Turn on the Lights Podcast

What would change if healthcare listened more deeply to Black breast cancer survivors and built systems around their experiences, expertise, and lives? In this episode, Ricki Fairley, co-founder and CEO of Touch, the Black Breast Cancer Alliance, joins Philip McAdoo to discuss trust, science, and collective action in the fight against Black breast cancer. Drawing on her own journey as a triple-negative breast cancer survivor, Ricki explains why the science of Black breast cancer must be treated differently, how the "purple cape" of accountability shapes Black women's experience of illness, and why doctors, pharma, and health systems must change the language, the data, and the support they offer. She also shares how Touch's navigators, clinical trial matching, and community partnerships help Black women move from fear to informed, confident decision-making. Tune in for a powerful, personal conversation about building trust, changing the science, and turning advocacy into a movement! About Ricki Fairley:Ricki Fairley is co-founder and CEO of Touch, the Black Breast Cancer Alliance, and a triple-negative breast cancer survivor and thriver. She has turned her personal experience, strategic expertise, and sense of purpose into a national movement focused on eradicating Black breast cancer. Ricki has founded and led major initiatives including #BlackDataMatters, the When We Trial Movement, For the Love of My Girls, Touch Cares, and BlackTNBCSanctuary.org, all designed to increase awareness, support Black women and families, advance clinical trial participation, and change outcomes for Black breast cancer survivors. IHI Spotlight: Ashley JacksonIn this episode's IHI Spotlight, Ashley Jackson discusses IHI's Cancer Collective Action Collaborative, a 14-month initiative connecting healthcare organizations, cancer centers, and community-based and advocacy groups to address disparities across the cancer care journey. She shares why moving from awareness to action requires an honest look at gaps in care, committed partnerships, and accountability, and why building trust with communities must come before any collaborative work begins. Things You'll Learn: Black breast cancer is biologically and clinically different, and clinical trials must reflect the burden of disease that Black women actually carry. Trust is difficult to build and easy to lose; a genuine, sustained partnership matters more than one-time sponsorship. Many Black women carry an invisible "purple cape" of caregiving and financial responsibility that doesn't come off during treatment, and health systems often fail to see it. Doctors' limited time with patients and low awareness of the latest trials leave many patients without a real clinical trial conversation. Peer navigators who have lived the experience themselves can provide education, emotional support, and practical resources around the clock. Racial bias in care delivery is real and can directly affect the quality and speed of treatment a patient receives. Meaningful partnership with communities requires listening first and building trust before starting collaborative work. Resources: Connect with and follow Ricki Fairley on LinkedIn. Learn more about Touch, the Black Breast Cancer Alliance.

What would change if health care truly organized itself around what matters most to older adults, patients, families, and caregivers? In this episode, Alice Bonner, a nationally recognized leader in age-friendly care and person-centered systems, joins Dr. Philip McAdoo to discuss ageism, dignity, caregiving, and what it takes to make health care more responsive to older adults. She explains how ageism shows up in everyday assumptions, communication, workflows, physical spaces, and care decisions, and why it must be treated as a health equity issue. Alice also highlights the importance of age-friendly care, the 4Ms framework, listening deeply to older adults, engaging caregivers without bypassing the person receiving care, and making “what matters” visible, documented, and actionable across the system. Tune in for a thoughtful conversation about designing care around dignity, trust, and the real lives of older adults and the people who care for them! About Alice Bonner:Alice Bonner is a nationally recognized leader in age-friendly care, person-centered systems, and efforts to make “what matters” a reliable part of care for older adults, families, and caregivers. Her work focuses on helping health systems address ageism, strengthen dignity and respect in care delivery, and build reliable practices that support older adults across hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, home care, and community settings. IHI Spotlight: Kate DeBartolo In this episode’s IHI Spotlight, Kate DeBartolo highlights practical tools that help older adults prepare for medical appointments and communicate what matters most. She discusses IHI’s My Health Checklist and The Conversation Project, which support care planning around priorities, medications, mind, mobility, and end-of-life wishes. Kate also shares how IHI’s partnership with AARP has expanded these resources through community engagement, translations, caregiver support, and tools for health care teams. Things You’ll Learn: Ageism often begins with assumptions about older adults before getting to know them as individuals. Health systems can unintentionally create inequities when they do not account for hearing, mobility, cognition, language, fear, or the need for more time. Dignity should not be optional in health care; it should be treated as a design requirement. Age-friendly care is built around the 4Ms: what matters, medication, mentation or mind, and mobility. Families and caregivers often hold important information about medications, safety, finances, living conditions, and social support. Asking “what matters” is only the first step; health systems must document, share, and act on the answer. Leaders can make person-centered care real by modeling dignity, listening to frontline teams, and building age-friendly practices into workflows. Resources: Connect with and follow Alice Bonner on LinkedIn. Explore the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Age-Friendly Health Systems work. Learn more about IHI’s My Health Checklist. Learn more about The Conversation Project.

