- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of Think Tank with Steve Adubato has been provided by The Turrell Fund, supporting Reimagine Childcare.

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[MOTIVATIONAL MUSIC] - Hi, I'm Steve Adubato.

Welcome to another compelling remote program.

We kick it off with Peter Webster, who is Resident Managing Director, Commercial Risk Solutions at Aon.

Good to have you with us, Peter.

- Nice to be here.

- Tell us what Aon is, by the way.

- So we are a risk and health consulting company.

We are global, we've got about 60,000 employees in 120 countries.

- You know, the reason you're with us is to talk about childcare.

Our friends at the Turrell Fund help us support the effort we have called Re-Imagine Childcare.

It's a long-term initiative looking at childcare, accessible, affordable childcare.

But what is the connection between quality, affordable, accessible childcare and the economy?

- It's interesting, I really believe that obviously, when it comes from my perspective as a leader of an organization, I think about my people.

And I think about, you know, I started to talk with the Turrell Fund about some of the struggles that my colleagues were having, especially the ones that have young children.

And that they're struggling with making sure that their young children are getting access to qualitative childcare.

Now that we're working this virtual environment, it goes to the wayside, right?

So giving children the opportunity early on to have qualitative education gives them an opportunity for equity.

So the faster that we can unlatch their potential in the beginning, the better they serve our community.

I want to ensure that my colleagues have all that they need to make sure that their children have access to qualitative care as quickly as possible.

- To what degree, Peter, do you believe that most folks in the corporate world understand how critical quality childcare is, particularly during this pandemic?

Again, this will be seen in 2021, cross your fingers with the vaccine, we'll see.

But it's not gonna go away and all of a sudden we go back to normal, whatever people think that means.

To what degree do you think most corporate leaders understand that you cannot have a successful business without employees who are functioning and productive, and that requires quality, affordable, accessible childcare?

- One of the things that I love about the world that we're living in now is that people are demanding it, right?

So if you want to have access to the best high-potential employees, then you're going to have to respond and make sure that your company has the resources to assist them holistically.

And so I think as a corporate leader, it's your responsibility to know what's going to serve your employees best so that they can be engaged and serve the firm the best, right?

So again, people are looking at holistic benefits packages now, more so than, you know when I was growing up, it was more about salary, it was more about the title.

And now people are looking to see, "How is a firm going to support me and my family?"

And that's not only from early childcare education, but also with serving the elderly.

If I've got to serve my parents, this is something we've got to think about from beginning to end.

- Yeah, so interesting.

This pandemic, as we're taping at the end of 2020, has impacted so many aspects of our lives, including what Peter Webster is talking about, which is the expectations most people have of their employer.

And how employers respond to those needs, those demands, is gonna dictate an awful lot.

But by the way, the Re-Imagine Childcare logo has been up throughout this entire program, check out on steveadubato.org, our website, to find out all the past programs and segments we've done on Re-Imagine Childcare.

You know, there's another, I'm going to shift gears dramatically.

My dad, who passed away recently, together with my mom, always big fans of the New Jersey Symphony, right?

And what a great organization, let's put up the website if we can Nicole for the New Jersey Symphony, a great not-for-profit.

You serve on the board, right?

- Yes, I am a trustee, and I'm the Co-Chair of the Diversity Equity Inclusion Committee.

- Why does the New Jersey Symphony matter now more than ever?

- Well, it's funny.

I was introduced to it by a former work colleague who's now a mentor.

He was the co-board chair back at that time.

And he introduced me to what the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, obviously I love classical music, I love the arts, but I didn't understand all that New Jersey Symphony Orchestra offered to the community through its programming.

And that's preschool, they actually have music for early childhood, supports early childhood education, which kind of goes along with Re-Imagine Childcare.

They've got the youth orchestras and they've reached back into the communities in Newark and we're trying to expand that, because we do serve the entire state of New Jersey.

They also do healing through music and go to visit hospitals, not only serving the patients, but also the staff members as a part of wellbeing.

So I thought about that and I'm thinking this absolutely relates to the holistic needs of the community.

