Welcome to Urban Service Talks featuring Dr. Erin Fanning Madden, a sociologist, community-engaged researcher, and assistant professor at Wayne State University’s School of Medicine. Dr. Madden is a leading voice in substance use research, harm reduction, and healthcare access, with over $6 million in research funding, including a major CDC grant supporting digital interventions for overdose response.

In this episode, Dr. Madden joins UConn School of Dental Medicine students Briti Prajapati and Bryson Christian for a conversation on the deep-rooted challenges of stigma in healthcare, the critical role of harm reduction, and why even well-intentioned providers can struggle to put it into practice. Drawing from her expertise and frontline work, Dr. Madden helps us explore how policy shapes care—and what future healthcare professionals can do to advocate for more ethical, compassionate, and effective systems.

Tune in for a powerful discussion on saving lives, challenging the status quo, and reimagining healthcare for underserved communities.

https://health.uconn.edu/connecticut-area-health-education-center-network/urban-services-track-and-ahec-scholars/urban-service-talks/

In this episode, UConn Social Work students Hannah Martin and Monique Asselin talk with Michal Klau-Stevens, LCSW, about her “year of grief and loss.” She explains how she worked through grief and loss within her personal and professional life over the past year. Michal Klau-Stevens is a private practice clinician in Connecticut, and an alumni of the Urban Services Track, Cohort 10.

https://health.uconn.edu/connecticut-area-health-education-center-network/urban-services-track-and-ahec-scholars/urban-service-talks/

In the third episode of our Grief and Loss podcast series, UConn School of Social Work students Jasmine Morris and Melissa McCann explore the vital topic of palliative care education for healthcare students, joined by Dr. Germine Soliman, a leader in palliative care and geriatric oncology at UConn Health and an Assistant Clinical Professor at the UConn School of Medicine. Dr. Soliman shares her insights and experiences working with both patients and students. Together, we discuss the importance of equipping future healthcare professionals with the skills and confidence to navigate conversations around grief, loss, and end-of-life care. Recognizing a gap in our own education, we hope this episode encourages fellow students to join us in learning more about this essential aspect of patient care.

https://health.uconn.edu/connecticut-area-health-education-center-network/urban-services-track-and-ahec-scholars/urban-service-talks/

In this episode, UConn Social Work students Hannah Martin and Monique Asselin talk with grief therapist Ruth Pearlman, LCSW, LICSW, M.ED, about her experiences navigating grief and loss with patients from different cultural backgrounds. She explains how understanding a patient’s beliefs and rituals around death and loss impact patient-provider relationships and health outcomes. Pearlman is an Adjunct Professor in UConn’s School of Social Work.

https://health.uconn.edu/connecticut-area-health-education-center-network/urban-services-track-and-ahec-scholars/urban-service-talks/

In this episode, UConn Social Work students Hannah Odom and Jasmine Morris are joined by UConn Nursing student Sara Whitehouse to have a personal conversation about our personal and professional experiences navigating grief and loss. Sarah shares her extensive exposure to grief since childhood, including the loss of family members and patients at Boston Children's Hospital. Jasmine talks about working with children who have experienced loss and trauma, also emphasizing the importance of self-care and professional boundaries. Hannah highlights the challenges of working with parents of children with developmental delays. Learn about the importance of education surrounding grief and loss, the importance of self-care in healthcare professions, and how grief and loss is more than just the loss of a loved one. Hear about our various personal and professional experiences navigating grief and loss as students entering the healthcare field.

https://health.uconn.edu/connecticut-area-health-education-center-network/urban-services-track-and-ahec-scholars/urban-service-talks/

In this episode of Urban Service Talks, we delve into the rich and often overlooked world of narrative medicine—an approach that emphasizes the power of storytelling in clinical practice. . By focusing on the stories of both patients and providers, narrative medicine offers a pathway to more empathetic, human-centered care. Join UConn Medical student Sahal Nasim, and Dental students Karina Patel, and Wendy Zhan as they speak with Dr. Adam Perrin, an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Director of Student Wellness at the UConn School of Medicine, to see how narrative medicine can strengthen the provider-patient relationship, promote reflection, and enhance the way care is delivered. Together, we’ll explore how this growing field invites healthcare professionals to slow down, listen more deeply, and connect more meaningfully with those they serve.

https://health.uconn.edu/connecticut-area-health-education-center-network/urban-services-track-and-ahec-scholars/urban-service-talks/

In this episode titled From Lived Experience to Leadership: A Journey of Resilience and Recovery, hosts Jay Kinuthia, a UConn School of Dental Medicine student, and Kate Adams, a Quinnipiac University PA student, explore the often-overlooked intersection of incarceration, mental health, and addiction, focusing on how healthcare professionals can better support individuals with criminal justice backgrounds. They’re joined by Victoria Steele, a Mental Health Assistant at Connecticut Valley Hospital and Board Member at Community Partners in Action, whose powerful journey from incarceration to recovery now fuels her work in advocacy and patient care. Through Victoria’s story, the episode highlights the importance of empathy, dignity, and understanding in healthcare, and calls for a shift in perspective to truly see the person behind the criminal record.

In this episode, Quinnipiac University Physician Assistant student Jackie Callinan interviews Chester Fernández, assistant professor at the Quinnipiac University School of Law and a long-time public defender in New England. They discuss the unique health care conditions that specifically affect the recently jailed or incarcerated, including the circumstances in prisons that may affect chronic physical and mental health and some of the barriers to receiving health care after release. Further, they provide insight into why both a multi-disciplinary team and community support is of great impact to this population, and discuss the reforms that may benefit people prior to, during, or after involvement with the criminal justice system.