I hope you enjoyed Ken Burns’s latest series, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea on WXXI.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stopped over the past few weeks by people who watched the series and loved it. 

I’ve also heard a few stories about how the series inspired people to make a point of visiting more of our parks – including our state parks and historic sites.  Ken Burns can really inspire people to get up and take action – we know that from the Civil War series, and the increase in visits to national sites. If you’d like to keep up with the Parks series and see what other viewers around the national had to say, please visit the program Web site at PBS.org.

Also, I hope you had an opportunity to tune in to Second Opinion: H1N1 Special Edition.   We know you have questions about the H1N1 virus, and Second Opinion has the answers.  We’ll be doing more programming around this important subject in the weeks and months ahead.

We’re proud of the health programming and outreach provided by WXXI to our community and nation.  Many of our viewers and listeners turn to WXXI as a place for news, information, children’s shows or local and national arts and cultural programming.  And more and more people are turning to us for health information – whether it’s coverage of the debate over health care or for programs that make a difference in their lives.

For example, I recently returned from a Public Television Health Fair on Capitol Hill where WXXI was selected as one of only a handful of public broadcasters to present its efforts in health programming and health education.  We were part of an exhibition with some of the largest stations in the country.  In the midst of the best from around the nation, Rochester stood out for its diversity of programming, events and services, and the way we connect with our community.

The focal point of my Washington presentation was Second Opinion, produced in partnership with the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), which launched its sixth season at the beginning of October.  I spoke about our recent Caregiver Initiative – a combination of dedicated Second Opinion programming and extensive outreach efforts directed specifically towards caregivers, their families and medical professionals. The effort saw great returns as both doctors and caregivers, who watched the three specific episodes, reported that more substantial efforts of communication between the two would result. The outreach work was supported by print resources in English and Spanish, DVDs with special features and resources, and a comprehensive caregiver Web site. The initiative was funded through a grant from the Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation.

Whether it’s helping caregivers be more effective, educating people about the H1N1 virus, tackling childhood obesity through our Healthy You initiative, or providing women helpful information at our Speaking of Women’s Health Conference, WXXI is your source for comprehensive health news and analysis in our community.

As our region’s media partner in health issues and a leader in the discussion of the topic, you can be certain that the information you get from WXXI and WXXI.org will be the most extensive available. You can trust WXXI to be the place to go for clear, concise and valuable heath information. For more, please visit our Health page on this site.

All of us at WXXI hope the information you get from our local experts, from PBS and NPR, will help you to Stay Healthy!