Robotic Surgery may be a mystery to some, but for John Chace, MD, he knows the robotic surgery ins and outs like the back of his hand. Board Certified General Surgeon Dr. Chace of Norman Regional’s Oklahoma Surgical Associates joins the Vedala Brothers and guest host Christa Bellack, MD to talk about the intricacies of robotic surgery and how the tool has advanced minimally invasive surgery.

The four discuss the types of surgeries that can be performed robotically, the de Vinci Surgical System, how robotic surgery affects insurance reimbursements and the benefits of robotic surgery. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about robotic surgery, this episode is full of information to satisfy your interest!

Guest Host Bio:
John B. Chace, MD is a board-certified general surgeon at Oklahoma Surgical Associates. Dr. Chace has been providing his surgical skills to the community since 2005. He graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine and completed his residency at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Dr. Chace’s special interests include:

• Breast cancer
• Benign breast disease
• Multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer treatment
• Breast biopsy
• Lumpectomy
• Breast conservation
• Mastectomy with and without reconstruction

Links:

Oklahoma Surgical Associates

John B. Chace, MD

Robotic Surgery at Oklahoma Surgical Associates

BLOG: Five Reasons to Schedule your Surgery at the Start of the Year

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The information in this show is not to be used as medical advice. If you are needing medical care, please consult with your physician.

Norman Regional is hiring! See all our open opportunities here: https://careers.normanregional.com/careers-home/

Diabetes is a significant chronic medical condition in the United States, affecting an estimated 34.2M people and totaling to around $327 billion in health costs. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to serious complications, further illnesses and even death if left untreated. The Drs. Vedala sit down with Deborah Peter, APRN-CNS of Norman Regional Endocrine Para/Thyroid Center to discuss the disease, and how continuous glucose monitoring can help patients keep their diabetes under control.

Guest Host Bio:
Christa Bellack, MD is currently a family medicine resident at The University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix. Dr. Bellack attended medical school at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with her Bachelor of Science in neurobiology in 2019. In her family medicine residency, she has a strong interest in community health and palliative care. She chose to enter primary care for the opportunity to serve a diverse patient population and to have lasting relationships with her patients and community. Dr. Bellack shadowed Drs. Vedala prior to her graduation from OU College of Medicine.

Guest Bio:
Deborah Peter, APRN-CNS, is a board certified Advanced Practice Registered Nurse with prescriptive authority who specializes in endocrinology.

Her special interests include:

• Diabetes management
• Management of thyroid disorders
• Management of cardiovascular conditions such as dyslipidemia
• Lifestyle modifications such as diet, exercise and weight loss
• Smoking cessation

Deborah’s patients can expect to be heard and treated with compassion while being provided the best evidence-based care for their medical conditions. When Deborah isn’t on the job, you can find her baking or spending time with her dogs.

Links:
Norman Regional Endocrine Para/Thyroid Center
Deborah Peter, APRN-CNS
Endocrinology at Norman Regional Health System

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The information in this show is not to be used as medical advice. If you are needing medical care, please consult with your physician.

Norman Regional is hiring! See all our open opportunities here: https://careers.normanregional.com/careers-home/

Norman Regional Health System's Vice President and Chief People Officer Keith Minnis joins the podcast to talk all things recruitment and retention in the healthcare space. Keith gives insights into the HR sector of healthcare, sharing successes he and his team have accomplished at Norman Regional.

Dr. Veer described it best in the intro of this episode - the key to hiring in healthcare is to recruit and keep the right people who are motivated, engaged, and committed so that the organization can build a talented, diverse workforce that drives growth, innovation, and performance.

About Keith Minnis:
Keith W. Minnis, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is a highly accomplished senior executive leader and human resources professional with over three decades of experience in complex matrix healthcare systems consisting of for-profit, not-for-profit, academic, and community health systems. Minnis has a proven track record of success in human capital management, mergers and acquisitions, talent acquisition, employee engagement and retention, and lean healthcare applications driving organizational and operational performance.

