In this episode, we speak with Suzette Bianchi, RN. Suzette is a Charge RN in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Boston Medical Center and has been at the bedside for over 30 years. She has been on the front lines of medical crises from the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s to the COVID-19 pandemic. She holds a permanent Charge RN role and also serves as an instructor for continuous dialysis, or continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). She joins us today to talk about her experiences as an RN, how the field has changed, and how she has managed to remain at the bedside in the ICU without succumbing to burnout or becoming jaded. We are grateful to have Suzette with us for this Nurses Week episode!

In this episode, we are joined by Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) COO, April Ramsey, to discuss the incredible—and often overlooked—care provided to people experiencing homelessness in Boston. We explore how, over the past 40 years, the program has evolved to not only deliver care on the streets but also offer several unique and life-saving services, including adult and pediatric medical and dental care, as well as programs focused on mental health and addiction.

In addition, BHCHP operates facilities that provide 120 respite beds for individuals who are ready to leave the hospital but not yet ready to return to the streets. This is a truly unique and inspiring program that serves those most in need.

BHCHP COO April Ramsey joined the organization in 2011 as a clinic staff nurse at shelter partner Pine Street Inn, and later served as a respite staff nurse at The Barbara McInnis House. In 2013, April began coverage as the respite nursing supervisor and subsequently served as interim respite director of case management. She then helped develop the Care Management Program with the Commonwealth Care Alliance One Care Program, where she served as one of the first nurse care managers on that team.

In 2016, April was named site director of the Pine Street Inn clinics, and after two years, she became associate director of clinical operations for the program. In August 2024, she was appointed as BHCHP’s chief operating officer.

April began her nursing career at CAB Health and Recovery Services in Danvers and Boston. From 2014 to 2022, she also served as a public health clinical instructor for the Northeastern University School of Nursing. April holds a BS in Nursing from Northeastern University, having completed clinical roles at the children’s hospitals in Boston and Philadelphia.

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Adam Yala to explore his groundbreaking research on using A.I. to predict breast cancer with his deep learning model, Mirai. We dive into the potential of A.I. in healthcare, the challenges it faces, and what the future may hold—including whether A.I. could one day take on the roles of nurses and practitioners. This is a fascinating and eye-opening look at how A.I. is transforming medicine today and what’s next on the horizon.

Dr. Yala is an assistant professor of Computational Precision Health at UC Berkeley and UCSF. His research focuses on developing machine learning methods for personalized medicine and translating them into clinical care.

His previous research has focused on two areas: 1) predicting future cancer risk, and 2) designing personalized screening policies. His breast cancer tool, Mirai, has been tested at 43 hospitals from 14 countries.

Adam's tools now underly prospective trials, and his research has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, and the Boston Globe. Prof Yala obtained his BS, MEng and PhD in Computer Science from MIT where he was a member of MIT Jameel Clinic and MIT CSAIL.