And then it serves my colleagues and it serves me well, music is a universal language.

And then when I go back to our history of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, back in 1968 when we have the first African-American major conductor of a major symphony orchestra ever.

- Who was that?

- Henry Lewis.

- Wow, okay.

- And when I think about the bones, the structure of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and think about what that, how that relates to today.

A lot of people don't understand that back in 1968, he led three outdoor concerts at the site of the Newark Riots to bring peace and healing to the community.

- Wow.

- And that's exactly what we need right now.

And I want to share that, to diverse audiences and let them know the rich history that is the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

- And by the way, as we leave this segment with Peter, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra has done a lot of remote work as well.

Go on their website, find out more about what they're doing.

I want to thank the folks at TD for highlighting this and reinforcing this message, because I know they're committed.

It's interesting, the folks at TD, and we're not gonna turn this into a commercial for them, but they're into the James Moody TD Jazz Festival and they're into this.

So music is a big part of the community, not just in Newark, New Jersey, but a part of our lives.

Hey, listen, Peter, thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate it.

- Thank you.

- I'm Steve Adubato, we'll be right back.

To watch more Think Tank with Steve Adubato, find us online and follow us on social media.

- Hi, I'm Steve Adubato.

This is a compelling conversation.

We actually had them on, but by popular demand, we asked them to stay there and just keep taping.

Julie Roginsky is Democratic strategist, president of Optimist Communications.

Mike DuHaime, Republican strategist, partner at Mercury.

Also check them out on NJ.com and "The Star-Ledger," their weekly column, called "Friendly Fire."

Mike, I wanna pick this up.

We ended our, when we saw each other last, Julie was talking about media, and I asked the question about divided media, polarized media.

Mike, we in the media, A, are we as polarized as the American public appears to be, and B, what responsible role should we have in promoting a more healthy democracy, if you will?

Mike DuHaime.

- It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg, right?

I think the media is giving people what they want, but they're also feeding it, as Julie said, and your Facebook algorithm is giving you people who are just like you, so if you want, you can go all day only hearing from one side.

It's up to us as consumers of media also to make sure where, if you're watching Fox, maybe you're also reading "The New York Times" or clicking on MSNBC once in a while, and certainly PBS and NPR, things that will give you kind of a wider variety of opinions and issues, but also, it's a larger fundamental question about the American electorate right now.

Politicians are not getting rewarded for compromise right now.

I mean, look at what's happened really in the last, I would say 10 to 12 years, going back to the 2010 election.

The federal government, Republicans came in with really an obstructionist agenda and were rewarded for it.

President Obama did not work with them at all during 2009 in passage of Obamacare.

Republicans came in, and since then, I feel like the parties have just drifted even further apart, and to a point now where you don't get rewarded for compromise.

Look at somebody like a Jeff Flake in Arizona, who was critical of Donald Trump.

He left rather than face a primary.

We're at a point now, and I believe it is somewhat in both parties.

I think the Democrats will see it now.

I'm curious to see how West Virginia conservative Democrat Joe Manchin works with the more socialist Democratic wing of the House, right?

You're getting to a point where the polls of both parties are punishing you for compromising with somebody from the other party as opposed to rewarding you.

From 2010 to 2020, we saw that in Republican primaries.

If you were someone who's known as compromising, you were pushed out during primaries, and I fear that's where we're at.

Until we have people rewarded by the voters for that, of course, we're just gonna continue in this cycle.

- Yeah, but Julie, isn't the problem, the conundrum as Mike lays this out, that as we continue to face, try to face this COVID-19 crisis, moving into 2021, where this'll be seen, Mike says that's what the public wants, or at least they reward you for it, but the public does want Democrats and Republicans to come together and come with a coherent COVID federal policy, state policy, so is it the government we deserve, or do we actually deserve better than what we reward people for?

I don't know what that question means, but you guys think you know.

- We got it, Steve.

- I don't know that I agree.

(laughs) I don't know that I agree with your premise.

I think Mike is right.

I do know that this is what people want.

