PORTFOLIO
Health & Wellness
My previous role as a writer and editor for a healthcare publishing company prepared me well to help healthcare clients with their content needs. Recently, I helped a corporate meditation company launch a newsletter, the New York YMCA produce an employee newsletter and marketing materials, and a Texas-based company that sells and rents larger-than-life inflatable organs with its web content. I’ve also blogged on infertility. I have a particular interest in functional and integrative medicine and nutrition.
ARTICLES
The State of Care: Women’s Health
Multidisciplinary Expertise Includes Treatment— and Prevention—of Disease
Columbia Medicine
Which mask? What test?
Covid’s latest surge spreads an epidemic of confusion.
The Washington Post
The HIV epidemic is not over
Meet four changemakers paving a path for hope in the American South
The Associated Press
Actors who had strokes at musical productions 2 years apart are now married
"Jason and I share a trauma bond," said Christenson, "and that is very powerful and profound and also hard.”
The American Heart Association
Innovating a solution for infertility
Six years after the first trial, and with Testa at the helm, Baylor’s program has grown to be the largest and most successful uterus-transplant program in the world.
Chicago Booth
Inclusive Health Care
Through the Polsky Accelerator program, two entrepreneurs are growing their startup to improve health-care access and quality for the LGBTQ+ community.
Chicago Booth
Why ‘Scan Day’ Is So Important to This Firefighter
For the half a million people around the world who find out they have pancreatic cancer each year, reliable, accurate scans are essential to diagnosis and to starting a treatment plan as quickly as possible.
GE Healthcare
7 ways to build wellness into your workday
Working from home doesn’t have to mean sitting more and moving less.
Hewlett Packard’s The Garage
How to weigh coronavirus risks this holiday season
Is it safe to visit Santa at the mall? Can chips-and-dip come out of retirement?
The Washington Post
Dr. Jeremiah Stamler, 'the father of preventive cardiology,' dies at 102
A pioneer in helping to curb the epidemic of hypertension, Stamler in the 1970s put the cardiovascular risk factors of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, a high-fat diet and smoking on the map.
The American Heart Association
A joyous birth, followed by heart failure
Although Danecia Williams was 24 and healthy, her first pregnancy took a toll on her body. Her blood pressure spiked, straining her heart and other organs.
The American Heart Association
Long Shot
More Effective Marketing Could Convince The Vaccine Hesitant To Change Their Ways
Rice Business Wisdom
Forest bathing in Texas: As easy as a walk in the park
Also known as forest therapy, forest bathing is a slow, sensory-based walk through nature.
AAA magazine
Cloud Care: How GE Healthcare Technology Helped Ensure a Safer Olympics
This year at the Summer Olympics, medical professionals in Tokyo had a high-tech solution at their disposal to help organizers hold a safe Olympic Games.
GE Healthcare
With virtual reality, radiation therapy students learn about proton therapy
Radiation therapy students at MD Anderson are slipping on virtual reality goggles that create a simulated radiotherapy treatment room where a virtual patient awaits treatment.
MD Anderson
How personalized marketing can prevent cancer
Rice Business Professor Vikas Mittal shows that tailored, personalized health care marketing works better to convince at-risk patients to get screening for liver cancer.
Rice Business Wisdom
47-year-old mom came home from a work trip and had two strokes
In her 40s, Stephanie Gerding had two strokes after busy back-to-back work trips. Through goal-setting and support from her family, she learned to walk again.
The American Heart Association
The pandemic baby bust
“For people who already have kids at home, the concept of having another one now is just mind-boggling because it’s so difficult making it through on a daily basis,” Levine says.
Wellesley magazine
Here’s How Contact Tracing Works
Across the country and the world, cities and health departments are now ramping up their contact tracing programs in order to contain COVID-19.
The Paper Gown
Pandemic May Contribute to More Deaths of Despair
Learn how isolation and uncertainty are fueling this crisis and how to spot warning signs that someone is at risk.
Sharecare
(Still) home for the holidays
7 ideas for a magical, meaningful season.
