September 9, 2019

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Sports September 9, 2019

Looking Back At The Best Of This Year’s U.S. Open

NPR’s Ailsa Chang talks with Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated about the amazing play seen at the U.S. Open this year.



AILSA CHANG, HOST:

It took nearly five exhausting hours, but Rafael Nadal pulled off his fourth U.S. Open title last night in New York. He outlasted Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in five sets for his 19th Grand Slam title. Joining me on Skype now to talk about last night’s entertaining end to an entertaining tournament is Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated. Hey there.

JON WERTHEIM: Hi, Ailsa.

CHANG: OK, so Nadal’s latest Grand Slam title puts him – what? – just one behind his rival Roger Federer for most Grand Slam titles ever. But just looking at last night, how great of a feat was it for him to go five sets against a player 10 years younger than him?

WERTHEIM: This was a tremendous feat, especially given the rhythms of this match, where Nadal won the first two sets. It looked like he was cruising and we would all make it to our dinner appointments, and then all of a sudden, this Russian, who – you’re right – was 10 year Nadal’s junior, was absolutely persistent and didn’t miss. And suddenly, here we are in a fifth set, and the crowd is engaged. And what Nadal had to do and what he had to overcome to end up winning this match made this sort of an unexpectedly complicated day at the office but, I think, really one of his great career triumphs.

CHANG: But maybe one of the most exciting things that happened last night was the guy on the other side of that match, the rise of Medvedev, right? He started out as this guy that everyone hated during this tournament for being rude and obnoxious. Like, he flipped off an official. People were booing him. But then last night, he played phenomenal tennis. Can you just tell us how he turned things around?

WERTHEIM: It was one of the great comebacks but also one of the great character comebacks. You’re right. Everyone sort of expected to come and witness a public execution and good would triumph over evil and Nadal would beat this guy. And by the end, Medvedev had the crowd behind him. He got a standing ovation when it was over. And the other thing – this is really an emergence of a young, talented, ascending player. I mean, he had a terrific summer. He came to the U.S. Open. He won six matches. This guy who, 10 days ago, was the great pro-wrestling heel, the villain of the tournament, was really given a warm sendoff. It was quite an image recovery.

CHANG: All right, so now let’s go to the women’s side. There was another emerging star, Bianca Andreescu. She became Canada’s first Grand Slam title winner ever. How surprised should people be that she beat Serena Williams in straight sets?

WERTHEIM: I think to some extent, we take our cue from the player, and she, from the start of the tournament, basically said, I’m here to win. This time last year, she wasn’t anywhere close to the tennis radar. She was outside the top 100, and she’s had a terrific 2019. And here she comes, 19 years old with a very well-developed game, and stared down the mighty Serena Williams in the U.S. Open final. And we have a new start in women’s tennis.

CHANG: OK, so now that the 2019 season is over, what are you most looking forward to in 2020?

WERTHEIM: A lot. I mean, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic – the big three, we call them – they have won the last 12 majors. Nobody has sort of cracked this glass ceiling. Is 2020 the year it finally happens? And then between the emergence of young stars and this sort of big question of whether Serena Williams can finally complete this question and win her 24th major, we have 19-year-olds that are thrilling us, and we also will have a 38-year-old Serena Williams bidding for history. So, you know, overall, I would say tennis emerges from this 2019 U.S. Open in a very nice place.

CHANG: That’s Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated. Thanks so much for joining us today.

WERTHEIM: Anytime. Pleasure.

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Health September 9, 2019

Telepsychiatry Helps Recruitment And Patient Care In Rural Areas

Dr. Sarfraz Khan, chief medical officer at Meridian Health Services in Indiana, connects with patients over the internet.

Yuki Noguchi/NPR


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Yuki Noguchi/NPR

It used to take at least nine months for a patient to schedule an initial appointment with a psychiatrist at Meridian Health Services in Indiana. Now, it takes days, thanks to a program that allows doctors to connect over the Internet with patients, reaching those even in remotest corners of the state.

That has also helped with recruitment. Over the last several years, Meridian’s staff of psychiatric specialists, including nurse practitioners, tripled from four to 12.

“In my opinion, it’s lifesaving,” says Dr. Sarfraz Khan, Meridian’s chief medical officer. Meridian increased its investment in telepsychiatry in the last six months, in part because of what Khan says is a burgeoning addiction crisis. “There are drugs and then more drugs and then more and more drugs.”

Growing problems with addiction and depression have made the country’s shortage of mental health professionals much more acute for rural areas. Geographic isolation exacerbates a vicious cycle. A shortage of doctors means patients can’t get timely care. The health system atrophies, and doctor recruitment gets even tougher.

As a potential workaround, telemedicine is one of the most promising and lucrative opportunities in healthcare. The way it has transformed both psychiatric care and recruitment for Meridian is a case study of its appeal.

“There was a time when we were seriously considering: Would it be viable for us to provide psychiatric services because nobody would like to come to small towns?” Khan says.

