2010 marks the 10th year of production for the Our Health Series of made-for-television dialogues on health issues of importance to South Carolinians. During that time, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and South Carolina Educational Television (ETV), with in-kind and funding support from various contributors, have co-produced 19 programs that collectively have aired hundreds of times on ETV and its statewide affiliate, the South Carolina Channel.
The Our Health Series resumed production in April 2010, with delivery of Our Health: Overcoming Obesity – a fresh and timely look at an age-old health problem in South Carolina and nationwide.
The Our Health Series draws strength from its inclusive format, which includes a diverse and informed panel, an active and engaged studio audience, and (in some instances) pre-produced video pieces to prompt discussion. The format has attracted a significant, measurable viewing audience - a rarity for local educational programming - of up to 25,000 households in South Carolina and neighboring areas of Georgia and South Carolina. In 2002, Our Health: The HIV/AIDS Crisis, was one of three finalists for a Southeast Region Emmy Award in the news/public service category.
For more information on the Our Health Series, or a VHS or DVD copy of a specific program, contact Richard Jablonski at jablonsr@musc.edu, Latecia Abraham at abrahaml@musc.edu, or Glenn Fleming at flemingg@musc.edu.
Televised Dialogues on Health and Related Issues
All programs broadcast statewide on South Carolina Educational Television and its digital affiliate, The South Carolina Channel:
America’s Armed Forces: Time for a Checkup June 2012
Program description: America’s Armed Forces: Time for a Checkup is a made-for-television dialogue examining the impacts of various health-related issues and conditions on America’s servicemen and women, from recruitment through retirement. CNN Chief National Correspondent John King moderates the program, which includes a diverse panel of experts, illustrative pre-produced video inserts, and studio-audience participation.
Topics include: the impact of soaring obesity rates on military recruitment and retention; the increasing diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury among active-duty and retired military personnel; the quality of care at Veterans Administration facilities; America’s ability to fulfill its promise of healthcare to military personnel and their families; and the impact these issues exact on military preparedness and national security.
South Carolina Educational Television (ETV) delivered the program to viewers statewide, 8 pm, Monday, July 2, 2012. The program continues to air periodically on ETV and its digital affiliates, the South Carolina Channel and ETV World. For future airdates, please check the ETV website, scetv.org. In July 2012, the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) distributed the program by satellite to its public and educational broadcasting affiliates nationwide. Program sponsors include the Southeastern Virtual Institute for Health Equity and Wellness (SE VIEW), a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Defense and the Medical University of South Carolina, and South Carolina State University.
View SCETV's America’s Armed Forces: Time for a Checkup micro site.
Our Health: Bridging the Disparity Divide April 2001
Program description: Panelists and studio audience discuss issues and circumstances contributing to health-status disparities affecting low-income and minority South Carolinians. Topics include access to and affordability of healthcare, the cultural competence of South Carolina’s healthcare practitioners and educators, and the lack of effective public health initiatives in minority communities.
Our Health II: The HIV/AIDS Crisis September 2001
Program description: HIV/AIDS continues to defy public health efforts to reduce its impacts in South Carolina. and nationwide. This program details the impact of HIV/AIDS on South Carolina -- including the disease’sa disproportionate impact on African Americans – and what can be done to reduce those impacts. Our Health: The HIV/AIDS Crisis was a finalist for a Southeast Region Emmy Award.
Our Health III: Youth Violence January 2002
Program description: Panelists and studio audience members - including parents who lost children to violence - examine the causes and impacts of violent behavior among young South Carolinians. Many of the issues discussed in this program continue to resonate in communities and schools across South Carolina.
Our Health IV: The Metabolic Syndrome April 2002
Program description: The Metabolic Syndrome, including such components as obesity, hypertension and diabetes, places minority South Carolinians at disproportionate risk for stroke, kidney disease and other life-threatening conditions. Ironically, Metabolic Syndrome and its components can be treated with diet, exercise and medication. This program looks at the many causes of Metabolic Syndrome and the roadblocks to reducing its impacts.
Our Health V: Special Smiles, Special Needs September 2002
Program description: Panelists and studio members discuss the critical shortage of dentists willing to treat so-called “special needs” patients, whose conditions include Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy and various behavioral issues.
Our Health VI: The Road Less Traveled January 2003
Program description: Rural South Carolinians face many barriers to high-quality health care, including access, affordability and the cultural competence of their physicians. How do we bridge the divide between rural South Carolinians and high-quality health care? The answer may begin with recruiting a generation of physicians willing and able to practice in our state’s rural communities.
