FEATURE
WE ’ RE ROLLING : The Story ( So Far ) of Kentucky Health
Aaron Burch
Today , Kentucky Health is now a staple of educational health care programming on KET . As of May 2017 , the show is nearing 20 years in production and 250 shows taped , equaling roughly 125 hours of original content . Those who made Kentucky Health possible transformed a once distant goal of “ educating citizens about health issues ” into a tangible and reliable resource for Kentucky residents .
Twenty-two years ago , Dr . Wayne Tuckson wasn ’ t thinking about television . Rather , he wanted to address the health care disparity that existed between African-American and Caucasian communities . He , along with Kathy Mayberry-Washington founded The African-American Health Initiative ( TAAHI ) to correct this disparity .
“ The initiative had three main legs : education , research and prevention services ,” Dr . Tuckson said . What they found early on was that those issues affecting the poor health status of the African-American community were not unique to that community , but also affected other racial and socioeconomic groups .
It became clear that those populations with poor health status often had a low health IQ , or a lack of awareness of normal health and disease states . This lack of understanding often limited the patient ’ s ability and desire to participate in their own health care . It was thought that if health information could be presented in a non-threatening manner and made easily accessible , then health IQ could be raised .
Back in the late 1990s , as Dr . Tuckson began to imagine what a television show could look like , his initial plan for dissemination of these shows was to make copies of each episode on VHS and distribute them within lower income communities to businesses , churches , libraries , etc . New and topical health care information would be within reach as long as Louisville residents knew where to look .
So , from humble beginnings , the show began .
Originally titled Louisville Health , the program was taped at night in the video department of Norton Healthcare . Dr . Tuckson credits the head of Norton ’ s Audio / Video Unit , Rucell Cobb , with the show finding its feet . Mr . Cobb would take the shows to the University of Louisville to make edits and smooth out the final cut . Also essential in the early days was Kathy Mayberry-Washington , who hosted a radio show devoted to healthy living . She became Dr . Tuckson ’ s cohost and roving reporter , interviewing average residents of Louisville to see what they knew about basic health care dilemmas .
“ Initially , the idea was that she would talk to everyday people and ask them simple things like , ‘ What are the signs of a heart attack ?’ and I ’ d use that to guide the show through different points ,” Dr . Tuckson explained . This would become the format for the first few years of Louisville Health .
“ I probably could not have done the show without Kathy ’ s help ,” he said . “ She was very instrumental in the early years .”
Although Louisville Health was Dr . Tuckson ’ s first time in front of a camera , he took to it naturally . He ’ d been speaking in public since medical school , where even as a freshman he worked with the DC Chapter of the American Cancer Society giving community talks on cancer . “ I wasn ’ t intimidated by the camera , because the people I worked with made starting out very easy ,” he said .
While Dr . Tuckson was a natural , there were other hurdles to overcome . One of the most glaring issues was that the initial show had just one camera from which to tape every bit of footage needed . “ We might start with the camera on me , asking the guest a question . Then , once I asked the question , the filming would pause and the crew would turn the camera to the guest so they could answer . And back and forth like that ,” Dr . Tuckson laughed . “ Our guests were very kind and patient with us .”
The first few years were a learning experience . As Louisville ( continued on page 14 )
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