just comment on that, just to start us off. - One amazing story, and I think it really highlights how the brain is incredibly resilient, built to adapt to change and to difficulty. And the term we use for that in neurology is called neuroplasticity, and it's the brain's ability to really reorganize and optimize neural circuits to compensate for whatever might be happening elsewhere in the brain. - I want to get us to the area about how we keep brain health. It's such a commonly used term in phrase. We hear it all the time now. And I'm just wondering, what does it actually mean? When you define it, because you're heading up this huge resource, information for everyone out there in the world that is under that umbrella, brain health. What does it mean when you're using it to operationalize all this information? - The American Academy Neurology took this on. It's the largest organization of neurologists, a professional organization of neurologists, and they actually said, how do we define it? Because it's so nebulous, right? And what they set upon, which I think is ultimately very powerful, sort of thinking about attaining and maintaining optimal neurologic function throughout every stage of life, supporting not just physical and not just mental but social well-being. So that means that it's not just a healthcare issue, it's a public health issue, it's a political issue, and we want to make life better, not just longer. - So as a follow-up, it's not just about preventing dementia or some other disease. - Referring to neuroplasticity, we're actually trying to keep changing our brains. And there's no point where you could say it's too late or it's too early to start. Even small steps to improve our brain health at any stage of life can help. And particularly with this woman you mentioned, I mean, it's really incredible what the brain is built to do. It wants to change and we just need to do some of the right things to make it better, to support it to be better. - Let me kind of jump into that. You know, as you said, our brains are constantly responding to how we live, how we interact with the world. And I'm just wondering, what do we know that helps preserve that adaptability? One of those things that helps habits, things that we should do actionable items that helps to preserve that adaptability over a lifetime. - Research has shown that even brains in much older adults can continue to change for the better. There's this great pneumonic, it's called safest brains, which is I think really cute. But it's actually very powerful because it encompasses a number of the best factors for improving brain health, just coming from scientific evidence. So, as is for sleep, getting about 79 hours of sleep per night, quality sleep, A is for affect and moves. So just referring to addressing any issues of stress or depression or anxiety that you might be having with your doctor. F is for food and diet. You know, we recommend a Mediterranean or the mind diet focusing on colorful vegetables, whole greens, nuts, olive oil, lean protein. He is for exercise and this doesn't have to be like, you know, a high intensity interval aerobics class. It can literally be walking with your friend 30 minutes a day, five times a week, as is for supporting social interactions. And that's like just maintaining good relationships and talking to your friends and your family. That can actually lower stress and improve your cognitive health, slow cognitive decline. And she is for trauma avoidance. So basically common sense, wearing helmets when you're riding a bike, working to avoid falls if you're older and just using seapulls whenever you can. Okay, so that's safest. And I'm gonna move to brains. And I'll try to pick up the base a little bit but he is for blood pressure. I mean, listen, it's scary. I know it myself, but you just have to know your numbers. R is for risks of metabolic and genetic risks. So knowing what your blood sugar is, what your cholesterol is, what your family history is. A is for affordability and adherence, working to overcome any barriers that might prevent you from being able to afford your drugs, trying to stick to plans that you come up with your doctor. I is for infection. So staying up to date on vaccinations that are recommended for you and is for negative exposures. So avoiding cigarette, smoking, avoiding vaping, alcohol, less than two a day, for men, one for women. As is for a structural or social determinants of health, it not really speaks to the fact that health is very affected by the environment we live in, the places we grow up, our access to medical care and to transportation. So that's safest brains and that is truly scientifically vetted. These are things that you can work on. Make one small step today just to improve your brain health. - I love it, that's a lot. And I love that the safest brain is a perfect way to kind of put it together in one place. Because it's a lot of different pieces of the puzzle, if someone's listening and they ask you, what can I do today to start to help protect my brain? And I know you just gave us this beautiful, pneumonic, where would you say to start? If you had to pick a place to start, it could be anywhere. What would be a good thing for them to do? - So I would say a single step is enough, a single step in the right direction. It's never too late, it's never too early to put brain health first. Maybe make a decision to eat. Something a little bit healthier, right? Go to the grocery store if you can pick out colorful vegetables If you can or start a new exercise routine or pick up the phone and call a friend you haven't talked