Some of Minnis' professional associations and certifications include the Society for Human Resources Management, American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration - ASHHRA, Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) HRCI certification, Professional in Human Resources (PHR) HRCI certification and more.

Outside of work, Minnis enjoys spending time with his wife and three adult children, and collecting art and antiques.

Links:
Follow Keith on LinkedIn
Discover your next position at Norman Regional Health System

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The information in this show is not to be used as medical advice. If you are needing medical care, please consult with your physician.

Norman Regional is hiring! See all our open opportunities here: https://careers.normanregional.com/careers-home/

In Vital Visions' second cardiology episode, the Vedalas speak to Norman Regional’s Archana Gautam, MD. As an interventional cardiologist, Dr. Gautam’s years of experience and accomplishments are evident in this episode. Dr. Gautam is a wealth of knowledge and talks to the brothers about Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) in The Caridology Connection, Part 2. Dr.

Guest Bio:
Archana Gautam, MD, is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease, Internal Medicine, Echocardiography, and Nuclear Cardiology. She is an interventional cardiologist who completed her residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and her fellowship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Dr. Gautam was also an assistant cardiology professor in academic medicine at OUHSC. She has conducted numerous research studies and been published multiple times.
Dr. Gautam's special interests include coronary artery stent, peripheral artery angioplasty and stent, carotid angioplasty and stent, atrial septal defect repair, patent foramen ovale closure and varicose vein treatment.

Links:
Archana Gautam, MD
Heart Care at Norman Regional
Heart Plaza location page
Norman Heart & Vascular Associates, Heart Plaza
Norman Heart & Vascular Associates, Heart Plaza (Cardiovascular Surgery)
Blog - Patient Living With Less Worry, Medication After WATCHMAN Procedure

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The information in this show is not to be used as medical advice. If you are needing medical care, please consult with your physician.

Norman Regional is hiring! See all our open opportunities here: https://careers.normanregional.com/careers-home/

Vital Visions is BACK for Season 3, with special guest, Brian Whitson, MD. November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, so what better way to wrap up the month than having Norman Regional's newest Pulmonologist join the pod?

The Vedalas ask Dr. Whitson about restrictive and obstructive diseases, asthma and COPD treatment, smoking, life saving lung cancer screenings, Norman Regional's revolutionary ION system and more.

Dr. Whitson's pulmonary expertise really shows in the Season 3 opener of Vital Visions!

Guest bio:
Brian Whitson, MD, FCCP, attended medical school at the University of Oklahoma, College of Medicine, followed by an Internal Medicine residency at Baylor University Medical Center.

His education culminated in a fellowship with Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Whitson’s career has followed his enthusiasm towards pulmonary physiology and pathology as well as working with patients to restore their health.

Dr. Whitson’s most recent work in Enid included a focus on pulmonary rehab as a means of improving patient outcomes.

Dr. Whitson sees patients 12 years old and older with asthma or similar conditions.

Links:
Brian Whitson, MD, FCCP

Norman Regional Pulmonary Clinic

BOOK: $125 Heart and Lung Scans at Norman Regional

BLOG: Norman Regional Ramps Up Lung Cancer Screenings for Lung Cancer Awareness Month

BLOG: Raising Awareness for Lung Cancer and COPD in Oklahoma: Screenings, Prevention and Key Stats

WATCH: Norman Regional Ion Robotic Bronchoscopy for Lung Cancer Screenings

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The information in this show is not to be used as medical advice. If you are needing medical care, please consult with your physician.

Norman Regional is hiring! See all our open opportunities here: https://careers.normanregional.com/careers-home/

They call themselves the "Dot Connectors." Norman Regional's Business Development team joins the Vedalas for a behind the scenes look at their day-to-day. Suzanne, Heather and Cacie explain what they do for physicians and clinics, how they problem solve, and why it's so important for them to make connections for the benefit of Norman Regional. This episode of Vital Visions looks at a different side of healthcare, taking a dive into one of the many departments that keep things running smoothly at Norman Regional.

