Episode 340- Building Michigan’s Healthcare Workforce. With Russ Kavalhuna

Episode 340- Building Michigan’s Healthcare Workforce. With Russ Kavalhuna

Author: Richard Helppie September 14, 2026 Duration: 10:37
Healthcare workforce shortages are not a single problem with a single fix, they are a pipeline problem. I’m joined by Russ Kavalhuna, President of Western Michigan University, to talk about what it looks like when a community decides to grow its own talent instead of hoping someone else moves in. From physicians and nurses to lab techs, radiology techs, OT, and PT, we dig into the roles that keep care available in real life, not just on paper. We get specific about what Western Michiga...

There's a palpable sense that our national conversations are stuck, trapped in familiar trenches of left versus right. Richard Helppie's Common Bridge starts from a different premise: that the most persistent issues facing the country do have solutions, but our current partisan frameworks actively prevent us from finding them. Helppie, drawing on his background as an entrepreneur and philanthropist, operates from the conviction that practical problem-solving requires moving beyond the noise. Each episode of this podcast is built around a simple, yet increasingly rare, idea-that a common sense discussion, grounded in facts and a willingness to listen, can actually span the divides that seem so permanent. You'll hear conversations that don't seek to score political points but to explore underlying truths and potential pathways forward. It’s a space for analysis that feels disconnected from the 24-hour news cycle, focusing instead on substantive commentary about government, policy, and civic life. The tone here is one of reasoned inquiry, a deliberate step away from the heated rhetoric that dominates the headlines. For anyone weary of predictable partisan shouting matches, this series offers a thoughtful alternative, proving that dialogue aimed at understanding, rather than winning, can be both engaging and genuinely informative. Tune in for a different kind of political discourse.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Richard Helppie's Common Bridge
Podcast Episodes
Episode 320- You Will Love America More When You Talk To People [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:43
The fastest way to lose faith in your country is to let a screen tell you who your neighbors are. We take that head-on, because the gap between media narratives and real life keeps growing, and it is warping how we talk…
Episode 319- Primary Care Under Pressure. With Dr. Harry Albers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:47
Primary care is where healthcare either works or quietly breaks, and Dr. Harry Albers helps us say the uncomfortable parts out loud. We talk about the emotional reality of managing chronic disease without instant wins, a…
Episode 318- What If Hunger Looked Like You? With Angela Moloney [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:10
Hunger isn’t a distant problem, it’s often a quiet one. Host Rich Helppie sits down with Angela Moloney, President and CEO of Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeast Michigan, to unpack what food insecurity looks like…
Episode 317- Unity Through Service. With Chip Webster [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:49
America doesn’t feel like it’s debating anymore. It feels like it’s detonating. We sit down with Chip Webster, founder of Unity in Service Incorporated, to talk about what he saw after five long RV loops around the Unite…