FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 26, 2008
CONTACT: Jackie McGinnis: 518.880.3524
jmcginnis@wmht.org
WMHT RECEIVES GRANT TO ASSIST CAREGIVERS OF AGING PARENTS
Local public broadcasting station one of only 15 in the country to receive support for outreach activities
TROY, N.Y., March 25, 2008 WMHT Educational Telecommunications in Troy has received a grant from WGBH in Boston to support expanded outreach activities connected to an upcoming national broadcast entitled, CARING FOR YOUR PARENTS. WMHT (17, Time Warner 11) will broadcast that program on April 2 at 9 pm.
As the population ages, many American adults are grappling with an unprecedented social, cultural, economic and personal revolution as they transition into the primary caregiver role for their aging parents. Through the deeply personal stories of five families facing these issues head-on, the national broadcast highlights the struggles to keep parents at home, tensions between siblings, complex financial decisions, and the drama of life and death.
To complement the national broadcast, WMHT has also produced a number of programs that address these care giving issues from a local perspective. On Friday, March 28 at 7:30 pm., coverage of the Paid Family Leave Act will be featured on NEW YORK NOW. On Monday, March 31 at 7:30 pm, the challenges of employers and employees in dealing with caring for aging parents will be features on THE BOTTOM LINE WITH WALLY ALTES. On Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30 and 10:30 pm, a special edition of IT’S AN AGE THING: CARING FOR YOUR PARENTS will profile three families from our area who are each dealing with care giving in different ways. And finally on April 3 at 8 pm. Benita Zahn will host a live call-in show on a special edition of HEALTH LINK that will offer viewers an opportunity to speak with experts in a variety of related fields.
In addition to the broadcasts mentioned above, WMHT has partnered with various care giving and elderly services organizations from across the region to produce a calendar of events geared specifically towards those caring for parents. A complete calendar of events can be found on the WMHT website at wmht.org. The calendar also includes additional broadcast times for each of the programs mentioned above on WMHT’s analog and digital channels. In addition, links for additional information and local resources will also be found on the WMHT website.
Local participating organizations in this project include Albany Guardian Society, Capital Region Caregivers Coalition, the Northeast Caregivers Consortium, Capital District Senior Issues Forum, the New York State Office of the Aging and the Rensselaer County Office of the Aging.
Local sponsors of the programs and activities include Senior Whole Health and New York Long Term Care Brokers. National sponsors include WGBH, Harrah’s Foundation, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and AARP.
For more information, contact Jackie McGinnis, Director of Communications, at 518-880-3524 or jmcginnis@wmht.org.
A trusted community resource for over half a century, WMHT Educational Telecommunications uses the power of non-commercial public television, radio, the web and other media to enrich the lives of more than a half million households throughout eastern New York state and portions of western Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Television broadcast channels include WMHT-TV (17, TWC channel 11), WMHT-HD (17.1, TWC 1811), WMHT-ThinkBright/Create (17.2, TWC 200) and WMHT-World (17.3, TWC 532). Radio stations operated by WMHT include WMHT-FM 89.1 (classical) and WEXT 97.7 (alternative rock). WMHT also operates RISE, a radio reading service for the visually and print disabled. In addition, WMHT offers numerous community outreach and family learning initiatives that inspire, educate and entertain for a lifetime.