Back in late March, Dr. Ron Genova, CEO of Phoenix ER & Medical Hospital joined us to talk about what was going on then… It seems like years ago now, and while a lot of questions have been answered, we have more – a lot more. We ask em. Dr. Ron answers em.
Also, Steve answers a bunch of questions from our listeners/viewers. It’s kind of like “Stump Steve,” but it’s your questions instead of ours. Ryan gives us his lock of the week (one that’s less… Captain Obvious maybe?) Matt shares his “Good Neighbor” story about an incredible charity that’s made its way here from New Mexico. And, the talented and tenacious PK shares a few wins – keeping a family together for the holidays.
We look forward to seeing you!
Episode Recap
It was pouring rain in Arizona while the gang recorded this week’s episode and according to Steve, the last time it rained was the last time the Jets won a football game. In other words, a very long time. This week, the Jets grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory as rumors swirled if they lost the game on purpose to maintain their draft spot.
While the Jets could use a doctor to diagnose what’s wrong with their team, we have Dr. Ron Janova from Phoenix ER Medical Hospital to answer all the gang’s COVID questions.
But first, let’s talk cars.
After-Market vs. OEM Parts
What is the difference when fixing a car between after-market and OEM (original equipment manufacturer)? After-market parts are not the same as what originally came in your car. They will “fit and function” but for some parts, that’s not good enough.
Steve buys after-market brakes on a regular basis and hasn’t had an issue. Where he won’t use the after-market parts is electronic parts. In electronic parts, the after-market parts have a high frequency of failure. Sure, some people could use the part for its lifetime and never have an issue, but that’s not a risk you should take in some cases.
Another question that Felecia had for Steve was about NVH—an acronym she’s been hearing more and more. NVH stands for Noise, Vibration, and Harshness. For years, if you heard a noise in your car, it was pretty easy to tell where it was coming from just by listening. And if you couldn’t tell, a mechanic could easily figure it out by putting your car on a lift and taking a look. But now, with cars being so compact and having so many moving parts, you can’t just listen and pinpoint the location, you need a device that has earphones and a microphone to identify the problem. With this increased complexity in diagnosis, Steve anticipates you’ll soon see diagnostic fees when you bring your car to a mechanic.
COVID Questions with Dr. Ron Janova.
Dr. Ron Janova is unique in the medical field as two years ago, he started his own hospital. It’s Arizona’s first physician-owned micro-hospital. While they aren’t a trauma center and aren’t going to be your go-to place for major surgery, you can go when you experience issues like chest pains, abdominal pain, or COVID-19.
When discussing the changes Dr. Janova has seen at his hospital between earlier in the pandemic and now is the type of patient. While earlier in the pandemic during the “first wave” patients were mostly older individuals, now he’s seeing younger patients who are often part of the essential economy or are frontline workers who can’t stay home.
Approaching COVID can be confusing for many patients because of the variety of tests out there—antigen, antibody, and PCR testing.
Antigen tests look for signs of an immune response that is more recent, like an active infection. Antibody tests look for a more distant immune response, possibly from an illness you’ve had in the past. PCR testing looks at fragments of RNA or DNA to see if the coronavirus fragment is there.
How accurate are they? There is a lot of debate in the scientific literature. If a patient is experiencing symptoms like a fever or cough AND gets a positive result, you can be confident that it is accurate. If you are asymptomatic and test positive, clinicians are still unsure of exactly what is happening according to Janova.
So, what do you say to people who want to “get COVID over with” if it appears that everyone is going to get it anyway?
Different countries have taken different approaches that help us evaluate this mindset. The Swedish model took this approach of “everyone is going to get it”, so they sought to achieve herd immunity. They chose not to close much down and hopefully reach a herd immunity threshold of around 70-80 percent. But, the evidence has shown that maybe the number doesn’t have to be that high and that some people might have some immunity already. This shows the complexities we still have to uncover about COVID-19.
As vaccines potentially come closer to helping reduce the impact of the pandemic, Dr. Janova emphasized that COVID likely will never go away and that many people will eventually get COVID. Like the flu, it will likely continue seasonally. But, as we have vaccines and more people develop immunity through various means, life will go back to normal.
Good Neighbor Moment
Matt Watson’s good neighbor moment of the week is a spotlight of Mandy Pope and the organization she supports, Los Ojos de la Familia. This organization, which started in New Mexico, supports hundreds of families each year with food and toys for Christmas. It has expanded the number of families it can help each year. If you can help this year, visit www.losojosdelafamiliaaz.org. The organization has enough toys for this year but is looking for financial donations or drivers who can help deliver the toys and food to families.