Hewlett Packard’s The Garage
6 Questions About Masks, Answered
To help prevent more people from getting COVID-19, the CDC is now recommending that everyone in the US wear simple cloth masks when they’re out in public.
The Paper Gown
More Americans Are Struggling With Anxiety and Depression—But Help Is Available
Civil unrest, COVID-19 and economic strain fuel a growing mental health crisis. Know the signs and how to access support.
Sharecare
Why We Need Antibody Testing to Fight the Coronavirus
But another testing tool is now making its way into doctor’s offices: serological tests, which examine the blood to detect antibodies created in response to COVID-19.
The Paper Gown
How Does Insurance Work for Video Visits?
Most new rules surrounding telehealth are likely a short-term strategy, with regulations remaining loosened through the end of the 2020 calendar year.
The Paper Gown
Telehealth is Going to Be a Part of Our Lives Now
Two major barriers holding back telehealth have been spotty access to providers and limited insurance coverage for care. Now, COVID-19 has propelled telehealth into the spotlight.
The Paper Gown
13 Must-Know Coronavirus Terms
While some coronavirus terms are self-explanatory, others aren’t. We compiled a list of essential terms to know in the time of coronavirus.
The Paper Gown
What to Include in Your Family Medical History
A complete, detailed history helps doctors understand if you’re at a heightened risk of developing certain diseases that tend to be passed down through the generations.
The Paper Gown
The Intersection of Drug Use, HIV, and Hepatitis
The rise in opioid addiction has created a new generation of people who inject drugs and may contract HIV and Hepatitis C from needle-sharing.
New York University Alumni Magazine
Why are women with diabetes at greater risk for poor heart health?
Diabetes can be a risk factor for heart disease – but for women, the condition can lead to worse outcomes than for men.
The American Heart Association
Nutrients for Healthy Skin
To help keep your skin looking, working, and feeling good, feed it well from the inside.
WebMD
Can social connection aid heart health in African-American community?
For black adults, connecting with neighbors could do much more than create a sense of community – it also might be good for their heart.
The American Heart Association
Best Foods to Boost Your Health
Try adding these not-so-obvious foods to your pantry and plate to get better nutrition from the calories you eat.
WebMD
Does Weather Affect Joint Pain?
It’s common to blame joint pain flare-ups on changes in the weather. But the research on the connection between the two isn’t clear.
WebMD
Blood pressure may explain elevated dementia risk in black adults
Older black adults with high blood pressure, and especially black men, show more severe cognitive declines than white adults who have high blood pressure, according to new research.
The American Heart Association
Bald is Beautiful
In a society that equates health and attractiveness with hair, these three alopecia crusaders are proving that baldness can't stop anyone from living a happy life.
Folks - A Pillpack Magazine
Can An Opioid Addiction Drug Treat Autoimmune Disorders?
Evidence is mounting that low doses of naltrexone can treat conditions like lupus and multiple sclerosis effectively and with few side effects.
MedShadow Foundation
10 Things to Look for in Diabetes Tech and Drugs in 2019
The coming year promises to be a busy one for innovations in diabetes tech and medicine.
ASweetLife
Doctors Who Craft
Across the country, off-the-clock medical professionals are turning to knitting, baking, painting, lettering, and other crafts not just for fun, but to doctor their souls.
Folks - A Pillpack Magazine
Healing Her Gut Through Bread Baking
After a stomach disorder, Sarah Owens turned to baking and fermenting foods to help heal her gut.
Folks - A Pillpack Magazine
A Brighter Future With Food
Brighter Bites gives low income families across Texas – and the country – 20-25 pounds of fresh, free produce a week donated from local food banks, and it’s changing the way children are eating.
Local Sun
Riding, Running, and Swimming To Beat A Fatal Genetic Disease
Justin and Lexi Clark aren't just in a race against giant axonal neuropathy, the disease that could kill them. They're in a triathlon.
Folks - A Pillpack Magazine
Lullabies for Lexi
When Lexi Vernon was born, she couldn't hear the songs her mother sang her. Now, along with the power of music, her story is helping fight hearing impairment across the country.
