Politically Speaking: Government in our daily lives
Politically Speaking: Episode 4
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Transcript
Richard Lovette
Welcome to Politically Speaking, an ETSU podcast about freedom and citizenship. Hosted by Dr. Daryl Carter, a professor and scholar of political history.
Each week, we dive into the essential topics of personal freedom and engaged citizenship, exploring what it means to be an active and responsible citizen in today's world.
Join us as we talk politics with members of the ETSU community, asking important questions and seeking meaningful answers.
Dr. Carter
Hello and welcome to Politically Speaking. Today I am with John Goetz from Ballad
Health and from Tricia Korade, who is a graduate student here at East Tennessee State
University. Welcome. So today we're going to talk a little bit about your own experiences.
We're going to talk about politics, and we're going to talk about how it relates to
us. And so I'll start with you, John. You work at Ballad Health. Can you tell us a
little bit about what you do and what the system does?
Goetz
So in my role, we, you know, a lot of what we do in health care, there's a whole lot of involvement from federal and state government. And so much of what I do is make sure that our elected officials, whether at the federal, state, or community level, understand how policies and regulations are going to affect the way that we can provide health care. So I'm kind of the voice for the system to the elected officials, for Ballard Health, for anything that we do.
Dr. Carter
Well, that's fascinating because when we think about health, you know, I was sick and in July and I just went to Franklin Woods and I was treated and that's about as far as I thought it through because, you know, I'm focused on me. But how that care is provided in a systematic way is is important. And I think a lot of people don't realize that there is a lot of advocacy so that there are resources in place to protect patients.
Goetz
There's a lot of rules and regulations around even how you actually are able to receive that care from just, I mean, you know, the prescriptions to how then we are reimbursed for that care. So all of that is pretty much regulated by the government at one format or another. Is that state or federal or both? Both.
Dr. Carter
Okay, both. All right. Well, Tricia, you're on the other end. Tricia I would like to talk to you about, you know, you're a graduate student here, but you had a whole life before, your graduate studies. Can you tell us a little bit about your career?
Korade
Sure. Thanks for having me, first. I'm a bit of an atypical student in that I chose to start my masters after my first career was over. I just left 35 years in corporate finance and big five consulting, and I left because I want to do something more meaningful. I want to build a livelihood around contributing to the community. So I started my master's program. I'm pursuing master's in public administration with a concentration in nonprofit and public financial management. And that's the intersection point for me. I want to focus on the nonprofit sector, leveraging my finance background.
Dr. Carter
Oh, that is absolutely marvelous. And, in terms of your study of, you know, public administration, why did you decide that specifically over something like an MBA?
Korade
So I feel an MBA, while super valuable for someone entering the business world and in the business world, I'm purposely choosing to leave that kind of business world behind. I want to get closer to small nonprofits, entrepreneurs who have a passion that evolved into contributing to the community in a specific way. So public administration is helping me learn the business of that, and also the business of local government and local administration, all of which comes into play to be effective in the nonprofit sector.
Dr. Carter
Well, that sounds absolutely marvelous. I will tell our listeners that, we have a wonderful program called "Go Beyond" here at East Tennessee State University, which we're encouraging faculty and staff and students to engage with the entities off campus. All of the non-profits or, you know, the hospital system or something else. And so that's a wonderful thing that you're talking about. And 35 years, that's a long time. And the corporate finance sector, it must have changed quite a bit during your time.
Korade
It changed a lot in my time. in a lot of different ways. Some of them were super fun and engaging, some of them not so fun. You know, the 2008 financial crisis I was working for a bank. Not so fun.
Dr. Carter
I get it, I understand. And, John, you know, this issue of change is so important. And, you know, for our listeners, if you're unfamiliar, Ballad Health is a large health care system across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. And its roles in health care, and the economy are quite sizable. And her, Tricia's discussion of change is something that your field has experienced quite a bit from merging of the system and in the last decade, to the Affordable Care Act to other changes in the regulatory environment. Can you speak to a little bit about how Ballad Health ensures that the region's medical and health needs are met?
