The Relay Podcast

Care transitions are a relay race — and the baton keeps getting dropped. Every day, patients fall through the cracks moving between hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, and home care. We’re here to change that.

Hosted by Val Emmons, NTOCC’s VP of Communications & Government Affairs, The Relay brings you inside the real stories, policy debates, and innovations shaping the future of safer, smoother care transitions.

We will have:

Conversations with frontline healthcare professionals including payers
Spotlight on lessons learned from good and bad transitions *Policy Alerts & insights and updates from Federal & State legislators
Breaking news focused on TOC across ALL healthcare settings & sectors
Innovative tech & AI overviews & discussions with leading experts Whether you’re a healthcare professional, policymaker, patient advocate, payer or simply care about the future of healthcare — this is your front-row seat to the conversation that can’t wait.

The Relay: Episode 13 Now Available

LISTEN NOW: https://youtu.be/-vAoiq5PMY4 How can technology help caregivers recognize a patient’s decline before it becomes an emergency? In this episode of The Relay, host Val Emmons is joined by Jackie Vance, President of the National Transitions of Care Coalition, and Amy Chidester, owner of R.A. Chidester Consulting, for a practical discussion about how assistive technology is changing skilled nursing, long-term care, assisted living and transitions of care. The conversat

Aug 13

The Relay: Episode 12 Now Available

LISTEN NOW: https://youtu.be/WNo8p4Zr2S0?si=ZV97NkrrZweNp_4J A successful transplant is not the end of the journey. It is the beginning of a lifetime of medications, monitoring, appointments, caregiver support and coordinated care. In this episode of The Relay, host Val Emmons speaks with Janet Coulter, MSN, MS, RN, CCM, FCM, RIT, about the complex world of transplant case management and why transitions of care can determine whether a transplant succeeds long after surgery. J

Aug 4

The Relay: Episode 11 Now Available

LISTEN NOW: https://youtu.be/IBc3B-QXlQM?si=vtmDZ_A3M7gnrgvJ What happens when artificial intelligence meets patient care? On this episode of The Relay, host Val Emmons sits down with the team from Bettr AI to break down how AI is already changing healthcare — and why the future may be closer than people realize. Scott Birdwell and Michael Knowles explain how Bettr AI’s virtual healthcare assistant “Sophie” helps patients stay connected to their care teams between doctor visi

May 22

The Relay: Episode 10 Now Available

LISTEN NOW: https://youtu.be/y5FtDdeXgtw?si=O0Aie2bve61u9PPQ in Episode 10 of The Relay, host Val Emmons sits down with Cheri Lattimer, Executive Director of the National Transitions of Care Coalition, (NTOCC) to unpack the newly released NTOCC 2026 State of Transitions of Care Findings, and the urgent healthcare challenges the report reveals. Link to Report: https://www.ntocc.org/washington-dc-s... Based on findings from the NTOCC DC Summit, the conversation explores why tra

May 9

The Relay: Episode 9 Now Available

In this episode of The Relay, host Val Emmons sits down with Dr. Natasha Chen and Cheri Lattimer to unpack the rapidly evolving role of the physician advisor and its growing impact on quality, utilization management, patient advocacy, and transitions of care.

May 7