Why Don’t We Check Mental Health Like a Physical?
Before kids go back to school, they get a physical and their shots. So why aren't we checking on their mental health too?
In this Spark Short, Michele and Liz unpack their conversation with Dr. Maria Montoro Edwards, President and CEO of Maternal and Family Health Services. Michele has worked alongside Maria as the architect of the circle of care, and she shares what makes Maria such a decisive leader. They talk about the full-circle moment of a woman whose family once used WIC now running the largest WIC provider in Pennsylvania, and why treating mental health as part of whole-person care matters so much, for new moms and for everyone else.
Michele takes us inside the circle of care in Scranton, a former silk mill. She describes how the design team turned MFHS's vision into a space that's dignified, easy to navigate even if you can't read the signs, and private for those who need behavioral health care. She also shares the litmus test she uses at the end of every project. Liz tells the story of a board chair who returned federal money nobody had ever returned before. Together they dig into decisiveness, paralysis by analysis, and Michele's childhood nickname, "Yeah, but what if."
Then the conversation wanders, in the best way. They admit they don't really know what a midwife does, and they want to hear from you if you've had a midwife birth. Liz wonders why there's no women's version of the men's health clinic she visited with her dad. And they close on a theme guest after guest keeps coming back to: you don't have to blow up your life. A small tweak to the rudder can turn a big ship.
In this episode you'll learn:
- Why mental health belongs in whole-person care, from postpartum to back-to-school
- How the circle of care was designed so its building tells you who MFHS is
- The litmus test Michele uses to judge a finished designWhy decisive leaders beat paralysis by analysis, and how to quiet your inner "yeah, but what if"
- What one woman's choice to return federal money says about leadership
- Why women deserve a health care experience designed for them
- How small shifts, not big blowups, can redesign a life that isn't working
Resources from this episode:
- Our full conversation with Dr. Maria Montoro Edwards — https://www.sparkmepodcast.com/we-feel-like-we-have-to-be-wonder-woman/
- Maternal and Family Health Services — https://mfhs.org/
- WIC eligibility calculator — https://www.fna.usda.gov/wic/eligibility-tool
- Circle of Care, Scranton — https://mfhs.org/locations/mfhs-circle-of-care/
- National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262), free and confidential, 24/7
- Episodes mentioned: Heather Cybulski, Michele's sister, and Beth Twohy —
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