Groundbreaking National TV Show Continues to Tackle tough Issues As Only TV program Produced by an Academic Medical Center
Program to reach 60% of US Households with Launch of 3rd Season
New York City, NY (April 6, 2005) -- Keeping Kids Healthy, a pioneering children's health television series, was awarded two Emmy Awards April 3rd at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 48th Annual New York Emmy Awards dinner, which took place at the Waldorf Astoria's Grand Ballroom. The show won the awards for Health/Science Programming - Single Program or Special and Health/Science Programming - Series. Produced by Montefiore Medical Center in association with Thirteen/WNET New York and now in its third season of national syndication, Keeping Kids Healthy is a weekly television show about better parenting, disease prevention and about keeping kids safe.
"We're thrilled with this recognition, as it's not every day a hospital wins an Emmy, let alone two! "said Spencer Foreman, MD, president, Montefiore Medical Center. "Montefiore is a national leader in developing creative uses for new technologies that enable our world-class doctors, nurses and technicians to provide state-of-the-art care to our patients. Keeping Kids Healthy is an extension of this commitment, allowing us to share critical counsel and real-life healthcare guidance with parents and caregivers across the country.
"We remain committed to the health of our community, and with our Keeping Kids Healthy TV show we've just made the community we serve a little bit larger," said Dr. Foreman.
"Thirteen is proud of its long and fruitful history of partnering with leading New York-based institutions like Montefiore Medical Center," said Dr. William F. Baker, president of Thirteen/WNET New York. "Our collaboration with Montefiore on Keeping Kids Healthy represents the very best of what public television can do on the community level and throughout the nation. I'm very pleased to see an important series like this one, which has the potential to dramatically improve the lives of America's children, receive the recognition it so richly deserves, and Montefiore can take the credit for making it happen," Baker said.
Montefiore made history as the first hospital to produce a children's health television series aimed at educating a local audience about issues critical to the health and vitality of their families and community. In 2001, Montefiore Medical Center engaged Rich Sabreen Enterprises to help develop and produce a new television show. Debuting in May 2002, Keeping Kids Healthy aired on Thirteen/WNET for three seasons locally. American Public Television began syndicating the half-hour show to public television nationwide in April 2004. In less than a year, KKH aired on 148 stations in 89 markets reaching nearly 60% of all US TV households. The show won a Parents' Choice Foundation Award in 2004.
Hosted by Winnie King, MD, a board-certified, practicing physician, Keeping Kids Healthy strives to provide much-needed health information to parents and caregivers. "Winning the Emmys is a thrilling experience for us," said Dr. King. "It validates our belief that there is a tremendous need for programming that informs, inspires and encourages parents today. It also raises the bar for us as we strive to provide even more informative and relevant programming to our viewers."
The series personalizes both medical and psychosocial issues by pairing parents and children who are "living" the topic with nationally recognized medical experts who offer practical advice and tips. This approach ensures that viewers see the human side of each issue, and that parents' concerns are addressed in a down-to-earth, comprehensible manner.
From pre-natal and infancy through late adolescence, Keeping Kids Healthy topics include a mix of medical and psychosocial issues affecting all children. Some past topics include step-parenting and single parenting, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), sports dangers, ear infections, violence in the schools, how to talk to your children about sex, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and how to get your child to go to bed.
Experts appearing on the program hail from leading medical institutions and organizations around the country including the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the National Institutes of Health, The Mayo Clinic, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Children's Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic and Harvard University. Each half-hour episode is shot live on location in the lobby of The Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York City and covers one or two topics per episode.
Keeping Kids Healthy maintains a website, http://www.keepingkidshealthy.org/, that offers detailed background related to each program topic, such as information on guests, expanded resource lists, tips for parents and links to more than 4,000 pages of medical information. The site allows viewers to communicate directly with program staff or obtain copies of programs.
Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, ranks among the top one percent of all US hospitals based on its investments in medical innovation and cutting-edge technology. Montefiore's unique combination of 'state-of-the-art' technology with 'state-of-the-heart' medical and nursing care in a teaching and research environment provides patients with access to world-class medical experts, the newest and most innovative treatments and the best medical center experience anywhere. This 1,062 bed medical center treats all major illnesses and has distinguished centers of excellence in cardiology and cardiac surgery, cancer care, tissue and organ transplantation, children's health, women's health, surgery and the surgical subspecialties. Montefiore Medical Center focuses on providing family-centered healthcare in a nurturing environment that extends well beyond hospital and clinic walls.
Thirteen/WNET New York is one of the key program providers for public television, bringing acclaimed programming to audiences nationwide. As the flagship public broadcaster in the New York metropolitan area, Thirteen reaches millions of viewers each week, airing the best of American public television along with its own, local productions -- including Keeping Kids Healthy. More information about Thirteen can be found at http://www.thirteen.org/.
American Public Television (APT) has been a prime source of programming for the nation's public television stations for 44 years. APT has established a tradition of providing public television stations nationwide with program choices that enable them to strengthen and customize their schedules. For more information about APT's programs and services, go to APTonline.org.
The New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences was founded on November 15, 1955 by Ed Sullivan. New York Chapter members come from all aspects of the television industry: production, post-production, managerial, talent, technical, support services, etc., and from companies including broadcast networks, cable programming services, local stations, independent production companies, advertising agencies, unions, guilds and more.