A year into the pandemic, COVID-19 has put an enormous strain on healthcare systems — including the influx of COVID-19 patients, staffing shortages and budget crunches. Hospitals and healthcare workers reflect on living with COVID a year after

Reflections: How This Nurse Found Strength During COVID

Mar 19th, 2021 4m

April Hendrickson is a resource nurse at University Hospital and Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. She spoke with Side Effect’s Public Media’s Darian Benson about how she found strength in her faith while working on the frontlines of the COVI

Reflections: Doctor On Life And Death With COVID

Mar 15th, 2021 4m 12s

For the past year, Dr. Lauren Graham has been the COVID-19 coordinator at the Grinnell Regional Medical Center in Grinnell, Iowa. She spoke to Side Effects Public Media’s Natalie Krebs about what she’s learned one year into the pandemic.

‘Happy To Be Alive’ After COVID Double-Lung Transplant

Mar 8th, 2021 3m 58s

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayra Ramirez contracted the virus and ended up in the ICU on life support. She was 28. The virus had severely damaged her lungs and doctors concluded she would not survive without a double-lung tra

Reflections: How A Year Of COVID-19 Affected America

Mar 5th, 2021 6m 15s

It's been a year since the COVID crisis started to dominate our lives. To mark that milestone, our journalists revisited their reporting and collected some significant moments.

Weeks Into Vaccine Rollout, Some Worry About Being Left Behind

Mar 3rd, 2021 4m 48s

Many Midwest states are now weeks into distributing coronavirus vaccines to residents who are 65 or older. With demand still far outstripping supply, many seniors have struggled to get an appointment and are frustrated. And some worry the most

Trust Is Key To Combat COVID Vaccine Hesitancy, Experts Say

Feb 18th, 2021 4m 9s

With COVID-19 limiting gatherings, the Westside Community Development Corp. had to get creative for a recent wellness event. So it hosted a Health and Wealth event on Facebook to provide information on public health topics, including the vaccin

Rural Areas Face Challenges In COVID Vaccine Rollout

Feb 9th, 2021 4m 11s

Across the Midwest, the rollout of COVID vaccines has been spotty. Lots of people are having a trouble with online signups. And vaccine demand far exceeds supply. That’s made the process challenging, especially in rural areas.

In This Midwest State, Libraries Help With Vaccine Outreach

Feb 5th, 2021 4m 13s

As the COVID vaccine rollout continues, Midwesterners have a lot of questions about distribution plans — and the vaccine itself. One state is getting help from a surprising place: public libraries.

Questions About COVID Vaccines? Two Scientists Explain.

Feb 2nd, 2021 3m 44s

The COVID-19 vaccines hold promise for ending the pandemic, and millions of Americans have received at least one shot. But 39% aren’t likely to get a vaccine, according to a December study from the Pew Research Center. One of the main reasons:

COVID Forces Artist With Disability To Pause Teaching

Jan 28th, 2021 3m 52s

Johnson Simon, a painter and professor who has cerebral palsy, had his career plan interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. He spoke to Seth Johnson about his passion for teaching in an audio diary project for our Move to Include series.

Will COVID Spark A New Round Of Festival Cancellations?

Jan 27th, 2021 3m 16s

Fairs and festivals play an important role in the culture and economy of communities across the Midwest. But the continued prevalence of COVID-19 could put them in jeopardy again in 2021.

Woman With Disability Adjusts After COVID Interrupts Work

Jan 27th, 2021 3m 43s

As a person who likes to stay busy, Chelsea Davis had a hard time adjusting when COVID shut down her places of employment and volunteering. Seth Johnson interviewed her for Side Effects Public Media as part of an audio diary project for our Mov

Runner With Disability Gives Students Message About Inclusion

Jan 26th, 2021 3m 44s

Andrew Peterson isn’t one to stay still, but he’s had to get creative since COVID cancelled the marathons and competitions he’d normally be running in. Seth Johnson interviewed him and his father for Side Effects Public Media as part of an audi

Disability Amid COVID Crisis Sparks Push For New Skills

Jan 22nd, 2021 3m 38s

What does an entertainment journalist do when he can’t cover events? Seth Johnson talks about his experience learning new skills — including creating radio diaries for Side Effects — during the pandemic. Part 1 of our Move to Include series on

Building Trust Is Key To Ensuring Farmworker Access To COVID Testing, Vaccine

Jan 21st, 2021 4m 17s

Lea este artículo en español aquí . For more than a decade, Saraí has been a farmworker, cultivating corn and soybeans in the fields of central Illinois. She moved to the U.S. from Mexico to find work that would allow her to better support her

Amid COVID-19, Public Health Workers Face Intense Pressure And Backlash

Jan 19th, 2021 4m 39s

The work that people in public health do is often not very visible. It’s usually focused on long-term impacts like improving maternal health and encouraging flu shots. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. last spring, public health worke

Telemedicine Sounds Great, But There Are Barriers, Too

Jan 15th, 2021 4m 24s

As soon as COVID-19 hit, there was a massive jump in telemedicine visits. A Centers for Disease Control study found that in March 2020 there was a 154% increase compared to the previous year. Now it’s clear the coronavirus has dramatically chan

Talk To Children About Mental Health And Suicide, Experts Say

Jan 13th, 2021 4m 28s

At Riley Hospital for Children there's been a jump in emergency room visits related to mental health and suicide. From March to December, these visits increased 61 percent compared to the same months in 2019. Hilary Blake, a psychologist at the

How This School Nurse Handles Work During COVID-19

Jan 8th, 2021 3m 49s

The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for Midwestern school districts as they balance their students’ education and safety. At the forefront are school nurses, who are responsible for screening kids for COVID-19, notifying parents and even

'A Day I'll Never Forget': One Doctor's Vaccine Experience

Dec 22nd, 2020 4m 27s

Medical professionals across the country are being vaccinated against COVID-19. For Dr. Gabriel Bosslet, a pulmonologist in Indianapolis, it was a day he'll never forget. He spoke with Side Effects Public Media's Carter Barrett, before getting

People With Diabetes Struggle During COVID-19 Economic Crisis

Dec 22nd, 2020 4m 14s

The pandemic has left millions of Americans without jobs, and as a result, nearly 14 million people lost employer-sponsored health insurance . For the one-in-10 Americans with diabetes, this poses a potentially life-threatening problem.

Don't Delay Medical Care During Pandemic, Doctors Say

Dec 17th, 2020 3m 26s

Megan Miedema is a mother of two in Chicago. In October, she started to feel back pain but was hesitant to go to the doctor. She worried about getting COVID-19 and bringing it back home.

Healthcare Workers Receive First Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine

Dec 17th, 2020 3m 22s

The new COVID-19 vaccine is being rolled out across the country — a process that will take months. But there were hopeful signs Wednesday at an Indianapolis hospital where some of the first shots were given.