MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Can tomatoes affect your arthritis? What’s involved in getting a stress test? Should you try the latest fitness craze? Those are some of the questions that will be answered by WVU Healthcare experts on an hour-long live special “Doctors On Call,” Thursday at 8 p.m. on West Virginia Public Television.
After 22 seasons of answering viewers’ health questions nearly every Thursday evening, “Doctors On Call” will now instead be offering viewers a new quarterly, extended version of the popular program. It will include interviews of patients, an audience participation survey, and a kitchen/cooking segment.
“We’re really excited about this new version of ‘Doctors On Call’ and the opportunity to enhance what we’ve been offering for a couple of decades – great health information for West Virginians,” longtime producer Amy Johns, director of public affairs for WVU Healthcare and Health Sciences, said. “We’ll still have the live, call-in portion as part of the program, but along with that, we’re offering so much more.”
The topic of the call-in portion of the program this Thursday is arthritis. WVU Healthcare rheumatologists Jim Brick, M.D., and JoAnn A. Hornsby, M.D., will answer viewers’ questions.
In addition to the latest health news, the program will include a segment titled “It’s No Big Deal,” in which an exercise stress test is explained; “DOC in the Kitchen” will explore which foods may help or hurt your joints; and the “DOC Demo” will demonstrate assistive devices for people who have arthritis.
Each show will also feature the “DOC Survey” – a chance for viewers to text or go online to choose answers to a question about health. The survey results will be revealed at the end of the program. This week’s topic involves how much sleep people are getting.
A couple compelling patient stories will be featured, including a story about an injured young athlete and the progressive treatment he’s trying and the story of Meg Throckmorton, who was paralyzed for a time after a fall in dance class.
“We are proud to be able to partner with WVU Healthcare on the relaunch of ‘Doctors on Call,’” Scott Finn, executive director of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, said. “It’s always been one of our most popular shows, and now it is packed with even more relevant health information that West Virginians need.”
The hosts for the show this week are Carl “Rolly” Sullivan, M.D., and John Phillips, M.D. Also featured in taped segments will be WVU Healthcare physicians Mahreen Hashmi, M.D., Kathy Moffett, M.D., and Joe Prudhomme, M.D., all five of whom took turns hosting the previous version of “Doctors On Call.”
Social media is also being used to enhance the program. Highlights will be tweeted live on Thursday evening (@DOCWVU). Viewers may also get updates, suggest topics and provide feedback anytime on Facebook (www.facebook.com/DoctorsOnCallWVU).
