Healthcare is Human
Since 2020, Healthcare is Human (HIH) has been telling authentic healthcare stories.
Dr. Ryan McCarthy created HIH in Martinsburg, WV, to give voice to individuals who were under-represented as the Covid-19 pandemic began. Since then, HIH has grown exponentially and is now a complex narrative medicine initiative. Writer, poet, and narrative medicine expert Renée K. Nicholson co-hosts the podcast.
Molly Humphreys, native of Shepherdstown, WV, photographer on the project, has captured hundred of images of healthcare workers in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Visit HIH on Facebook and Instagram to see these incredible photos . Molly's world class portfolio can be found by searching for Piccadilly Posh.
Kym Mattioli produces the podcast.
HIH is supported by grants from the West Virginia Humanities Council, WVU Foundation, and generous donors across West Virginia.
Our first exhibit "Wild, Wonderful and Brave: Fighting the Pandemic in the Eastern Panhandle" ran at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, VA, from June 2022-June 2023.
Our most recent exhibit was in the Pylons Commons at the Robert C. Byrd Health Science Center in Morgantown, WV, feom September 2023 through June 2024. Dozens of the best photographs were featured alongside poetry by Marc Harshman, Torli Bush, Renée K. Nicholson, and Randi Ward. Our companion film, HEALTHCARE IS HUMAN, directed by Corwyn “Cory” Garman, can be viewed inside the William A. Neal Museum.
Original music for our films and museum exhibitions is composed by Robert Sears and Jared Sims. Isaac McCarthy plays the banjo on the podcast.
Healthcare is Human has been featured in 100 Days in Appalachia, West Virginia Public Radio, Synapsis, INSider, KevinMD, and the Gold Foundation.
A book is in development as is HIH curricula at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. HIH is a signature program of the WVU Internal Medicine Residency at the Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg, WV.
Find us on TED.com to hear our origin story.
Healthcare is Human
Episode Fourteen: Rebecca Berhanu PharmD
In this episode of the Healthcare is Human, we meet pharmacist Rebecca Berhanu. A hospital worker for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Berhanu shares her experience working during the largest global health crisis of the last century.
Hear how pharmacists adapt to the shock of COVID-19 and the earliest breakthroughs in treating this deadly illness. Dr. Berhanu takes us through the evidence-based process which yields a life-saving vaccine in record time.
This podcast is engineered by Kym Mattioli.
Be sure to visit Healthcare is Human on Facebook and Instagram. There you will find incredible photos by Molly Humphreys - featuring Dr. Berhanu and many other healthcare workers.
We have an incredible museum exhibit debuting in summer 2022. More info soon!
Healthcare is Human is supported by a grant from the West Virginia Humanities Council.
Be sure to visit Healthcare is Human on Facebook and Instagram. If you have a great idea for a podcast, we would love to hear from you.