to in a while and have a really good conversation You know, I think that there's sort of this barrier to to starting a new routine and all that And I just remember this advice my friend gave me where she was like, you know, I was trying to start up running again after a long period of that exercising and she said just get on a treadmill Sarah and walk for eight minutes and then just get off Walk for eight minutes. That's it. No pressure. And then the next day maybe I'll walk for nine minutes But you don't have to just walk for eight and honestly just making that first step, you know, taking that little leap of faith Is often enough to start a new routine and a new habit and over time these habits really add up to better brain health Which brings us to brainhealth.com One of the things that you and I both know is that the web the internet AI that it's overflowing with advice about supplements diets brain games wearables I could I could go on and on that everything promises this healthier brain And I'm just wondering what was missing in all of that noise that brain health.com Is going to help address in other words, how does brain health.com separate itself from all that hype that's already there You know, it you're so right. There is so much noise out there. There's so much information. It's really hard to know Who to trust where to start, you know, there's no good way to know for sure what's real and what's not You know for 100 good reviews. There's a hundred negative reviews You know, I tried to look for a raincoat online and all of a sudden and I get started getting inundated by raincoat ads It was crazy And that's why brain health.com is really different, you know Every story on there you can trust to be medically reliable valid Read over review by neurologist. It's not just hype And I think that part of that is because we're coming off with a transformation from brain and life Which was a magazine that was beloved and trusted for two decades and the thing that sets brain health.com apart is that it is truly neurologist driven And it is just a way that you can you can just trust the information on there to be scientifically valid And reviewed by neurologist and I think that's really the biggest difference I want to ask Who do you believe brain health.com is for? Is it someone in their 20s or 30s thinking about brain health now or Someone who's older because they're worried about their memory. Who's the audience Everybody the audience is everybody. I really think so so it's for people who are curious about brain health about how to Improve their brain health at every age is for patients who have neurological conditions who want to read more or the latest research About different conditions or treatments. It's about people who care for or love somebody with a neurological condition You know, we really want to tell stories in a in a meaningful way and produce Quality articles about things that you want to know about we have a podcast. That's incredible It's called the brain health podcast and you can listen and subscribe to that We've really had some fabulous guests in the past like Ryan Reynolds and build nine the science guy And we have a book series that are great resources for a number of different topics And you know, what's excellent about brain health.com and so actually Directly connects you to your legislators. You can literally just click a button and reach out to your legislator about issues affecting People everywhere on brain health. So it's a way to get involved right away. I love that Let me kind of get into like, you know, how you choose those topics You know, one of the things that's very complicated in the world to brain health science is that it changes on a dime It seems there are studies that come out every other day and they literally do this a contradict one another And I'm just running as editor-in-chief How do you decide when the evidence is strong enough to recommend something in the public by highlighting it in the resources That's something that I work with my team, you know the American account neurology very closely with because we want to make sure that we're highlighting topics that are Of interest that we can provide a solid voice behind that we have the scientific record to back up whatever we're saying So we really not only listen to suggestions from our readers of the website We have an editorial board made up of neurologists who are listening to their patients, you know Out there in the world just living lives reading newspaper articles and saying What do we need to have a voice on what do we need to speak up about where is there a void of solid scientific Information that we can provide in a way that's easy to understand and that people can trust Dr. Song I'm gonna ask you this question and there's probably lots that you could pick from but I'm gonna kind of go for it myself here What do you think is the biggest misconception about brain health overall That really kind of drives you nuts That you want to dispel like you know like you hope at either yourself brainhealth.com can correct I think for me brain health is Is everywhere and it's everything I would love for brain health to be seen as Heart health which is something for everybody something for Kids for adults for older people and I want people to know the brain health applies to them Whatever age you are babies, right? We need to be thinking about this at all stages And I think that one of the misconceptions is that is only for people perhaps who have dementia and talking about ways to optimize Quality of life and that's certainly one part of brain health, but it's