Goetz
Yeah. So, you know, I think actually, you know, you went to the formation of Ballad. I mean, the core of why Ballad was formed was to make sure that we continue to have adequate care for a rural region of Northeast Tennessee in Southwest Virginia. You know, before there were two systems that, whether people knew it or not, were struggling. There were potentials for closures. And by coming together and getting that, you know, the economies of scale that actually allowed us to be able to keep all of our hospitals open up here. In fact, we've reopened one in Lee County since the formation of Ballad, which is unheard of in rural health care systems nationwide right now. So just the very foundation of creating Ballad is ensuring that we continue to have hospital care in this region where we need it.
But, you know, Ballad is more than just hospitals. I think a lot of people think it's just hospitals. Less than half of what we do is actually hospital care. A really big part of it is outpatient heart. You know, we have Ballad Health Medical Associates, which is our doctors. That's our doctor's group. Kind of like a SOPHA or HMG, you know, we have BHM a but we also do a lot more under the COPA, which is how we were able to be formed. we do a lot in the public health sector.
Dr. Carter
So let me stop you right there. Because some of our audience may be unfamiliar with that term, COPA. Can you briefly describe what that is?
Goetz
So the COPA is the, it's called the Certificate of Public Advantage, and it essentially allowed us to come together. There's state laws that allow you to come together and form essentially a system like Ballad, where a Ballad is the only provider in an area. And what that requires, it requires a lot of state oversight. And so we meet with the state on a monthly basis. We have certain metrics that we've agreed to that we have to meet, we report those out. And every single year, the State of Tennessee and the State of Virginia have to certify that we continue to meet a public advantage to be able to continue to be ballot on the hospital side.
Dr. Carter
Okay. Thank you. And, you know, that's a lot of change in both areas. You know, just in the banking area from Sarbanes Oxley, the act from the early 2000s that that dealt with regulation after, you know, some some unfortunate incidents and things like that. Our listeners can look up on their own time. you know, the, the atmosphere, the, the, the environment is always changing. And so what I'm hearing from both of you is that it's it's imperative that you keep in touch with, those changes and how they impact people. One of the things that we're really proud of here at ETSU is that our faculty across the university, from medicine to arts of sciences, business and technology, education, health sciences, public Health, honors, pharmacy, etc. nursing is that they all engage and best practices. They all are preparing students for the future, as it is not as an ideological position, but just simply how it is so that these students can take control of their lives. And so quite a bit of that has to do with politics. Those regulations are not made in a vacuum. And I want to turn to you Tricia ask, you know, how do you see politics? What does politics mean to you? And, how do you think it works both on campus as well as in society? And, you know, any other thoughts that you might have on politics today?
Korade
Great question. For me, politics has two distinct parts to it. The first part of politics is the tactics and the activities and the governance of a geography or an entity like a university. The those things that we think of, I think instinctively when we hear politics, it's about government, right? The second piece for me, though, which is so much more important, is the politics of human interaction. The conflict and the debate around differing perspectives. And on the first part, I'm impressed with the university, the way the councils work, the committees work, the diversity that is asked, not allowed.
It's asked. Right. The university wants that type of input, and there's intersection points that show the university is willing to hear different voices. So, for example, I'm an officer with the Graduate and Professional Students Association. The GPS say, and one of my roles is to sit on University Council. So the University Council is willing to have myself and the SGA president sit there. So they hear our voices.
Dr. Carter
And so I'm going to jump in right there for our listeners. What Tricia is talking about here in terms of university council, is that we have governance mechanisms here that account for what we call chair governance. And so the president has his authority and responsibility. The board of trustees has its responsibility and authority. But we also have the Student Government Association, we have University Council, which deals with a host of issues on campus. And then we have academic council that deals with the curricular and academic affairs side of the campus. And so when we talk about shared governance and we talk about diversity of thought, we do practice that here at East Tennessee State. So thank you.
Korade
And the second part of that on human interaction, I'm impressed that the university deals very purposely and very respectfully with an array of socially sensitive topics. The conversations around them are so important for education, not just the education of earning a degree, but the education of our own thought processes. Being able to sit down and have a respectful, open conversation with somebody who holds an opposing opinion helps us individually make sure that we are growing and maturing our own belief system, that we're not just mimicking or parroting because we saw something said on social media. That's what I'm going to say. Questioning ourselves that we believe something because we have thought it through, we've learned about it and we've come to an informed perspective within our life experience. Right?
