Season 3: Women's Health
Stronger communities begin with good health — for everyone.
Women have a way of prioritizing others’ health ahead of their own. They successfully balance many important roles in families, communities, and society but don’t always have access to the care and information they need. And when they do, systemic challenges often stand in the way of progress.
In Season 3 of “Good Health, Better World,” we talk about supporting women’s health—body and mind—across generations, populations, and stages of life.
You’ll hear from experts on ways to empower women to take control of their health — even during life’s most pressing moments — and learn about advances in research and health care delivery to support women in our community and beyond.
"Good Health, Better World" is available wherever you enjoy podcasts.
Episodes
Support for pregnant people in marginalized communities
Some individuals and their babies are at a higher risk for complications during or after pregnancy — but what works to help them? In this episode, we’ll talk with Stacy Freeman-Pistella, a senior health manager in Magee-Womens Pregnancy and Women’s Recovery Center; and Tica Nickson, director of prevention of BirthRoot Community Doula Alliance, ...
Finding community in motherhood
How can moms care for themselves and their children? In this episode, we hear from Dr. Johanna Vidal-Phelan, a pediatrician and chief medical officer in Quality and Pediatrics at UPMC Health Plan, and Muffy Mendoza, author, speaker, and founder of Brown Mamas, about motherhood and parenting through every stage of life.
Staying healthy through midlife and beyond
Midlife can be exhilarating…and challenging! Key milestones during this time such as menopause bring on physical and emotional changes that affect women’s sense of self and identity. In this episode, we hear from Stacey Shankle, CRNP, who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology at the Midlife Health Center at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, about n...
The complexities of chronic disease in women
A woman’s risk of being diagnosed with one or more chronic conditions, such as heart disease, can be influenced by her lifestyle and family history. In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Crystal Clark, chief medical officer for Community HealthChoices and senior advisor for the Center for Social Impact at UPMC Health Plan; and cardiologist Dr. Am...
Prevention as self-care: Shifting the paradigm
In this episode, we’re joined by Carrie Whitcher, chief quality officer and vice president of quality performance at UPMC Health Plan; Dr. Bob Edwards, chair of ob-gyn at the University of Pittsburgh, and the chief medical officer of UPMC’s Community and Ambulatory Services Division, to discuss preventive care for women.
About the host
Dr. Ellen Beckjord
Vice President, Clinical Strategy and Program Optimization
UPMC Health Plan
Dr. Ellen Beckjord, MPH, is host of the “Good Health, Better World” podcast.
Ellen is a behavioral scientist, epidemiologist, and licensed clinical psychologist working at the intersection of population and digital health.
Her work focuses on promoting health, wellness, and health behavior change. She is vice president of clinical strategy and program optimization for UPMC Health Plan based in Pittsburgh.
Ellen trained at the University of Vermont, where she worked with cancer survivors and their families, at Vanderbilt University, and at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
She completed post-doctoral research at the National Cancer Institute in the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch within the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. She spent nearly five years in academic medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and Hillman Cancer Center.
Ellen also is the co-author of “Porchtraits” in which she interviewed people in Pittsburgh during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic about what they were learning, missing, enjoying, what surprised them, and what they felt hopeful about. A long-time member of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Ellen currently serves on the Board of Directors as President-Elect.
Ellen’s guiding principle: “Lead with love.”