Appalachian Care Chronicles

Chloe Kinder, Diagnostic Medical Sonographer

“I truly, truly love my job.”
Working as a diagnostic medical sonographer in obstetrics and gynecology, Chloe Kinder gets a front row seat at the earliest signs of life. From her calm, dimly lit ultrasound room, she helps women to better understand what’s happening in their bodies and sometimes that can come with the happiest, or hardest, news.
Want to learn more about healthcare careers in West Virginia? Level All has career profiles that walk through education requirements, salary, and more. Click here to explore further and sign up. 

Eric Rodgers, Director of Respiratory Care

“If you truly have a serving soul, respiratory provides you that ability to work with those patients who need you the most.”
Meet Eric Rodgers. As Director of Respiratory Care at WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital, this proud California surfer is helping to bring a wave of welcome change to his southern West Virginia hospital. And in the process, he and his team of respiratory therapists are helping people to breathe better, literally.
Want to learn more about healthcare careers in West Virginia? Level All has career profiles that walk through education requirements, salary, and more. Click here to explore further and sign up. 

Dr. Catherine “Mindy” Chua & Jason Currence, Nursing Home Care

“If you want to do family practice, the reward is amazing because you really do become a part of your patients families and that you can't buy that in gold.”
Walking the nursing home halls with Dr. Catherine “Mindy” Chua and Jason Currence, LPN, the closeness they share with their patients comes through. A bit of a dynamic duo, together these two are bringing both deep knowledge and a well of warmth for their aging patients.
Want to learn more about healthcare careers in West Virginia? Level All has career profiles that walk through education requirements, salary, and more. Click here to explore further and sign up. 

Derrick Ray, Critical Care Supervisor

“At the end of the day, I mean, basically almost 25 years deep, I can think of the differences that I've made.”
 
Jump into Derrick Ray’s vehicle and speed off across the streets of Huntington, West Virginia to someone in need. After working in emergency services for 25 years, Derrick has seen a bit of everything, but that hasn’t eroded his empathy.
Want to learn more about healthcare careers in West Virginia? Level All has career profiles that walk through education requirements, salary, and more. Click here to explore further and sign up. 

Season Five Trailer

Get ready for the fifth season of Appalachian Care Chronicles!
Join our host, Kristen Carpenter, as we explore careers in diagnostic medical sonography and ultrasound, nursing home care, respiratory therapy, and emergency medicine. Stay tuned for all new episodes featuring stories from across West Virginia’s healthcare sector. 
This podcast is a production of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Health Sciences Division. Find Appalachian Care Chronicles at appcarepod.com and on social media for episodes, behind the scenes photos, and portraits of our storytellers.

Petra Howell-Vasale, ER Registered Nurse

From cake customers to ER patients, Petra knows that caring is the secret ingredient.
Petra Howell-Vasale is proof it’s never too late to start over, and it’s never too late to help others. As an Emergency Room nurse based in Beckley, West Virginia, she takes listeners through her career journey from working in Charleston kitchens as a high-end pastry chef to standing at Raleigh General Hospital’s Emergency Room doors when critical cases come in.

Dr. Judd Lindley, Obstetrician-Gynecologist (OB-GYN)

Every appointment with Dr. Lindley starts with a handshake and a question: “How can I help you?”
From his farm in southern West Virginia to McDowell County’s only acute care hospital, Dr. Judd Lindley shows what it means to care for others with humility. He’s spent decades serving the state’s coalfields as an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN). In this episode, Dr. Lindley shares how his patients have pushed him to rethink his assumptions more than once—and why that’s part of becoming the best doctor he can be.

Whitney Maxey & Larrecsa Barker, Emergency Medical Technician & Community Paramedic

In Whitney and Larresca’s experience, to put it simply, the Quick Response Team approach works.
Join Larrecsa Barker, Community Paramedic, and Whitney Maxey, EMT, on the streets of Huntington, West Virginia as they care for patients days after an overdose. As members of Cabell County’s Quick Response Team, the pair are proving that sometimes it takes getting outside and meeting people where they are to help them find a new path forward.

Hannah Bowen, NICU Registered Travel Nurse

For Hannah, caring for the patients in the neonatal intensive care unit—“the tinies” as she calls them—is her calling.
When babies born in rural parts of West Virginia need lifesaving care, Hannah Bowen rushes to them, sometimes even by helicopter. As a Neonatal Pediatric Intensive Care Transport Nurse, Hannah lets us in on what it’s like to hold families, and their tiny newborns, with a steady and caring hand whether on a winding West Virginia road or amidst the hum of the hospital.

Season Four Trailer

Appalachian Care Chronicles is back for Season Four! This season, we explore careers in neonatal intensive care, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and community paramedicine.   
Join our new host, Kristen Carpenter, to learn about the lives of those who fight for better health every day—through long shifts, tough challenges, and victories big and small. Ever wondered what it’s really like behind the scenes in healthcare? Find out this season.
This podcast is a production of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Health Sciences Division. Find Appalachian Care Chronicles at appcarepod.com and on social media for episodes, behind the scenes photos, and portraits of our storytellers.