Our Community Broadcasting Network

Dennis Stretar

Broadcast Journalist, Producer

Welcome to the Our Community Broadcasting Network (OCBN). Having been involved in public affairs broadcasting on radio and public television with Sue, my wife and broadcasting partner (About Us), I became aware of the issues impacting the families that make up the many diverse communities we live in. As the Vice Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Council at the Aurora Chamber of Commerce from 2018 to 2022, I decided to use my broadcasting experience to create OCBN as a community resource. In 2019, I started producing podcasts that highlighted the diversity programs of the organizations that presented to the D&I Council. Also in 2019, Sue was diagnosed with dementia, likely Alzheimer's disease, which changed our lives dramatically. In an effort to learn everything I could about this condition, I had the honor of interviewing Dr Samantha Holden, a nationally recognized dementia expert, a research scientist, and professor of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is also a clinician, with Sue as one of her patients, and serves as the Medical Director for the Memories Disorders Clinic at the University of Colorado Alzheimer's and Cognition Center. Dr Holden's informative and educational interview helped me understand more about brain function, available treatments, and caregiving support for all of us going through the dementia continuum with a loved one. Adding to our knowledge base are professors, clinicians, and researchers from some of our best universities offering advanced degrees in health disciplines that include the CU Anschutz School of Medicine, University of Denver Graduate School of Professional Psychology, and Rice University's Biobehavioral Mechanisms Explaining Disparities Lab (Health & Wellness Podcasts). With expanded knowledge about mental health and substance abuse issues, I directed my focus on the healthcare delivery and support systems as well as federal and state health policies and programs. My mission is to get information to the public featuring best practices that help mitigate mental and physical health disorders and improve health outcomes throughout our communities. To accomplish this goal, in January of 2025, I created the Health & Wellness Best Practices Podcast. These programs cover issues of health and wellness and how they are connected and must be addressed as such. Health is multidimensional that includes physical, mental, and social health, while wellness is a process that promotes environmental, occupational, and emotional wellness. Though health and wellness are distinctly different, improving one has a positive impact on the other. Podcast contributors include health and wellness advocacy groups, healthcare providers, educational institutions, government agencies, and elected officials. I have an open invitation for health professionals and advocates to be a guest on the Health & Wellness Best Practices Podcast to contribute content on health issues they are involved with. I am pleased to announce a collaboration with Colorado State Senator, Dafna Michaelson Jenet, to produce a podcast she will host to give monthly updates on healthcare legislative priorities being addressed as Vice Chair of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. The monthly podcasts are to start in January 2026, just prior to the start of the 2026 Legislative Session, and will feature other legislators to share information on their healthcare priorities as well. More information to follow as we finalize format and future guests. I hope you find these programs informative and educational and will share them with your network. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on any of the current podcasts as well as suggestions about topics and/or guests for future Health & Wellness Best Practices Podcasts. Please feel free to email me at dennis@ocbn.online with your comments and ideas.
Best regards,

Below are the most recent Health & Wellness Best Practices Podcasts. For older podcasts visit the Health & Wellness Podcasts page. They are also available on YouTube and Bluesky.

Colorado State Senator for District 21, Dafna Michaelson Jenet, serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee is our podcast guest. As as strong leader in the Colorado Senate on healthcare issues, she discusses how the Health & Human Services Committee works as well as healthcare issues that are prioritized for the 2026 legislative session. Health topics covered include Medicaid, Children's School Lunch initiative (legislation she wrote and was past overwhelmingly by Colorado voters), and how people can get involved in the legislative process.

Colorado State Senator Iman Jodeh, representing Senate District 29, was the interview guest on September 30, 2025 podcast. In 2020 She made international headlines after winning her historic election as the first-ever Palestinian and Muslim American lawmaker elected to Colorado’s House of Representatives. Senator Jodeh shares her thoughts on the current issues of immigration and healthcare in Colorado. Senator Jodeh tells us about her background leading up to her becoming a Colorado legislator and shares her thoughts on the current issues of immigration and healthcare in Colorado.

This program is a panel discussion about the current state of Medicaid in Colorado and what the impact on the program will be now that the bill has become law. Although it was recorded prior to the final passage of the bill, the information is still accurate and relevant, and it is important to let your elected officials know your thoughts on these extreme funding cuts. Colorado is typical of the rest of the country as 20% (1 in 5) of the residents are covered statewide, with 35% of rural residents being covered by Medicaid. Our panel of experts are Edie Sonn, Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council - Polly Anderson, Colorado Community Health Network - Kelly Erb Zager, Colorado Rural Health Center.

As defined by the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, "A System of Care is a spectrum of effective, community-based services and supports for children and youth with or at risk for mental health or other challenges and their families, that is organized into a coordinated network, builds meaningful partnerships with families and youth, and addresses their cultural and linguistic needs, in order to help them to function better at home, in school, in the community, and throughout life." This presentation is by the Colorado Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, an organization that advocates for families of children with mental health issues.

Mental Health Colorado was founded in 1953 as an advocate for every Coloradan who experiences a mental health or substance use condition each year. They engage policymakers, providers, the public, and the press to promote mental well-being, ensure equitable access to mental health and substance use care, and end discrimination. Their efforts range from the Capitol to the classroom. Visit www.mentalhealthcolorado.org for more information about the organization and how you can become a mental health advocate.

Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition started at the advent of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and is Colorado’s premier disability rights advocacy organization. They advocate for those with all types of disabilities to live full, equitable lives with equal access to any civic, professional, and/or personal opportunities that are available to people without disabilities. For more information about the CCDC visit www.ccdconline.org.