Senior Action Council

Rural hospitals may struggle with providing specialty services to the people they serve, causing people to either forgo critical services or to travel long distances to access them. Margaretville Hospital, part of Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley/WMC Health, has been working on bringing specialty services to the region of southeast Delaware County. Dr. Katherine Amodeo, MD, is a neurologist who has been coming to Margaretville Hospital regularly to provide important diagnostic and treatment services to residents in the hospital’s nursing home, Mountainside Residential Care Center, as well as hospital inpatients and outpatients. She is the Associate Director of Neurology at Margaretville Hospital. She’s also a Movement Disorders Specialist in the Department of Neurology; an Associate Professor of Neurology at the School of Medicine at New York Medical College in Valhalla. HealthCetera producer and host Dr. Diana Mason, RN, interviewed Dr. Amodeo about the services she is bringing to people in the Catskills. This interview first aired on Radio Catskill, WIOX Radio, on September 23, 2026. The post Margaretville Hospital 3 appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by europeana on Unsplash Peripheral artery disease, or PAD, is a chronic condition that is associated with leg pain, wounds that won’t heal, amputations, heart attacks and strokes. HealthCetera producer and host, Dr. Diana Mason, RN, talked about PAD with Dr. Yvette Conyers, RN, a family nurse practitioner who has been laser focused on prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of PAD. She’s also Associate Dean for Strategic Engagement and Impact and an assistant Professor in the department of family and community health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on Radio Catskill, WIOX Radio, on September 30, 2026. The post Preventing Peripheral Artery Disease appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Katherine Hanlon on Unsplash Pain can be a terrible thing. When you’re in pain, it’s hard to focus on anything else. When pain is severe, opioids are often prescribed; but opioids are a real risk for people with chronic pain—as we learned from the exponential rise in opioid addictions when oxycontin was being prescribed for both acute and chronic pain. Opioids for chronic pain are no longer considered a good practice, let alone a best practice, unless for end of life treatment of pain, when avoidance of dependency and addiction is not a concern.  Acupuncture has a long history of use for pain management. But it’s hard to come by in rural areas. Dr. Mitchell  Knisely, RN, is a registered nurse and associate professor of nursing at the Duke University School of Nursing where he also is the Associate Dean of Nurse Scientists Programs. He’s also been a fellow in the UCD Betty Moore Nurse Leaders and Innovators Fellowship program, which has supported his work on developing a group approach to acupuncture for people in rural areas who are struggling with pain. HealthCetera producer and host, Dr. Diana Mason, RN, talked with Dr. Knisely about this initiative and the potential for it to be replicated in other rural communities. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on Radio Catskill, WIOX Radio, on September 30, 2026. The post Acupuncture in Rural Areas appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash HR.1, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, was passed by Congress last year and signed into law by President Trump. Included in that law is the requirement that people on Medicaid–the joint federal-state health insurance program for low income people—meet new work requirements. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued an interim final rule to implement this requirement that some people believe will unnecessarily jeopardize health coverage for the millions of vulnerable Americans on Medicaid. The Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University took the lead in developing an amicus brief to challenge this requirement and a public comment on the DHHS proposed rule on its implementation on behalf of over 170 organizations and individuals. HealthCetera producer and host Diana Mason, RN, talked about the Medicaid work requirements, the amicus brief, and the public comment with Allyson Crays, a Public Health Law and Policy Analyst at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University who worked on both the brief and the public comment. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on Radio Catskill, WIOX Radio, on September 23, 2026. The post One Big Beautiful Bill Act appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Marius Masalar on Unsplash Music therapy has been used in health care to promote healing and recovery. HealthCetera producer and host Dr. Diana Mason, RN, talks about music therapy and its integration into care at Margaretville Hospital and Mountainside Residential Care Center with Dr. Peter Jampel President, Baltic Street Into Action and former Adjunct Associate Professor of Music Therapy, Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions at New York University; and Dr. Kathleen Murphy, Associate Professor, and Presiding Officer of the Graduate Council – Music Therapy Graduate Studies at the State University of New York New Paltz. This interview first aired on Radio Catskill on WIOX Radio on September 16, 2026. The post Music Therapy for Healing appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been deregulating industry pollution guards. One surprising aspect of this deregulation involves abortions. HealthCetera Special Correspondent and public health nurse Barbara Glickstein, RN, talks with HealthCetera producer and host Diana Mason, RN, about this issue. This interview first aired on Radio Catskill on WIOX Radio on September 16, 2026. The post Deregulation of Pollution Guards appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash The Catskill Region has a significant population of older adults. About 1 in every 4 people in Delaware County is 65 years of age or older. This is of concern in rural communities where services to support older adults may be harder to access because of distances and resources. NY Statewide Senior Action Council is an organization focused on enhancing the quality of life for allseniors in NY State. HealthCetera producer and host Diana Mason, RN, talked with Sarah Askew, Outreach Counselor for the Council about its services. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on September 2, 2026. The post Senior Action Council appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash The first week in September has been designated as Overdose Awareness Week to help individuals, families and communities to  understand the trends in overdoses, why they occur, and what can be done to reduce them. HealthCetera producer and host Dr. Diana Mason, RN, spoke about these issues with Dr. Brayden N. Kameg, Associate Dean for Graduate Clinical Education and Associate Professor of Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, and an expert in substance use disorders. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on September 2, 2026. The post Overdose Awareness Week appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash We often take our bodies for granted—until they act up and suddenly remind us that we have to pay attention to our health. This is particularly so for kidney health. What do kidneys do and why is their health something that all of us should pay attention to? HealthCetera producer and host Dr. Diana J. Mason, RN, discusses these questions with Dr. Maya Clark-Cutaia, RN, the Nannie Longfellow Endowed Professor at the University of Delaware School of Nursing and a nurse scientist focused on preventing what is called end stage kidney disease. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on August 26, 2026. The post Importance of Kidney Health appeared first on HealthCetera.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash Telehealth can be a convenient approach to getting health care but barriers to its use persist. When is it appropriate to use telehealth and when is it inappropriate? What are the obstacles to using telehealth more often and how can we address some of these to make telehealth more available. To answer these and other questions about telehealth. HeaelthCetera producer and host, Dr. Diana Mason, RN, talked with Dr. Lisa Duffy, RN, a registered nurse and Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Elaine Marieb College of Nursing. She’s also a practicing Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Boston Children’s Hospital, where she’s cared for children with chronic conditions for more than two decades. She’s a fellow in the Betty Irene Moore Nurse Leaders and Innovators Fellowship. This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on August 19, 2026. The post When to Use Telehealth appeared first on HealthCetera.