Now, such care is readily available. And it makes more money for Meridian, a provider of mental health and primary care, because Medicare and Medicaid pay more for care provided to underserved areas.

Meridian set up what it calls a “hive” in Indianapolis, where it’s easier to recruit talent. Patients drive to a local Meridian office, where a nurse measures their vitals and observes their demeanor, and sits them in front of a computer. On a split screen, the physician appears at the other end of a secure connection.

Patients seem to embrace it.

At Meridian’s offices in Muncie, Mariah, a visually arresting 20-year-old woman emerges from her first telepsychiatry appointment. She wears a metallic kitty-ear headband over a florescent green wig that matches her dramatic eye shadow.

“Yesterday, I had heart-shaped freckles that were like colored glitter, and it also looked like I was crying glitter,” she explains.

Elaborate costumes help her mask a years-long struggle with depression and anxiety, says Mariah, who declined to use her last time to protect her medical privacy.

She says she prefers talking over a computer to an in-person appointment, because it feels less confrontational. “It’s easier because they’re not there, so I feel like I can tell more, and speak more and truly just be fully real,” she says. “If they’re sitting right there, I might not want to say everything or say as much.”

For all its benefits, telemedicine hasn’t solved all of Meridian’s recruitment needs.

“In my offices, I’ve got probably close to 50 positions that are vacant,” says Gerard Cyranowski, one of the company’s vice presidents covering the eastern part of Indiana. “It’s a tight labor market, there’s a limited number of practitioners. They can name their price.”

So Cyranowski says the company is interested in expanding its use of telemedicine to address staffing challenges in other areas, including primary care and psychotherapy. In the past few months, Meridian has been using it to treat patients in emergency rooms, addiction treatment centers and even schools.

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No Image

Business September 9, 2019

Telepsychiatry Helps Recruitment And Patient Care In Rural Areas

Dr. Sarfraz Khan, chief medical officer at Meridian Health Services in Indiana, connects with patients over the internet.

Yuki Noguchi/NPR


hide caption

toggle caption

Yuki Noguchi/NPR

It used to take at least nine months for a patient to schedule an initial appointment with a psychiatrist at Meridian Health Services in Indiana. Now, it takes days, thanks to a program that allows doctors to connect over the Internet with patients, reaching those even in remotest corners of the state.

That has also helped with recruitment. Over the last several years, Meridian’s staff of psychiatric specialists, including nurse practitioners, tripled from four to 12.

“In my opinion, it’s lifesaving,” says Dr. Sarfraz Khan, Meridian’s chief medical officer. Meridian increased its investment in telepsychiatry in the last six months, in part because of what Khan says is a burgeoning addiction crisis. “There are drugs and then more drugs and then more and more drugs.”

Growing problems with addiction and depression have made the country’s shortage of mental health professionals much more acute for rural areas. Geographic isolation exacerbates a vicious cycle. A shortage of doctors means patients can’t get timely care. The health system atrophies, and doctor recruitment gets even tougher.

As a potential workaround, telemedicine is one of the most promising and lucrative opportunities in healthcare. The way it has transformed both psychiatric care and recruitment for Meridian is a case study of its appeal.

“There was a time when we were seriously considering: Would it be viable for us to provide psychiatric services because nobody would like to come to small towns?” Khan says.

Now, such care is readily available. And it makes more money for Meridian, a provider of mental health and primary care, because Medicare and Medicaid pay more for care provided to underserved areas.

Meridian set up what it calls a “hive” in Indianapolis, where it’s easier to recruit talent. Patients drive to a local Meridian office, where a nurse measures their vitals and observes their demeanor, and sits them in front of a computer. On a split screen, the physician appears at the other end of a secure connection.

Patients seem to embrace it.

At Meridian’s offices in Muncie, Mariah, a visually arresting 20-year-old woman emerges from her first telepsychiatry appointment. She wears a metallic kitty-ear headband over a florescent green wig that matches her dramatic eye shadow.

“Yesterday, I had heart-shaped freckles that were like colored glitter, and it also looked like I was crying glitter,” she explains.

Elaborate costumes help her mask a years-long struggle with depression and anxiety, says Mariah, who declined to use her last time to protect her medical privacy.

She says she prefers talking over a computer to an in-person appointment, because it feels less confrontational. “It’s easier because they’re not there, so I feel like I can tell more, and speak more and truly just be fully real,” she says. “If they’re sitting right there, I might not want to say everything or say as much.”

For all its benefits, telemedicine hasn’t solved all of Meridian’s recruitment needs.

“In my offices, I’ve got probably close to 50 positions that are vacant,” says Gerard Cyranowski, one of the company’s vice presidents covering the eastern part of Indiana. “It’s a tight labor market, there’s a limited number of practitioners. They can name their price.”

So Cyranowski says the company is interested in expanding its use of telemedicine to address staffing challenges in other areas, including primary care and psychotherapy. In the past few months, Meridian has been using it to treat patients in emergency rooms, addiction treatment centers and even schools.

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