Dr. Carter
That's the debate for me. It's about maturing my perspective, not convincing somebody else to believe what I believe. And I've spent a lot of time over the years. Speaking of students speaking to parents, high schoolers, and I always tell them the same thing. We don't tell anybody what to think. We teach them how to think and how to use data and evidence to form judgments and to make, decisions. And so I'm so tickled to hear, you say that. And, you know, one of the practical applications of what you're talking about is this relationship that, we have had with Ballad Health. And so, John, could you please, you know, speak to the collaboration between Ballard and the university? What does it mean? What does it entail? And, how does it how does it work? How does it benefit the students in the region that we serve?
Goetz
Both. Yeah. So, you know, I think Ballard and ETSU have a very close relationship, especially in my world. you know, and kind of the, the community relations and, the political world. you know, I work a lot with the priorities that ETSU has with the state of Tennessee. and, you know, what's good for ETSU is often what's good for Ballard, too. And and what's good for the region. you know, we're we're the largest employer up here. We have over 13,000 employees. And, you know, we depend on a lot of the students that come out of ETSU to fill our jobs. You know, whether it's the College of Nursing, the College of Pharmacy. Quillen. You know, even working with ETSU Health, a lot of our priorities are the same because it's all it's all intertwined, because the university provides a pipeline for who's going to work at Ballad and be able to provide good care to the folks of our region. But then also, you know, just any funding for different educational programs, you know, expanding, you know, any kind of building that can then have a new program that ETSU has ultimately can benefit Ballald as well. And so to me, when I when I think about ETSU priorities and I think about our priorities, they're often the same. And we work really well together and with everybody that we talk to.
Dr. Carter
So when you're talking about programs, I assume that you mean, for example, a resident may be, that just graduated from the Quillen College, may be in a in a Ballad hospital, right.
Goetz
That's right. And then even after residency, if we need, you know, whether it can be a physician or it can be a nurse practitioner, it can be an R.N., it can be any level. It's even down to workers. If somebody graduates from there, and, you know, I have a political science background, I'm always looking for good political science. You know, folks with political science backgrounds, they can come and help us out at Ballad . So it's really the entire pipeline of what ETSU does. That's what creates the next generation of people that are going to work at Ballad. And so that collaboration is paramount because, as you know, as it's widely reported around the country, we have shortages. and some of that comes from colleges of nursing and other colleges. You know, health care is has taken a hit, and it's not necessarily as desirable to go into right now because of Covid. It's still there's, still the hangover from Covid. And so, you know, encouraging more folks to go into that field means that we'll be able to then have folks that can come and work at Ballad and then provide quality, continue quality care that we have here.
Dr. Carter
So, you know, this issue of Ballad being a partner is is very real. And it's and it's, you know, appreciated on the on the ETSU side of it. I will also say that is a perfect example of you know, a nonprofit entity that is working hand in hand with the institution for the betterment not just of, of individual workforces, but for the entire region as a as a whole. That's right. Tricia, I want to just ask you to take off of that just a little bit. You know, we're we're singing the praises here of, you know, partnership, collaboration. But the fact of the matter is, we're doing this in an election year. An election year in which over the next 62 days or so, it's going to get pretty ugly. And it already has, so much attention is being given to the presidential candidates so much, over speculation to who controls the House and who controls the Senate, even, individual races in the state of Tennessee, which is a one party state at this point. But yet politics could be about such fundamental and seminal issues as how your college education is funded. And we forget things like Pell Grants, we forget things like student loans, we forget things like scholarships. Can you tell us, if if it's okay, how do you fund your your education?
Korade
I'm happy to share. First, I want to point out that local politics, local government is so more tangible for people who live wherever they live. Federal government is important, state government is important. But local government and local administration can touch our daily lives more than state and federal. And I get the sense that we're so hyper focused on the federal election to the exclusion of what impacts our day-to-day lives. Does your trash get picked up? Do you have water in your house? Right. So that I just I'd love to make that point.