Folks - A Pillpack Magazine
No Breath To Spare
Jane Nelson's chronic breathing disorders might have required a dual lung transplant, but it hasn't stopped her from living her life.
Folks - A Pillpack Magazine
Singing At The Top Of Her Lungs
Julia Rae may have cystic fibrosis, but that hasn't stopped her from being a rising star in the worlds of singing, acting, and pageantry. Oh, while running the occasional marathon besides.
Folks - A Pillpack Magazine
How To Design A Room To Heal In
Lynn Goode began thinking differently about interior design after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Folks - A Pillpack Magazine
In Pat Greer’s Kitchen
Raw, vegan food maven Pat Greer talks about the fried, sugar-laden diet of her youth, and why she prefers raw foods.
Local Sun
Because chemo is scary enough without wigging out
After her own cancer treatment, Nancy Riviere started Wig Out, a non-profit dedicated to getting free wigs to women who want one.
Folks - A Pillpack Magazine
It’s the Bees That Bring Us Together
Shelley Rice, known around Houston as "the bee lady," has helped hundreds of Texans start their own hives.
Local Sun
Kickin' Off Texas' Kombucha Craze
Kickin’ Kombucha founder and Houston native Robert Lopez has big ambitions for his homegrown beverage company, but they don’t include being everywhere.
Local Sun
After nearly 40 years, Houston health care leader hangs up his stethoscope
Dr. Spencer Berthelsen championed an accountable care model of health at Houston's Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, which serves nearly 400,00 patients at 20 clinics.
The Houston Business Journal
Study big on weight watchers
A new report could mean more Americans are willing to work for weight loss.
Newsday
BLOGS
How do our bodies interpret time?
Why do I constantly feel like there’s not enough time? Is there anything I can do about it? Aoife McLoughlin, a psychology lecturer at James Cook University’s Singapore campus, suggests we recalibrate our internal clock periodically.
Headspace
The intricate, sensitive connection between the mind and the gut
“When you’re stressed, your gut is a different gut,” says Emeran Mayer, a gastroenterologist, neuroscientist, and UCLA professor who studies how the digestive system and nervous system interact in health and disease.
Headspace
The MEGA Heart wows audiences during American Heart Health month
Rachael Ray says she would be "way better at science" if she could have toured the MEGA Heart in elementary school.
Medical Inflatables
Male Infertility – his state of mind matters
Many men faced with an infertility diagnosis feel disbelief, and even shame, emotions more and more research shows may be just as intense as their female partners’, contrary to popular belief.
WINFertility
MARKETING MATERIALS
The American Heart Association/The American Stroke Association
I’ve written white papers for the organization’s StrokeConnection publication.
Modern Healthcare
I’ve written white papers for the organization, including Strategizing Supply Chain: Making Providers’ Second Biggest Cost a Priority.
Furtuna Skin
I’ve written copy for the beauty company’s Giving Tuesday campaign, blogs and website copy.
Medical Inflatables
I’ve written and edited brochures, manuals, e-blasts, event posters and signs and marketing postcards for the Houston-based company, which rents and sells larger-than-life inflatable organs to hospitals and other healthcare clients.
New York YMCA
I’ve written and edited promotional material for the Greater New York YMCA, including brochures, information sheets and camp program guides distributed to 27,000 New York families.
NEWSLETTERS
New York YMCA
I write a newsletter for Y employees.
Journey Meditation Newsletter
Journey Meditation Founder and CEO Stephen Sokoler called my newsletter copy “the first piece I've seen that really nails the Journey tone—upbeat, positive, friendly.”
I have also written and edited newsletters for nurse managers and pharmacy benefit managers.
WEB CONTENT
Medical Inflatables
I’ve written and edited web content for the Houston-based company, which rents and sells larger-than-life inflatable organs to hospitals and other healthcare clients.
BOOKS
Surviving the Nursing Shortage
A practical guide for how to enhance recruitment and retention as the U.S. creeps closer to running out of nurses.