Patient safety and workforce safety are not separate priorities. They are different, but deeply connected outcomes of the same health care system. In this episode, Patricia McGaffigan, Senior Advisor for Safety at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and President of the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety, explains why health care organizations cannot deliver consistently safe, compassionate care without also protecting and supporting their workforce. She discusses why leaders must move beyond reacting to individual errors, distinguish burnout from moral injury and compassion fatigue, and create systems that encourage people to speak up, report risks, and learn from mistakes. Patricia also shares how boards and senior leaders can make safety a daily purpose rather than a dashboard metric by asking what every major decision will mean for the safety of patients and the workforce. Tune in to learn why patient and workforce safety must be led together, and how health care organizations can build a culture where people are safe to speak up, learn, and thrive. About Patricia McGaffigan: Patricia McGaffigan is Senior Advisor for Safety at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and President of the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety. She co-chairs the National Steering Committee for Patient Safety and serves as a liaison to IHI’s Lucian Leape Institute, Patient and Workforce Safety and Well-Being Initiative, and Nursing Initiative. A nationally recognized patient-safety leader, Patricia brings experience in clinical practice, teaching, and medical device and technology organizations, with a career focused on improving safety for patients, families, and the health care workforce. Things You’ll Learn: Patient safety and workforce safety are inseparable because patients and care teams experience the same system. Safer systems address the conditions that lead to harm instead of expecting people to be infallible. Workforce well-being is a performance strategy that makes care safer, more compassionate, equitable, and reliable. Burnout, moral injury, and compassion fatigue have different causes and require different responses. Psychological safety, transparency, and accountability must work together for organizations to learn and improve. Workarounds often reveal system problems and should be examined rather than blamed on individual clinicians. Boards and leaders must treat zero preventable harm as a core purpose and weigh the safety impact of every major decision on patients and the workforce. Resources: Connect with and follow Patricia McGaffigan on LinkedIn. Follow the Institute for Healthcare Improvement on LinkedIn and explore the IHI website. Learn more about IHI’s National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety. For questions, ideas, or guest suggestions, email [email protected].