If that's what they wanted, they would've voted either for Joe Biden and a much more robust Democratic majority in the House, and certainly a Democratic majority in the Senate, or they would've voted for Donald Trump and the other way around.

It seems- - But they don't know what they, Julie, I'm sorry for interrupting, but do you believe that the, say the Republicans keep control of the Senate.

As we do this, there's two races in Georgia, we understand.

Democrats control the House.

Joe Biden's the president.

Do you think that most Americans are saying, "Yeah, I want gridlock."

That's not what they were voting for.

- I think they were.

I mean, I hate to say this, but look at Maine.

Maine's a great example.

How is it that Maine overwhelmingly votes for Joe Biden and then has an, I believe, an 18-point swing to keep Susan Collins in the Senate?

I mean, how is that possible?

And so the answer is yeah, I mean, I do think people want, they consider it to be compromise in the sense that they want, maybe they're voting to have both parties work together, but after all these years, as Mike pointed out, after the last probably 30 years from when Newt Gingrich got in in '94, do they really think that there's much compromise to be had between a executive from one side of the aisle and a Congress from the other side of the aisle?

It's not cooperation.

It's gridlock, and maybe that's what they want.

Maybe they want no government at all to rule the country.

- In the midst of a global pandemic?

Go ahead, Mike.

- I think Julie brings up a really good point.

I think voters want checks and balances.

I think they don't want, I think the middle of the electorate right now does not love either party, and the way to check both parties is to make sure there's divided government, and I think there have been, there have been votes for a divided government now.

You've also had rejectionists change elections going all the way back to 2006.

It seems like every two years, voters are throwing everybody out, and it's been an angry electorate since 2006, and what they want is the parties to work together, but what they really don't want is one party running the whole show, and that's what they continue to show us.

- But, but here- But move, by the way, there's a wonderful-sounding dog somewhere in there.

It might be in my own house, or worse yet, it could be in my head, but here's the question: COVID, institutional structural racism.

Environmental problems, global warming, the economy, et cetera, real public policy issues.

We're less interested in partisan politics, and both of you care deeply about public policy, so Julie, my question is this: you and Mike just described, that you clearly agree on what voters seem to have wanted in this past November election, what does it mean about solving some of those problems or at least making progress?

Doesn't it mean de facto?

We're not doing anything!

- Actually, think about what you just did, the issues you just outlined.

COVID, a great chunk of this country believes COVID is a hoax.

They believe that it's basically something that's being driven to tear down the economy so that Donald Trump would lose, but we're- - How many people would have to die or be hospitalized for people to go, "Oh, I guess it's real!"

- There was an interesting article where a nurse just this past week, where a- - I saw that.

- Where a nurse in South Dakota was saying that as people are dying from COVID, as they're putting ventilators down their throat, they're effectively saying, "This is all a hoax.

This is all being done.

Screw Joe Biden."

I mean, you think about what is being said?

Global warming, you have a Republican party that frankly rejects global warming as a real thing, a lotta people in the party.

Racial, you said there's racial unrest.

There's racial strife.

- Will you excuse me?

I had state Senator Mike Doherty on.

- Right.

- About an hour before we taped this, he said, "Institutional racism does not exist, and we need to stop perpetuating that hoax."

- There, there, so there you go, so there you go.

You have people like Senator Doherty who don't believe it exists or, and I'm not gonna speak for him, or believe that yes, it exists, but it oppresses the poor, white working class because they apparently can't get into Harvard, and meanwhile, anybody who's, you know, African-American, in their mind, skates in.

So when you think about what we don't agree, we're not even reading from the same book.

We're not even speaking the same language.

- Are there any facts we can agree on?

Are there any facts, objective facts, we can agree on?

- You know, I used to think we could agree on something like COVID.

I used to think that if there was a 9/11-style, some sort of 9/11-style event, that we would all come together the way we did after 9/11.

COVID was that 9/11-style event.

- There was that chance.

There was that chance.

- Mike, can we agree on anything?

- It was, I think, Julie and I agree all the time, as you can see.

