S02E15 – A Medical Professional Perspective on COVID 19 and the Impact on Rural Communities. An interview with Dr. Lisa Costello.

In this episode of the Rural Voice, Drs. Allen Pratt and Christopher Silver interview Dr. Lisa Costello regarding her experience and expertise on the COVID-19 Pandemic and vaccines. We discussed the impact of COVID on schools and on children. We discuss the variants and the science behind treatment and invention measures. We discuss the impact of vaccine availability, particularly for children under the age of 5 as well as the comparative approaches to addressing the Pandemic. We discuss the effects of the virus on local communities and how culture may be related to policy and practice addressing the Pandemic. We discuss how these approaches have been addressed and received within rural communities. Lisa M. Costello, MD, MPH, FAAP is a lifelong West Virginian who hails from Weirton, WV, and currently resides in Morgantown, West Virginia where she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at West Virginia University (WVU) and a Pediatric Hospitalist at WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital. She is co-director of the Pediatrics Clerkship, leads a healthcare literacy and patient advocacy curriculum thread for the M.D. program, and is the advisor for the medical student group, Student Advocates Impacting Decision on Healthcare. Dr. Costello currently serves as the President-elect of the West Virginia State Medical Association, immediate past president of the West Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and on the Board of Directors for the WV Children’s Health Insurance Program. She is a graduate of the Leadership WV Class of 2021. Dr. Costello is an advisor to the WV Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Public Health during the COVID-19 pandemic response and the medical lead for the Joint Information Center within the West Virginia Joint Interagency Task Force COVID-19. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on State Government Affairs at a national level. Dr. Costello is on the Executive Council for the WVU School of Medicine Alumni Association and a past recipient of the Margaret Buchanan Cole Young Alumnus Award from the WVU Alumni Association. Her academic interests include advocacy, healthcare policy, social media, and improving communication with patients, healthcare professionals, and the public by utilizing technology and media to amplify advocacy and education. Connect with her on Twitter (@LisaCostelloWV), Facebook, and LinkedIn. https://directory.hsc.wvu.edu/Profile/35594 https://twitter.com/lisacostellowv