What is public trust in nurses worth if it does not lead to voice, protection, and authority? In this episode, Dr. Ernest J. Grant, Clinical Associate Professor and Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Duke University School of Nursing, reflects on a nursing career shaped by bedside care, burn prevention, public policy, and national leadership. He shares how nursing found him, what decades of caring for burn patients taught him about dignity and presence, and why prevention became an extension of bedside care rather than a departure from it. Dr. Grant also discusses volunteering after the September 11 attacks, leading the American Nurses Association during COVID-19, and using nurses' firsthand experiences to advocate for safer working conditions and stronger public-health responses. Looking ahead, he explains why nurses need a meaningful seat at the table, how AI should support rather than replace human care, and why healthcare leaders must mentor the next generation and create safer ways for nurses to speak up. Tune in to hear why honoring nurses requires more than praise; it requires systems that recognize their expertise, protect their courage, and give them the authority to lead. About Dr. Ernest J. Grant Ernest J. Grant, PhD, RN, FADLN, FAAN, is a Clinical Associate Professor and Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Duke University School of Nursing. He is the immediate past president of the American Nurses Association, the nation's largest nurses' organization representing the interests of 5.3 million registered nurses. He was the first man elected president in the organization's 130-year history. Dr. Grant has more than 30 years of nursing experience and is internationally recognized for his expertise in burn care and fire safety. He also serves as adjunct faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing. His work has included bedside care, professional education, injury prevention, public policy, workforce advocacy, and national nursing leadership. In 2002, President George W. Bush presented Dr. Grant with a Nurse of the Year Award for his work caring for burn victims from the World Trade Center site. He was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2011 and designated an Academy Living Legend in 2026, its highest honorary recognition. He earned his BSN from North Carolina Central University and his MSN and PhD from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has also received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin and Thomas Jefferson University. Things You'll Learn Nursing can become a calling through direct experience, mentorship, and the realization that nurses can influence care far beyond a single role or credential. During major crises, leaders need to listen closely to frontline workers, translate their experiences into action, and advocate for the equipment, information, and protection they need. Calling nurses heroes is not enough if healthcare systems fail to protect them from unsafe staffing, inadequate resources, violence, and exclusion from decision-making. Public trust should translate into a meaningful nursing voice in strategy, policy, technology, resource allocation, and the design of patient care. AI can support clinical work, but it cannot replace the human touch, individualized judgment, or active listening that help patients feel heard. Leadership does not require a formal title; nurses can lead through advocacy, committee participation, professional organizations, and efforts to improve policies and practice. Healthcare leaders can turn trust into lasting authority by mentoring future leaders, sharing decision-making context, and building thoughtful succession plans. Resources Connect with and follow Dr. Ernest J. Grant on LinkedIn. Visit the Duke University School of Nursing website.

What can four decades of HIV/AIDS response teach public health about preparing for the next crisis? In this episode, Dr. Eugene McCray, a physician, epidemiologist, and longtime public health leader, reflects on the lessons HIV/AIDS has taught about trust, stigma, data, prevention, equity, and community engagement. He explains how community advocacy helped accelerate surveillance, drug development, education, and access to care, and why effective interventions mean little if they do not reach the people who need them most. Dr. McCray also explores the importance of transparent communication, timely, locally relevant data, and the creation of safe environments where communities and public health teams can share concerns and solutions. Looking ahead, he argues that future public health responses must be community-centered, evidence-based, prevention-focused, and willing to take accountability when systems get things wrong. Tune in to hear why the lessons of HIV/AIDS are not simply history, but a blueprint for building more resilient public health systems. IHI Spotlight: The episode's spotlight connects the conversation to healthcare improvement, safety, equity, and public health learning. The central lesson is that public health needs memory: science and data must remain connected to people, prevention tools must be paired with systems that deliver them equitably, and community partnership must be treated as a condition for effectiveness rather than a courtesy. About Dr. Eugene McCray: Dr. Eugene McCray is a physician, epidemiologist, and public health leader whose career has contributed to the HIV/AIDS response in the United States and globally. His work has included HIV surveillance, prevention, healthcare-worker safety, global HIV programs, and leadership of the CDC's domestic HIV program. In this conversation, he draws on decades of experience to explore what public health can learn from HIV/AIDS about trust, community engagement, data, prevention, equity, and accountability. Things You’ll Learn: Community-led advocacy helped accelerate the HIV/AIDS response by strengthening surveillance, speeding drug development, and building trust with affected populations. Stigma and discrimination can undermine public health by discouraging people from testing, seeking care, and accessing services. Transparent communication is essential when science is uncertain, especially when leaders clearly distinguish what is known from what is not yet known. Public health leaders need to listen to communities and create environments where staff and community members feel safe sharing concerns, assumptions, and solutions. Data is most powerful when it is timely, local, actionable, and used to identify populations being left behind rather than to assign blame. Effective prevention tools such as PrEP cannot reduce inequities unless public health systems tailor delivery to the communities that need them and involve those communities in designing interventions. Meaningful community engagement should extend across research, implementation, evaluation, and the feedback loop that uses data to improve programs. Future public health crises will require systems that integrate trust, prevention, and accountability, take responsibility for mistakes, and build stronger community-centered partnerships. Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Eugene McCray on LinkedIn.