I do believe COVID was this generation's September 11th.

There's going to be a pre and a post.

There are things you remember that were different before and never to be seen again, and it was a great opportunity for Donald Trump as the president to bring people together because governors needed him.

Governors need the federal government in a time of crisis.

Look at some of the nice things Andrew Cuomo and Phil Murphy said about Donald Trump during the height of this pandemic.

They needed his support, and to some extent, the federal government was being helpful.

Think of what he could've done.

Just think of the political strategy, no less the actual good policy, if he had worked with the Democratic governors of Michigan, of Wisconsin, of Pennsylvania, very important battleground states for him, where he could've done the right thing from a policy point of view and actually had a benefit from a political point of view.

- Can Joe Biden do that with Republican governors, Mike?

- I think Joe Biden probably can 'cause he's a creature of the Senate.

He grew up in the, he grew up in the Senate, right.

He was 29 years old when he got elected.

Now, this is somebody who has lived that bipartisan approach and actually has a relationship.

I don't know how good, but he actually has one with Mitch McConnell, and he actually has one with a number of Republican senators.

So my hope is they'll be able to work together.

Ultimately, it is incumbent upon the executive to reach out.

I remember one of the stories: after Republicans took control in 2010, it had been said that John Boehner, who was then the minority leader, had never visited with President Obama in the White House or on Air Force One.

The president is the one who's got great home field advantage and can reach out.

I think if the president invites Republican senators over to the White House and brings them in and makes them part of it, they're not gonna reject that.

Now, listen, they have their own politics back home to worry about, but ultimate- - It's okay.

- President Trump didn't do it.

I think President Biden has the opportunity.

Whether or not he'll be successful, I don't know, but he has the opportunity.

All right, you mind if I plug again your column?

- Sure!

- Go for it.

- Go for it.

- It's called "Friendly Fire," with Julie and Mike.

Check them out every Sunday in "The Star-Ledger" and also on NJ.com.

I wish we had more folks in public life, be they elected or not, that have civil discourse even when they disagree and even though they couldn't give me any silver lining in these discussions.

(laughing) Julie Roginsky, Mike DuHaime, thank you, my friends.

Best to you and your family.

- Thank you so much.

- Bye, Julie.

- Yeah.

- I'm Steve Adubato.

Thanks for watching.

To watch more Think Tank with Steve Adubato, find us online and follow us on social media.

- We are honored to welcome Dr. Joseph Duffy, Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer at St. Joseph's Health.

Good to see you, Dr. Duffy.

- Thanks Steve, and thanks for having me.

- You got it.

Listen, let me ask you this.

We're taping on the 8th of December to be seen after that, we're not gonna predict, but biggest lessons from a clinical perspective that you take from the COVID-19 experience to date?

- Never underestimate the disease, it has a mind of its own.

Be prepared.

And when you're prepared, expect to be thrown a curve ball.

- So it's interesting, People say, let's talk the vaccine right away.

As we do this program, again seen early in the first quarter of 2021, Are you confident that the vaccine will be given to the healthcare professionals, you and your colleagues on the frontline, that they will, A, take it, B, that it will be effective, and it will be done in a fair fashion?

Loaded question, I know.

Go ahead, doctor.

- It's a loaded question, Steve, but if you poll the physicians in the state of New Jersey, and the NJ Hospital Association did that, they found about 50% are willing to take the vaccine.

And if you, poll nurses, you may get 40%.

- Is that enough Joe?

Is that enough?

- Not enough, not enough.

We need a over 70, 80% compliance in order to get to where we need to be.

- So is it a challenge for you and your colleagues to convince your colleagues that this is safe?

And frankly, I mean as a citizen, as a consumer, still gonna be people who say, wait a minute, if the docs aren't doing it, the nurses aren't doing it, I'm not doing it.

And again, we'll date ourselves because there'll be a lot of public awareness campaigns, et cetera, but don't the physicians and the nurses have to take it in order to send us the message that it's okay?

- I believe so, Steve, and the only way to do that is to educate everyone so they understand everything about the vaccine and be as transparent as possible about that information.

