In this episode of Let's Talk About Drugs in the Intermountain West, we chat with Clinical Research Coordinator Cole Fordham about something simple—but often overlooked—treating people like people. Cole shares how leading with empathy and keeping things human-first helps him build trust, boost retention, and make the most of limited resources. It’s a thoughtful, down-to-earth conversation about care, connection, and why kindness really can make a difference.

Cole mentions a lot of great work—take a look at PARCKA’s full resource list here.

This podcast comes from the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Program of Addiction Research, Clinical Care, Knowledge, and Advocacy (PARCKA)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The mission of PARCKA is to promote and provide addiction related research, clinical care, knowledge and advocacy across the University of Utah, the local community, the State of Utah, and the nation.

The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the official views of University of Utah Health or its leadership.