Dr. Carter
And thank you know, I think that's a great point because you know, if your trash is piling up, if you have somebody sitting in an emergency room for 20 hours, if you have somebody whose house burned down because there was no fire protection, nobody cares about anything else. So I think that's a great point.
Korade
Thank you. As to funding of my education, I am a tuition scholar. So ETSU funds my tuition. And in exchange, I am supporting a political science professor, helping him grade papers and needs, honestly, I'm also accepting part of my unsubsidized federal loans to pay for fees and books and living expenses. I left my corporate career, but I'm not old enough to collect Social Security, and I still have bills, so leveraging some of my loans that way. And I teach yoga at the senior center, a couple senior centers around the area to earn some extra income.
Dr. Carter
Well, you know, it's it's such a concern, the cost of higher education today. And one of the things that I can say as a faculty member and administrator is that ETSU takes that very seriously. And a large percentage of our students don't walk out of here with debt. We're very proud of that. But that's a political issue and not necessarily a congressional issue, but it is a political issue when you're getting a bill from the institution. And what is it for? And so, thank you for, you know, sharing that with us.
John, on the political issue there, you know, as you well know, it could be so, complicated no matter where you're at or the industry you're at, but particularly in health care or education, it gets tricky. What role does politics play in our region that could be improved. And what does really well in our region that maybe our listeners are not even aware of?
Goetz
Yeah. That's a big question. So, you know, I think, I mean, politics plays a big role in everything. You know, when I, when I first started out, I got my MBA from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I'm a Chattanooga native. And originally, I got my MPA and I started working for Senator Corker. And so, you know, when I came out and I started working for him, you know, I was gung ho. It was, you know, I was a policy guy, right? Like politics was part of it. But, you know, I wanted to dig in to the policy I was advising him on, on health care policy, during Obamacare, and so, you know, there was that side of it.
But then I quickly learned that politics plays so much into the role of how policymaking is done. It really gets into the nitty gritty of it because you can think something is makes logical sense. But then when politics gets in it, so sometimes things don't happen logically. and so being aware of the politics of where you're going and what you're trying to do is really important to figuring out, how do I get this policy across the finish line? It's the environment in which policy is made. and it can't be ignored. and it it I, I was a contract lobbyist for a little while before I came in to Ballad, and I used to have to tell my clients a lot of times because they're business guys and they, you know, everything's logical and there's a business plan, whatever. And I would have to tell them a lot of times, if you think that logic and reason apply, you're going to be disappointed all the time. Right? And sometimes the things that I'm going to tell you are completely the opposite of what they should be.
Dr. Carter
Yeah. When I was an undergrad at East Tennessee Sate in the 90s, I served as an intern one summer for Bill Frist before he was majority leader in the in the Senate. So, I do get that world as well. And my bachelor's degree is in political science. You know, but what you're telling me, however, is that if we define politics as the influence of others, what we're talking about in part is this issue of personality, maybe ideology, maybe, expediency. How does that work? Because one thing, for example, that we heard from, some former members of Congress regarding early Obama legislation was that if he was a for it, we were against him. And, it was just pure, raw politics. But sometimes that politics is gets into other areas. How does that work? How does it work around regulations for health care, relationships with the institutions, educational institutions. Can you speak a little more on that?
Goetz
So I think whenever, whenever I think about going in and say there's some policy or a piece of legislation that we're pushing, you know, whether it's with Ballad or in my previous life, one of the things I think is really important, it's not just to know kind of what people's core beliefs are, but also understanding their experiences and their background, because that's ultimately what defines kind of how they think and how they want to see things done. And so you can't effectively go in to doing anything without kind of understanding that there's actually a lot of psychology and underlying everything. Because there are certain times when you're going in to a certain member knowing their background and you're trying to push an issue, if you emphasize certain things, you know you're going to get your message through. It's still the same message, but there are things that you want to emphasize to kind of pique their interest. Because once you get that by them, then that's when you know you've done right, done your job.
