Welcome to a special series within Relocalizing Health as we count down to RosettaFest in Nashville, July 29 to 31. Each one of these is a quick look inside the book and the communities that inspired it. Real places, real numbers, real people who decided to stop waiting for someone else to fix healthcare and just built something better themselves.

If you don't have your ticket to Nashville yet, go grab it at RosettaFest.org. This is where the people in these stories will actually be in the room with you.

Here's more about today's special episode

Phifer Incorporated is a family-owned manufacturing company in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. About 1,200 employees. They make aluminum, fiberglass, and polyester screening — the window screens in your home, the sun-shading fabric on your lawn furniture. They are also the last remaining made-in-USA manufacturer in their category.

And they figured out something most Fortune 500 companies still have not figured out about healthcare.

This episode is the story of Russell DuBose, VP of HR at Phifer, who refused to treat healthcare like a force of nature he could not touch. He looked at the glide path the company was on in the mid-2010s and saw a future where benefits became unaffordable to the plan and the people on it. So he did what any manufacturing leader would do. He treated it like a supply chain problem and applied the same lean six sigma rigor he would to any production deficit on the factory floor.

What followed was a seven-year roadmap, a zero-cost-share on-site clinic, direct contracts with the best providers, a transparent pharmacy, nurse navigation, scholarships for employees' kids, summer enrichment programs, childcare support for working families, and five straight years of essentially flat healthcare spending. The Plan Grader score went from 37 to 74. Retirement readiness climbed more than 20 points.

And then a benefits decision at a screen manufacturing plant in Tuscaloosa turned into a national voice. Russell testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on ERISA and chairs the Alabama Employer Healthcare Consortium, helping spread the model to other employers across his region and state.

If a 1,200-person manufacturer in Alabama can do this, the excuse that you are not big enough stops being a reason. It is just a story we tell ourselves.

Russell DuBose is a co-leader of the Employer Track at RosettaFest 2026, July 29 to 31 in Nashville at the Gaylord Opryland. He will be in the room. So will the playbook.

Key Takeaways:

• Phifer Inc. is the last remaining made-in-USA manufacturer in their screening category
• Russell DuBose reframed healthcare as a supply chain problem and applied lean six sigma rigor to it
• The 2017 read of The CEO's Guide to Restoring the American Dream gave him the blueprint
• First Plan Grader score was 37 out of 100. Most employers start between 5 and 17.
• The Phifer Cares Clinic opened in 2019 with zero cost share for advanced primary care. Within months it was running at 88 percent daily capacity with 58 percent of eligible members actively using it
• Five straight years of flat healthcare spending through inflation and high-cost cancer claims
• Savings reinvested: scholarships for employees' kids (100-plus students to college), summer enrichment for hundreds of children, eliminated pharmacy co-pays for 1,700-plus patients, childcare support for 250-plus working families
• Plan Grader improved from 37 to 74
• Russell testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on ERISA
• He chairs the Alabama Employer Healthcare Consortium

Resources Mentioned:

• Health Rosetta Plan Grader: healthrosetta.org
• Nautilus Health Institute: open-source tools and frameworks
• Relocalizing Health by Dave Chase: pre-order on Amazon now
• RosettaFest 2026: RosettaFest.org — Russell DuBose is a co-leader of the Employer Track

Learn More:

RosettaFest 2026 - https://rosettafest.org/

Health Rosetta - http://healthrosetta.org/

Nautilus - https://www.nautilushealth.org/

Kynexions - https://kynexions.com/

Dave Chase - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasedave/

Podcast Website - https://relocalizinghealth.com/

Welcome to Relocalizing Health. In today’s episode, host Dave Chase sits down with Kevin Bayuk, a partner at Lift Economy and a pioneer in redefining how communities can thrive by redesigning local systems. With over 20 years of experience questioning why wealth leaves local communities and how to rebuild systems that circulate, compound, and benefit all, Kevin Bayuk shares his journey from Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur to advocate for regenerative enterprise and bioregional self-reliance.

Together, they explore the root causes of ill health in society, including the “loneliness epidemic,” and discuss the vision and practicality of economies and healthcare systems that put well-being, community connection, and ecological thriving at the center. Through stories drawn from permaculture, multi-stakeholder co-ops, and innovative healthcare models like direct primary care, Kevin Bayuk and Dave Chase challenge business-as-usual approaches and invite us to imagine what is possible if we reclaim agency over health, wealth, and the future of our communities. Whether you’re leading a business, a school district, or simply curious about holistic approaches to community health, this episode will inspire you to see that the tools and models for transformation already exist; you just have to look a little closer.

Timestamps:

00:00 Early Silicon Valley entrepreneurship

06:04 Rethinking healthcare and wellbeing

10:01 Imagining a future economy

13:42 Community-focused motivation and cooperative structures

15:52 Workers owning the farm

18:40 Community-owned farming cooperatives

21:48 Direct primary care model explained

24:52 Community-driven profit reinvestment

29:01 Structural flaws in healthcare systems

33:37 Anna O'Malley's community medicine circles

35:28 Story of health intervention success

39:14 Future of Work and AI Automation

42:20 Slowing down for sustainability

46:00 Closing thoughts and action steps

Learn More:

RosettaFest 2026 - https://rosettafest.org/

Health Rosetta - http://healthrosetta.org/

Nautilus - https://www.nautilushealth.org/

Kynexions - https://kynexions.com/

Dave Chase - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasedave/

Podcast Website - https://relocalizinghealth.com/

Welcome to Relocalizing Health, the podcast about taking back healthcare and rebuilding communities. In today’s episode, host Dave Chase sits down with Kenneth Aldridge, the long-time clinical leader at Rosen Medical Center in Orlando, Florida. Together, they explore how Rosen Hotels has built the nation’s longest-running and most comprehensive employer-sponsored advanced primary care model, one that delivers exceptional outcomes for a diverse workforce, including a high percentage of high-risk pregnancies, while spending less than half the national average on healthcare.

Kenneth Aldridge shares stories from nearly three decades of transforming care: from breaking down barriers to access for associates from third-world countries, to innovative programs like free transportation, on-the-clock appointments, medication support, and comprehensive case management throughout pregnancies. The conversation goes deep into the practical steps that have built lasting trust, improved health outcomes, and freed up resources for broader community well-being, including scholarships and neighborhood revitalization.

If you’re curious about what a truly high-performing health system looks like, how love and common sense can upend toxic industry norms, and why Rosen’s model is being replicated across the country, this episode is for you. Join us as we reveal the playbook behind America’s healthcare “OGs” and offer hope for clinicians, employers, and communities everywhere.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to Relocalizing Health Podcast

06:17 Supporting employees with healthcare access

07:38 Helping patients manage diabetes

12:43 Creating a pregnancy management program

13:22 Prenatal care and pregnancy support

18:43 Bringing medical services in-house

21:13 Concerns about healthcare quality and costs

23:53 Rosen Medical Center health services

26:59 Commitment to supporting patients

31:51 Healthcare system challenges and solutions

35:09 The rewarding challenge of hard work

36:43 Reducing waste in healthcare spending

Learn More:

RosettaFest 2026 - https://rosettafest.org/

Health Rosetta - http://healthrosetta.org/

Nautilus - https://www.nautilushealth.org/

Kynexions - https://kynexions.com/

Dave Chase - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasedave/

Podcast Website - https://relocalizinghealth.com/