Mayo Clinic Launches Syndicated Medical Edge Weekend Radio Program

Mayo Clinic Launches Syndicated Medical Edge Weekend Radio Program

Mayo combines traditional, social media to deliver in-depth program with global reach

ROCHESTER, Minn., Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mayo Clinic is announcing the launch of Medical Edge Weekend, a weekly one-hour radio program that offers listeners in-depth information and discussions of important medical topics with Mayo Clinic specialists, including the opportunity to interact via social media tools such as Twitter.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090105/MAYOLOGO )

"What makes our program unique is that we focus on a particular subject each week and have as our guest a Mayo Clinic specialist who has expertise in that area," explains Thomas Shives, M.D., the Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon who hosts the program. "That way, we can provide answers that are more than just general medical information and that reflect the latest research and treatment advances. Many radio and television programs have generalists answering audience questions, but we're talking with the specialists who really know."

For nearly two decades, Dr. Shives hosted a popular program based on a similar format called Healthline on KROC-AM in Rochester, Minn. Through Medical Edge Weekend, with co-host Jess Dhaliwal, M.D., Mayo Clinic is offering the opportunity to listen and interact to a global audience.

"Each week, listeners can learn about the topic for the coming week, ask questions or make comments through our radio.mayoclinic.org Web site," says Lee Aase, the program's executive producer. He says participants can also ask questions via e-mail or through Twitter, using the #mayoradio hashtag, and can listen to the live audio stream on the Web every Saturday at 9 a.m. Central time.

Medical Edge Weekend formally launched this week at the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Show in Philadelphia. The new program already has 12 radio stations as affiliates. Affiliate stations receive the program via mp3 audio files to be aired the week following the live recording.

In addition to Medical Edge Weekend, Mayo also produces a daily one-minute radio feature, a weekly 90-second television news feature and a twice-weekly newspaper column syndicated through Tribune Media Services. For more information on Mayo Clinic's syndicated TV and radio news offerings, contact affiliate relations representative Dana Sparks (sparks.dana@mayo.edu) or 507-538-0844.

About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of "the needs of the patient come first." More than 3,300 physicians, scientists and researchers and 46,000 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in Rochester, Minn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, the three locations treat more than half a million people each year. To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. For information about research and education, visit www.mayo.edu. MayoClinic.com (www.mayoclinic.com) is available as a resource for your health stories.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090105/MAYOLOGO
Source: Mayo Clinic

CONTACT: Dana Sparks of Mayo Clinic, +1-507-284-5005 (days), or
+1-507-284-2511 (evenings), newsbureau@mayo.edu

Web Site: http://radio.mayoclinic.org/

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