Links:
NormanRegional.com
Find a Norman Regional Provider
Find a Norman Regional Location
Norman Regional Walk-in Clinics

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The information in this show is not to be used as medical advice. If you are needing medical care, please consult with your physician.

Norman Regional is hiring! See all our open opportunities here: https://careers.normanregional.com/careers-home/

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The information in this show is not to be used as medical advice. If you are needing medical care, please consult with your physician.

Norman Regional is hiring! See all our open opportunities here: https://careers.normanregional.com/careers-home/

May is Stroke Awareness Month. Knowing the signs of a stroke are vital in saving brain function when a stroke occurs. In this special two-segment episode, the Vedalas talk to Jennie Melendez, a Healer at Norman Regional who is also a stroke survivor. The brothers get a first-hand account from Jennie as she shares her story. The doctors then bring in Holly Costner, DO and Lane Tinsley, MD to give their professional advice on stroke and describe the lifesaving care they perform on stroke patients coming into the emergency department who then come into our in-patient care.

Guest bios:
Jennie Melendez, MBA is a communications professional with experience in news, print, higher education and state level agency. In her latest role, Jennie is a marketing and communications specialist for Norman Regional Health System. Jennie received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism/Broadcasting from Oklahoma State University and received her MBA in Integrated Marketing Communications from Oklahoma City University.
Jennie is a hemorrhagic stroke survivor, with her stroke happening on April 22, 2022 during a normal day at work. She tells us her story and what she has had to overcome in her recovery.

Holly Costner, DO is an Emergency Medicine Physician at Norman Regional Health System. Dr. Costner is also the co-medical director of Norman Regional’s Stroke Committee with Dr. Tinsley.

Lane Tinsley, MD, is Norman Regional Health System’s first Neuro-Hospitalist, treating acute neurological issues for actively admitted patients in the hospital. Dr. Tinsley has 7 years of experience managing adult patients with strokes, seizures/epilepsy, headache disorders and dementia. She is the co-medical director of Norman Regional’s Stroke Committee, along with Dr. Costner.

Links:
Holly Costner, DO
Lane Tinsley, MD
Norman Regional Stroke Center of Excellence
Norman Regional Stroke Support Group

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The information in this show is not to be used as medical advice. If you are needing medical care, please consult with your physician.

Norman Regional is hiring! See all our open opportunities here: https://careers.normanregional.com/careers-home/

The Vedalas sit down with their wives for this special episode of Vital Visions! Namrata Vedala and Sriya Vedala give us an inside look into the lives of the Vedala Brothers and their family. The couples discuss life with a partner in medicine, taking care of burn out and your mental health in a marriage and so much more. In this episode, we get to learn about a small piece of the Vedalas' personal lives and the strong, supportive women who get to be next to them through it all.

Guest bios:
Naga Namrata Vedala is married to Dr. Krishna Vedala. She has a master's in Computer Science from NYIT and a master's in IT Management from Campbellsville University. Her hobbies include reading books and gardening. Namrata also enjoys spending time at the zoo and spending quality time with family.

Sriya Vedala, BS, MMSc, is married to Dr. Veer Vedala. She has a master's in Immunology from Harvard Medical School and a bachelor's of science in Biomedical Engineering from UT Austin. In her free time, Sriya is a fashion designer and the founder of her label, Sithara by Sriya, where she creates South Asian inspired designs rooted in elegance, simplicity and versatility.

Poem:
The Selfless by Camille Marie

Links:
Sithara by Sriya

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The information in this show is not to be used as medical advice. If you are needing medical care, please consult with your physician.

Norman Regional is hiring! See all our open opportunities here: https://careers.normanregional.com/careers-home/