Dr. Carter
And I think that is so important because whether it's in banking and in the corporate sector, whether it's in health care or higher education, you know, yes, we're in the business of making dreams come true or improving quality of life. but we're also teaching our students to engage the world as it is and to persuade people. And how we engage people is by listening, by learning about others and about what animates them, what is important to them, and then appealing, hopefully, to them based on reason, logic, evidence, data, etc.. So thank you for for putting that out there. Tricia, I'd like to ask you, we're we're running low on time, but, you know, as you know, John, I just mentioned these issues, you know, what lessons have you taken away from ETSU about the importance of civility? Because these discussions can take place in two very different ways, in a very ugly, demonizing way. Or they can take place in a way that uplifts the dignity of the person with whom you're engaging. So can you talk a little bit about the lessons you've taken away from ETSU?
Korade
Certainly. One lesson is there's huge value in an institution being upfront that they want respectful, open debate about sensitive issues. Every syllabus that I have received from a professor has a section in there that talks about we are going to touch on sensitive topics. We expect respect. This is educational. If you're sensitive to it, please let us know ahead of time. Right? The fact that the university is so upfront about we are hitting sensitive topics and setting the expectation for how that is done is so impressive. It helps to set the tone for the education that students receive.
Dr. Carter
And to that end, you know, we have students here who are coming from a different place. They're 18 years old. They're you know, they really don't have any life experience. You're coming back to school with a very different, perspective. And so can you follow up on that a little bit in terms of how to use that to accomplish a goal? Because I think that's where some people get lost is they say, okay, this is fine, but how do I use it to get from A to B?
Korade
Certainly, I think regardless of age, it's about building relationships. It's the human to human interaction in a respectful way that helps to achieve goals. Take the opportunities to walk in during open office hours. Actually speak to your professors about something other than coursework. Open hours at the provost's office. Walk into social events that you have to know nothing about and talk to somebody. Building relationships helps you to accomplish what you want to accomplish in a meaningful way.
Dr. Carter
Well, thank you so much. And, finally, for the both of you, this has been just enlightening to hear the two of you talk about your respective areas. And, you know, I just like to ask, where where do you want us to go from here? What what can we improve on, and our politics and and how we support students? What are your thoughts on that being both so intimately aware of, the institution?
Korade
My thought is, have more of the leadership publicizing their open hours, have more of the leadership, have open hours, and have it publicized time and time again. The voices of the students directly to the leadership, without the filtering of advisors and professors, is hugely meaningful, both for leadership and students.
Dr. Carter
Thank you. John?
Goetz
So on my end, I think, it ultimately comes down to respect. I think that everything can improve in the environment we're in if you have respect for somebody's perspective and also realize that there's a human behind that perspective, right. And so I think just that level setting of respect will vastly improve the dialogue, no matter where it goes and whether or not you disagree with them or agree with them. It, to me, it's fundamental and I think we've gotten a little bit away from that in our current political environment.
Dr. Carter
I agree and in as we come to a close, I, you know, I just want to say that, you know, that issue of respect is is absolutely critical. We, have gone from this period called a great consensus in the mid 20th century to a period in which people thought that, as one member of Congress said, politics was war. And, the fact of the matter is that we're all Americans, and here we're all buccaneers and, engage in people with dignity and respect is is very important. You don't have to agree with the institution or the hospital or anybody else. but approaching it with this floor of civility, with respect, is absolutely vital as we go forward. so I just want to say thank you for the time that you spent today. And thank you for speaking politically.
Thank you for joining us on this episode of "Politically Speaking" an ETSU podcast about freedom and citizenship. We hope you enjoyed our discussion and found it thought provoking.
Before we wrap up, we want to remind you about ETSU Votes, an initiative led by the office of Leadership and Civic Engagement at ETSU. ETSU Votes is dedicated to fostering active citizenship by providing resources and support for voter registration, engagement and education.
Last year, ETSU was honored by Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett for our outstanding efforts to promote voter registration. Remember, your voice matters, and participating in the electoral process is a powerful way to make it heard.
To learn more about ETSU Votes and how you can get involved, visit etsu.edu/votes. Thank you for listening.
Be sure to tune in to our next episode as we continue to explore the crucial concepts and topics of personal freedom and engage citizenship. Until then, stay informed, stay engaged, and keep speaking politically.
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East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.
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