Don Lee

Using the COVID-19 Shared Experience to Make Public Health Communication More Effective with Vanessa Lamers

February 8, 2021 donlee 0 Comments

For effective communication, the very first thing we need to do is create a connection with our audience. For that, metaphors and shared experience are two of our most effective tools. These, however, are hard to come by and typically must be created anew for every audience. It’s rare that we have a shared experience that touches everyone in a direct and visceral way. A shared experience that due to its sheer scope and severity, forces politicians, business leaders, and other key decision-makers through a crash course on public health concepts like contract tracing, mass testing, vaccine development and deployment, health access and disparities, public health data infrastructure, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and many more. For public health and emergency preparedness communicators, prior to 2020 at least, this would have been a pipe dream. Yet here we are.

Overcoming Emergent Problems in a Deepening Crisis with Dr. Angela Rasmussen

January 18, 2021 donlee 0 Comments

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen by most objective measures. We’re breaking records for cases, deaths, and hospitalizations on a regular basis, and many of our hospitals are operating at or near capacity. Further complicating the situation, scientists are tracking the “UK variant” that is more transmissible, and our vaccine distribution has fallen well short of expectations. Emergent problems in a deepening crisis, of course, make us vulnerable to knee-jerk reactions that distract us from the known path to getting the pandemic under control.

Supporting the Front-lines and Improving Communication During a Pandemic with Dr. Saskia Popescu

December 4, 2020 donlee 0 Comments

When she was just 8 years old, Dr. Saskia Popescu’s step-mother handed her a copy of The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus . That simple act kicked off a string of events that would positively impact thousands of lives. At TIPS, we believe that one person can make a difference and everyone should try. Sometimes that person becomes a renowned infectious diseases epidemiologist and infection preventionist who specializes in biopreparedness, biosecurity, and pandemic response, and guides hospitals and businesses safely through a pandemic, like Dr. Popescu. Other times they make a difference simply by opening the mind of a child to the great possibilities of the world. Both matter.

Prof. Florian Krammer: Life in a Virus Lab During the COVID-19 Pandemic

July 20, 2020 donlee 0 Comments

Take a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to run a virus lab during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the science itself to keeping the team safe, avoiding burnout, communicating the facts, and dealing with misinformation. Plus, status updates on the virus candidates that are being tested around the world.

Understanding Infectious Agents in the Environment | Dr. Syed Sattar and Bahram Zargar

November 6, 2019 donlee 0 Comments

What happens to an infectious agent once it leaves the human body? Well, it ends up in our cars, airplanes, food, water and soil. If we know how that contagion behaves “in the wild”, then we’ll be able to kill it, filter it, or otherwise prevent it from proliferating, and potentially improve the lives of millions of people in the process. This is the study of Environmental Microbiology and it’s a topic that today’s guest has spent more than 30 years trying to understand.

Redefining Sepsis | Michael Ackerman

September 19, 2019 donlee 0 Comments

Sepsis definitions and protocols have been around for some time, but have been undergoing major changes. Additionally, sepsis is under scrutiny from CMS at the federal level and is subject to public reporting in many states. All of this, plus the importance of quickly diagnosing and treating the condition puts clinicians in a difficult spot. Many times they’ll find themselves treating to the protocol, even when their clinical instincts suggest something else.

Lessons on Infection Control and Healthcare Sales from the Man with the High-Tech Pillow – David Woolfson

September 19, 2019 donlee 0 Comments

There are two things I can say for sure. First, healthcare-associated infections (HAI) cause a lot of suffering and cost a lot of money. Second, it’s really hard to sell into healthcare, even when you have an innovative product that attacks a well-known problem in a common-sense way. On this episode, we get to dive into both of those things.

Shining a Light on C. diff – Christian John Lillis

September 14, 2019 donlee 0 Comments

Clostridium difficile (klos-TRID-e-um dif-uh-SEEL), often called C. difficile or C. diff impacts 453,000 people every year. And with 29,000 associated deaths, it takes more lives than AIDS and drunk-driving combined. Yet, most people have never even heard of it. That’s a big problem because you can’t protect yourself from a threat when you don’t even know it exists.

Why Hand Hygiene Matters – Tamás Haidegger

September 14, 2019 donlee 0 Comments

Hand hygiene is the number one line of defense when it comes to controlling the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) and infectious disease. Since we know that antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance is on the rise, and few new antibiotics are being developed, it becomes exceedingly important that we prevent people from acquiring these infections in the first place.

Using Barrier Technology to Stop the Spread of Infectious Disease – Rik Heller

September 12, 2019 donlee 0 Comments

Rik Heller is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Wello. A self-confessed technology and healthcare geek, Rik has also been called the Grandfather of Active RFID and holds many patents in this area that are licensed globally. With a background in math and electrical engineering, he has been working in healthcare since 1989.