Our Health VII: The Stroke Belt April 2003
Program description: This program examines the impacts and implications of South Carolina’s inclusion in the so-called “Stroke Belt,” where residents face disproportionately high incidence and death rates from stroke. Residents of a “belt” of states across the Southeast may find vital information in this program.
Our Health VIII: The Obesity Epidemic November 2003
Program description: Panelists and studio audience discuss the alarming trend both locally and nationally toward obesity, and what South Carolinians can and should do to reduce their obesity-related health risks. As this program illustrates, obesity, though largely treatable, impacts all South Carolinians.
Our Health IX: The Gift of Life February 2004
Program description: Minority South Carolinians face a critical shortage of donor organs at a time when their disproportionately high rates of certain diseases require organ transplantation. Panelists and studio audience address the issues and historic mindset that must be overcome to increase minority organ donation.
Our Health X: The Early Years May 2004
Program description: Panelists and studio audience address the risks faced by South Carolina’s youngest and most vulnerable residents, the state’s youth population. Many of the issues discussed in this program continue to plague South Carolina’s most vulnerable citizens.
Our Health XI: Changing the Face of Healthcare November 2004
Program description: Though many minority South Carolinians would feel more comfortable seeing a physician of their own race, disproportionately few African American and Latino students choose medicine as a career. What can be done to increase the number of minority health care practitioners in South Carolina?
Our Health XII: Cancer in Carolina February 2005
Program description: South Carolinians suffer disproportionate (and preventable) impacts from many types of cancer. How do we reduce these impacts? What resources are available to inform and educate South Carolinians on risk factors and treatments for cancer? Where are we making progress? Where are we falling short?
Our Health XIII: From Worst to First May 2005
Program description: This program serves as a public kick-off and outreach effort relating to the federally funded Stroke Belt Elimination Initiative in South Carolina. Panelists, including a stroke survivor, discuss risk factors that predispose our state’s residents to stroke.
Our Health XIV: The Next Generation February 2006
Program description: Unlike previous Our Health Series programs, this program features a “young” panel of high school and college-aged students, who discuss health risk issues germane to their age group. The dialogue focuses on real and perceived risks and encourages healthy choices and activities to reduce health impacts as the “next generation” ages.
Our Health XV: Access to Care May 2006
Program description: Throughout the Our Health Series, a recurring theme has been the inability of many South Carolinians to gain access to health care. The reasons are many: lack of insurance and/or ability to pay, lack of transportation to distant locations, and discomfort with physicians’ cultural competence, among others. The answer may be as simple as finding - and using - the nearest federally funded community health center.
Our Health XVI: Looking Back, Moving Forward November 2006
Program description: This retrospective revisits many of the key issues and players identified in previous programs, with segments focusing on our state’s progress in addressing HIV/AIDS, the Metabolic Syndrome and youth health. The HIV/AIDS segment describes the disease’s economic toll on South Carolina. The Metabolic Syndrome segment highlights progress achieved through the REACH 2010 initiative. The youth health segment provides updated information from the South Carolina Kids Count project.
Our Health XVII: The Medical Maze November 2007
Program description: As complex as our nation’s healthcare system has become, imagine trying to navigate the “medical maze” with third-grade reading skills, an immigrant’s knowledge of English, or the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Yet, that’s exactly the circumstance millions of Americans face every day in attempting to access, receive and play an active role in their own medical care. Health Literacy - or, more precisely, the lack of it - exacts an enormous toll on all Americans’ pocketbooks, health and quality of life. This program examines this cutting-edge concept and its impact on our state through the eyes of six expert panelists, an active studio audience, and the uplifting first-person account of one South Carolinian’s efforts to enhance his own literacy.
Our Health XVIII: The Noble Profession February 2008
Program description: At a time when healthcare quality, cost and delivery are the subject of national debate, our nation’s healthcare system faces a critical shortage of nurses. In its examination of the “noble profession,” the latestthis installment of the Our Health Series asks important questions about nursing education and the role the next generation of nursing professionals will play in healthcare delivery. ConductedRecorded at ETV Upstate in Spartanburg, the dialogue includes questions from an active and engaged studio audience, comprised largely of nursing students at USC-Upstate.
Our Health XIX: Overcoming Obesity April 2010
Program description: This most recent installment in the Our Health Series offers diverse panelists and studio audience members the opportunity to discuss increasing obesity rates among all age groups of our state’s population. Pre-produced video pieces on youth obesity and community design highlight programs that have a genuine positive impact on South Carolinians.
The following is an excerpt highlighting the Louie's Kids program.
For more information, please contact either Richard Jablonski at jablonsr@musc.edu, Latecia Abraham at abrahaml@musc.edu or Glenn Fleming at flemingg@musc.edu.