not all we want to be proactive Not reactive. We're not strictly reactive and be able to say oh brain health That's something I need to care about that's something I need to put front and center to improve the quality of my life to optimize my well-being Throughout my entire life You know, we are about to get into holiday season. Uh, it's it's crazy and you know a lot of times that means we all get together Family members. You haven't seen them in a while and they may notice a change in memory You may notice a change in function that you had not noticed because you know those gatherings It's like one of those rare moments that you're seeing people for the first time in a while and I'm just wondering When should someone be concerned that this is normal aging versus There's a problem and How would you kind of address that as we all get into the holiday season now? Actually, this was the topic of an article that we wrote for brain and life That I hope will be available on the website right now We're in the transition of moving all of our amazing content for brain life into brain health calm And some of the things to look out for is something beyond just the normal maybe forgetting, you know the name of an actor or maybe you know, misremembering Something at home like where's my cues or something it really has to be something more profound And you're right that you are more likely to notice changes over a greater distance of time than you were if you see somebody every day So for example the visiting relative notices that maybe the grandmother is not actually Functioning at the level that she was six months ago when they last saw them at a birthday celebration And I think the things to look out for are Repeated forgetting where they are becoming lost having trouble remembering names of close family members Things like that also Frankly, it's the holiday season. So It's a really difficult time for a lot of people depression is very high So just remember that depression can also look a lot like memory problems and being able to assess that out with your You know trusted doctor is a really good idea As we started the show we were talking about baby story and how her brain found a way to connect with the world Despite having one of her senses being impacted For the rest of us and this is the kind of like a final message to the listeners What should we start doing to keep our own brains engaged and connected As we progress through life I guess I would just say just remember your brain is continually changing and adapting And optimizing throughout life whatever we can do to support the brain as it does this will help improve our brain health Right, so Keep building your brain. There's research that exercise can help. There's research that nutrition and sleep And engaging meaningfully and socially with others can improve that neuro plasticity that we talked about and just remember It's never too late or too early to start really making steps towards improving brain health Dr. Song I want to thank you for giving me your time today I know you are one busy person and it is always an honor to have you here with us I hope we can get you have to come back and join us in the future as well I would love to come back. Thank you so much for having me. This is so fun We've been talking to Dr. Sarah Song she is a stroke neurologist at Rush University in Chicago She is also editor in chief of BrainHealth.com, a resource, for free I might add by the American Academy of Neurology that can be found anywhere you can look up BrainHealth.com. As another day ends at St. Ignatius Memorial Medical Center, the hallways grow quieter. Today BB Bakers showed us something remarkable about the brain. In one pathway changes, we can find another way to connect. And Dr. Sarah Song reminded us that brain health isn't simply something we hope to preserve, it's something we can build. So today, do one thing for your brain. Take a walk, learn something new, call someone you miss, give your brain a reason to move, think, adapt or connect. As soon or later, all of us will face a moment when the path we expected is no longer available. A loss, a limitation, a change we never saw coming. And perhaps that is the lesson these two conversations share. The human brain doesn't simply carry us through the world. It helps us find another way through it. And when the path changes, maybe our task isn't to become who we were, it's to discover what is still possible. Well that is our program for today. If you miss anything, listen to the full episode at wjct.org or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks to all of our guests, our executive producer is Stacey Bennett. BrainHealth is our director. Isabella Casapau is our associate producer, Caden Collins is our researcher. If you have questions about this or any topic, call us at 904-358-6362, email [email protected] or find me on social media @jservin. From the studios of WJCT Public Media in Jacksonville, I'm Dr. Joe Servin. And as we leave these quiet corridors, always remember this. Stay curious, stay healthy and keep in touch, salute. Support for what's health got to do with it is provided in part by the American Academy of Neurology Research Program. This year, one gift can change what's possible for brain research. The program funs scientists working on new treatments for brain disorders, 100% funds brain research. And more at brainhealth.com/donate. And the American Brain Foundation invests in today's science to discover tomorrow's cures, discover how we find and fund the researchers working to make those cures possible at americanbrainfoundation.org.