- Let me ask you this.

Separate and apart from the vaccine, because that's the only part of it.

Wearing a mask, social distancing, avoiding large groups.

You hear it and you can never hear it enough.

That being said, Doctor, to what degree do you believe the existing medications and what are they that appear to be, whether it's in a cocktail, or whatever you call protocol.

I'm not sure what people call it.

But what appears to be effective if not curing, helping to deal with COVID right now?

- So there's no cure for this disease.

We can help it along.

We help the body heal.

There's a concoction or a recipe that we call protocol, and that recipe generally entails monoclonal antibodies at present on the outpatient basis.

That's new.

We've heard about Regeneron products and the Eli Lilly product.

That's the monoclonal antibodies that are available today.

And then on the inpatient side, dexamethasone which is a high dose steroid is used intravenously, oxygen therapy, remdesivir, supportive immune therapy like zinc and vitamin C is also added, and antibiotics if necessary for any secondary bacterial infections.

- How about this though?

And let me disclose that I have been doing leadership and communication coaching at St. Joseph's for many years.

And my focus around physician communication leadership is very significant.

So I'm challenged by this.

And one of the areas that's come up and a physician leadership academy that I facilitate is this, physician burnout nurse burnout, clinician burnout.

Is it burning out Dr. Duffy from seeing all these patients who have COVID, and then the fear of yourself and bringing it home?

What is the burnout about and the fatigue?

- The way I would analyze this, Steve, it's like running a marathon, and then finishing the marathon, and never giving one a chance to recover fully.

And then you ask yourself do I have to run another marathon?

And do I have to train for that marathon?

Well, they're training for it right now.

The operations tempo is such a high tempo right now in the state of New Jersey, and especially where we sit in Paterson, that we're seeing the beds filled up with both non-COVID and COVID patients.

So people are working at a very high operation tempo.

So we'll be going into a surge in a matter of two weeks or so, two to four weeks, and people are exhausted already.

- And by the way, again, we're taping on the 8th of December.

We don't know where things will be.

Let me ask you this.

The minority community, a high percentage of folks across the country are questioning the vaccine.

But I believe a higher percentage of people who are black and brown question the vaccine.

You're in Paterson.

It's a reality of Newark and Jersey city and Paterson and Brooklyn and other places.

What's your message to the African-American community in Paterson and other communities who are reluctant about the vaccine?

- Our message for St Joseph's especially is that we'll provide you with an abundance of information and be as transparent as we can to let you make an informed decision.

This vaccine won't be pushed on anybody, but you should know what the vaccine is all about, the side effects and the implications of getting this vaccine.

And unless you know this, we understand there there'll be trepidation.

- Let me ask you this before I let you go, Joe.

For those who say I'm not going into St Joseph's or any hospital for cardiac care, for cancer care, for a maternal mistake, correct?

- Absolutely.

If you're having any medical problems at all, get to the hospital.

We'll keep you safe.

- That is a Dr. Joe Duffy, who is Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at St. Joseph's Health.

Also an underwriter of the work we're doing.

Dr. Duffy, I want to thank you so much for joining us.

We wish you and your colleagues all the best, and it is not a cliche.

You and your colleagues are in fact heroes, and you cannot say it and believe it enough.

Thank you Doctor.

- Thank you, Steve.

- I'm Steve Adubato.

Thanks for watching.

We'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] Think Tank with Steve Adubato has been a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by The Turrell Fund, supporting Reimagine Childcare.

TD Bank.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

PSE&G.

Johnson & Johnson.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

Seton Hall University.

Summit CityMD.

And by ADP.

Promotional support provided by CIANJ, and Commerce Magazine.

And by NJ.Com, - [Narrator] This is the Seton Hall story.

One that comes to life every day on our campus.

This is the place where great minds discover, innovate, collaborate, and find their true calling.

This is the place where passion has a purpose, where learning inspires leading.

The bonds we make, the values we teach, inspire our community to take heart and take action.

This is Seton Hall University.

This is what great minds can do.