Northern Light Health openly welcomes discussions about social and medical justice with new podcast, Tim Talk

BREWER — In July, Northern Light Health launched its first podcast, Tim Talk, hosted by President and CEO Tim Dentry with the goal to break down barriers, open hearts and minds to diversity and focus on issues of social and medical justice. Tim Talk is part of Northern Light Health’s multi-pronged plan to eliminate racism and build a strong future for social and medical justice, which starts with a culture of caring for one another. Through this public platform, Northern Light Health hopes to invite a larger community audience to this important discussion.

“As a statewide healthcare delivery system, Northern Light Health represents and serves all the people of Maine. We promise to treat with compassion, dignity, and respect all who come to us, no matter their race, background, or social standing,” explains Dentry. “Therefore, it’s important that our communities know they can rely on us living up to our quest to be community treasures where we serve. This starts by listening and having discussions, sometimes discussions that may feel uncomfortable, in order to truly understand the perspective of others and begin to develop solutions to address disparities brought forth by centuries of inequality and injustice within our society.” 

During each episode, Dentry welcomes a colleague to sit down at the table and engage in a thoughtful discussion regarding a chosen topic of focus. Previous topics have included Northern Light’s role in medical justice, white fragility and microaggressions, perspectives of diversity in the community, and promoting a desire for actionable change. Future planned topics include perspectives from the LGBTQ+ community and religious tolerance and diversity. While the podcast is only in its first three months of production, Dentry soon plans to extend his guest invites beyond employees and to others in the community who wish to participate.

Andrew Dees, director of Provider Network Management, Northern Light Beacon Health, was recently invited on Tim Talk to discuss how to promote a desire for actionable change. Dees comments, “Tim Talk is one intentional act of courageous leadership from our president and CEO to address the issues of social and medical justice within our realm of influence. It’s a clear signal to our organization and community of where Northern Light Health stands on this important and longstanding issue. I was honored to share a few practical examples of how we can influence change every day. I’m encouraged by the progress, positive feedback and conversations this podcast has generated throughout the system.”

Currently, there are six episodes available and can be found at northernlighthealth.org/podcast or by downloading from the following podcast platforms: Google, Apple, Spotify and Podbean. New episodes are uploaded every two weeks.

“Our early listenership has been encouraging for a first-time podcast,” says Dentry. “As of the beginning of September, we have achieved 3,976 unique views to our podcast site (northernlighthealth.org/podcast), with 2,564 total downloads and plays. We hope through Tim Talk and other discussions within our system, we can start to come up with meaningful solutions by tapping into the many voices of diversity that we have across our healthcare system and in our greater community.

If you wish to learn more about Tim Talk, please reach out to Karen Cashman, director public relations, Northern Light Health, at kcashman@northernlight.org or 207-973-6164.

At Northern Light Health, we’re building a better approach to healthcare because we believe people deserve access to care that works for them. As an integrated health delivery system serving Maine, we’re raising the bar with no-nonsense solutions that are leading the way to a healthier future for our state. Our more than 12,000 team members—in our hospitals, primary and specialty care practices, long-term and home healthcare, and ground and air medical transport and emergency care—are committed to making healthcare work for you: our patients, communities, and employees. To learn more about Northern Light Health and our locations across Maine, visit www.northernlighthealth.org.