Public health doesn’t fail because we’re missing one solution.
It fails because we keep treating complex systems like they can be fixed in parts.

In this episode, I introduce the Swiss Cheese Model of Public Health—a framework
for understanding why health outcomes depend on multiple, imperfect layers
working together, and why people keep falling through the cracks when those layers
aren’t aligned.

Those layers include:

• Access to responsive care and services
• An ecosystem of community support and opportunity
• Policies and practices that truly see and serve us
• A healthy, abundant environment to live, connect, and belong

Each layer matters. None are sufficient on their own.

And here’s the key insight:
Story-driven strategy is the wrapper that holds these layers together.

Story isn’t marketing. It isn’t a testimonial tacked on at the end. Story is how systems listen, learn, and align. Without it, even the best programs, policies, and investments fragment—and people fall through.

This episode is for anyone working in public health, healthcare, philanthropy, nonprofits, or systems change who knows that siloed solutions aren’t enough—and wants language, structure, and strategy for doing this work differently.

What We Cover

• Why public health interventions fail even when they’re well-funded and well-intentioned
• The Swiss Cheese Model of Public Health and its four interdependent layers
• Why “gaps” in systems aren’t personal failures—they’re structural realities
• How story reveals where systems actually break down in real life
• Why story-driven strategy is infrastructure, not communications
• What changes when organizations use story to align care, policy, community, and environment
• How to move from fragmented efforts to coherent, people-centered systems

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