NYC Health + Hospitals Launches New Season of The Remedy, a Podcast from the Largest Safety Net Health Care System in the United States
Season 2 Episode 1: Community Health Workers covers these workers’ vital role in bridging the gap between medical care and social needs like housing, food, and transportation The health care system’s role as a public hospital system and a major safety net health care system for New York City offers a singular voice that no other health care podcast can The Remedy is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and other platforms
Mar 11, 2025
New York, NY — NYC Health + Hospitals today launched the second season of its podcast, The Remedy, featuring leaders and health care providers from the nation’s largest municipal health care system. Season 2 of the podcast will include seven episodes, focusing on frontline workers that often provide care outside the walls of public hospitals and health centers, with a new episode released every two weeks. Season 2 Episode 1: Community Health Workers covers these workers’ vital role in bridging the gap between medical care and social needs like housing, food, and transportation. With over 250 community health workers, NYC Health + Hospitals has built one of the largest programs in the nation. Host Dr. Michael Shen sits down with Natasha McIntosh-Whyte, a Community Health Worker Supervisor, and Nkrumah Powell, a Community Health Worker, to discuss how they help patients navigate a complex system. From helping people get housing to putting food in an empty fridge to walking patients to doctor’s appointments, community health workers Natasha and Nkrumah share moving patient stories, trust-building, and small wins that make a big impact. Season 2 Episode 1: Community Health Workers is available now at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and other podcast platforms.
“I often describe community health workers as family members,” said Michael S. Shen, MD, Host of The Remedy, a primary care doctor at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, and the Clinical Director of Woodhull Hospital’s Primary Care Safety Net Clinic for people experiencing homelessness. “They meet with patients weekly, go to appointments with them, and cut through red tape to help them access services. They play an invaluable role in how we care for our patients.”
“Community health workers bridge the gap between medical care and community resources,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull Community Health Worker Supervisor Natasha McIntosh-Whyte. “Meeting with our patients every week, we’re able to build a rapport, and we walk the journey with them. We fight for our patients so they can live a better life.”
“Community health workers don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull Community Health Worker Nkrumah Powell. “We meet our patients where they’re at. We work to build the relationship so our patients know we’re there for them.”
The health care system’s role as a public hospital system and the major safety net health care system for New York City offers a singular voice that no other health care podcast can. It shows how NYC Health + Hospitals provides care for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay; offers exciting ways to support patients, including dance and music therapy and support navigating benefits; and responds to the challenges that face New York City, including homelessness, gun violence, and the asylum seeker crisis. The host and guests are all health care system employees with a special perspective on the work they do for patients.
Previous episodes of The Remedy covered the following topics:
- Season 1 Episode 1: The Power of Primary Care features three primary care doctors on how working with their patients informs their roles in leadership at NYC Health + Hospitals. The episode features Dr. Mitchell Katz, President and Chief Executive Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals and a primary care physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur; Dr. Andrew Wallach, Ambulatory Care Chief Medical Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals and Chief of Ambulatory Care at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue; and Dr. Michelle Soto, then-Chief of Ambulatory Care at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health.
- Season 1 Episode 2: Food is Medicine recognizes that plant-based eating is powerful medicine – it can lower high blood pressure and bring type 2 diabetes into remission – and considers how hospitals can help their patients pursue a plant-based diet. The episode features Dr. Michelle McMacken, Executive Director of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine, and the health care system’s Executive Chef Phil DeMaiolo.
- Season 1 Episode 3: Ready for the Next Pandemic considers how New York City’s public hospital system has consistently answered the challenge of Ebola, COVID-19, and Mpox all while staying ahead of the latest health crisis. The episode features Dr. Syra Madad, then the Senior Director of System-Wide Special Pathogens Program and now the system’s Chief Biopreparedness Officer, and Dr. Richard James Salway, then-Senior Director of Emergency Management.
- Season 1 Episode 4: Women’s Health considers how New York City’s public hospital system is expanding access to women’s health care in a time when many women across the country are facing restricted access to care. The episode features Dr. Marisa Nadas, Reproductive Health Clinical Lead, and Dr. Wendy Wilcox, Chief Women’s Health Officer. Together, they discuss how NYC Health + Hospitals is expanding telehealth and in-person reproductive health services for everyone who needs them.
- Season 1 Episode 5: Caring for the Newest New Yorkers covers how the staff at NYC Health + Hospitals are rising to the challenge of caring for the over 175,000 asylum seekers who have come to our city since spring 2022. Host Dr. Michael Shen is joined by Dr. Ted Long, Senior Vice President of Ambulatory Care and Population Health, and Dr. Natalie Davis, Associate Medical Director of Ambulatory Women’s Health Services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, to discuss NYC Health + Hospitals’ humanitarian centers, providing access to healthcare for asylum seekers, helping migrants deal with trauma they’ve experienced on their journeys, and much more.
- Season 1 Episode 6: Caring for Homeless Patients covers how NYC Health + Hospitals serves its over 70,000 patients who are experiencing homelessness. Host Dr. Michael Shen is joined by Dr. Amanda Johnson, Assistant Vice President of Ambulatory Care and Population Health at NYC Health + Hospitals, and Leora Jontef, Assistant Vice President of Housing and Real Estate at NYC Health + Hospitals, to delve into New York City’s housing crisis, explain how safety net clinics and mobile vans are providing care to patients experiencing homelessness, and why New York City’s public health care system now has a path connecting hundreds of patients to their own homes.
- Season 1 Episode 7: Helping Healers Heal covershow NYC Health + Hospitals supports the mental health of its more than 40,000 health care workers. Host Dr. Michael Shen is joined by Dr. Eric Wei, Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals, and Jeremy Segall, the System Chief Wellness Officer, to delve into how the pressures of a healthcare job can often lead to stress, burnout, and depression, addressing the stigma around mental health, the system’s Helping Healers Heal program, using the arts to de-stress, and more.
About the Host
Michael S. Shen, MD is a primary care doctor at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull and the Medical Director of Woodhull Hospital’s Adult Primary Care and Geriatrics clinics. Dr. Shen was previously a Health Affairs Podcast Fellow where he created a 3-episode series about safety net hospitals. He is also an artist who works in watercolor, acrylic, mixed media, and digital media. His illustrative work has been published by National Geographic Books, the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics, and the Annals of Internal Medicine. Find him on Twitter @MikeShenMD.
###
#033-25
MEDIA CONTACT: PressOffice@nychhc.org
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.