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by Kevin M. Sanders
On Dec. 14, the Ohio University College of Osteopathic
Medicine received a $50,000 check from the American Osteopathic
Association (AOA) to support its Family Health®
radio series. The presentation of this check and a visit by an
AOA public relations representative marked a renewal of national
support for the radio program.
This year’s grant is part of a two-year commitment from the AOA, with
another $50,000 to come next year. The AOA had previously
supported Family Health® on an annual basis,
but that support stopped in 1997.
“It is our intent at the AOA,”
says George Thomas, D.O., president of the AOA, “to help
Family Health® have more widespread reach across
the country.
“The program has a wide and
bright future, in the sense that it is a very good educational
vehicle for the patient and a mechanism to emphasize the
importance of osteopathic medicine.”
Family Health®,
a daily series of 2-1/2 minute radio programs, is heard on more
than 225 radio stations and reaches 11 million listeners daily
in the United States. The series is also heard worldwide on the
U.S. Armed Forces Radio Network; all stations receive the
program monthly, free of charge, on compact disc. The program
provides practical, easy-to-understand information on common
health problems and the latest health-care developments.
“I’m very pleased that the
American Osteopathic Association has decided to once again be a
major underwriter of Family Health®,” says
Carl Denbow, Ph.D., OU-COM special media project director.
“This support has made it possible for our show to continue
during this time of tight budgets in the higher education system
of Ohio. We will work closely with the public relations office
of the AOA to make sure that its goals for this show are met,
especially in terms of marketing the program to stations in
specific target areas.”
Karyn Szurgot, director of public relations for the AOA, says, “Since 1981
OU-COM and Ohio University’s Telecommunications Center have
produced a quality family health radio program that has helped
to educate consumers about their health as well as about D.O.s
and osteopathic medicine. The AOA hopes that its renewed
financial support will help to increase the number of radio
stations using the Family Health® radio
program, nationally and internationally.”
Jon Wills, executive director of
the Ohio Osteopathic Association, noted the statewide
organization has supported Family Health®
since it first hit the airwaves in 1981. “We are happy to help
facilitate expanded support for this high-quality program,” he
says.
“This generous
support from the American Osteopathic Association allows OU-COM
to bring important medical information to people throughout the
United States and around the world,” says Jack Brose, D.O.,
dean of OU-COM. “Community service is a major priority of our
medical school, and
Family Health®
helps to meet that mission.”
“I think this is a great
opportunity,” says Thomas, “to become more involved with
participating stations and to have more airings of the Family
Health® radio series.
“That would have a great impact
of bringing the message of what a D.O. is to the American public
as a whole.”
News for the week of Dec. 6 – Dec. 11
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