Press Contact: Teri L. Sullivan
WKNO/Channel 10
(901) 729-8735
tlsullivan@wkno.org
Christ Community Health Services Press Contact:
Jessica Neal, Obsidian Public Relations
(901) 484-8920
jessica@obsidianpr.com
May 17, 2010
For Immediate Release
New WKNO Documentary Explores Christ Community Health Services’ Extraordinary History, Impact
WKNO-TV will present a new half-hour documentary on the history and impact of an extraordinary Memphis-area health service organization, Christ Community Health Services. Christ Community: A Ministry of Care will premiere on Thursday, May 27 at 8:30 p.m. on WKNO/Channel 10. The broadcast of the documentary is sponsored by Baptist Memorial Health Care; Grinder, Taber and Grinder, Inc; and Tennessee Primary Care Association.
Christ Community Health Services is a not-for-profit, Christian organization focused on fulfilling the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of Memphis’ underprivileged, medically underserved families. The organization was founded in 1995 by four physicians – David Pepperman, Rick Donlon, Karen Miller and Steve Besh – who shared a vision to integrate their medical training with the call of their Christian faith by serving the medically underprivileged. It was through their prayer and determination that the organization was founded, and their dedication to exhibiting faith through service remains a core value at Christ Community today.
“Some physicians ask why I chose this, but helping found Christ Community is a decision I’ll never second-guess,” said founding physician Rick Donlon. “For a number of our young physicians, clinical rotations with us during residency altered their trajectory. Some have chosen to care for the needy, and maybe that wasn’t their initial plan.”
Christ Community annually delivers health care to more than 48,000 people in some of Memphis’ most in-need communities – southwest Memphis, Frayser, Orange Mound, Binghampton and Hickory Hill – through seven medical/dental clinics and mobile medical services and provides additional services to more than 67,000 people through its outreach programs. In total, Christ Community touches more than 115,000 lives in Memphis each year.
“In the 15 years since its founding, Christ Community has been able to make an incredible impact on medically underserved communities in Memphis, but a great need still remains,” said Burt Waller, executive director of Christ Community Health Services. “We are dedicated to continuing to identify communities in need and expanding the range and scope of our services.”
Produced and directed by award-winning producer Pierre Kimsey, Christ Community: A Ministry of Care explores the dedication of these doctors and nurse practitioners and why they serve. “It’s about issues of faith,” said Kimsey. “These people could be earning a large amount of money and are drawn, through their faith in God, to serve in these communities.” Many of them, he went on to explain, don’t just work in the clinics, but also live in the communities the clinic serves.
“This new documentary,” said Michael LaBonia, WKNO President and CEO, “is the next in a long line of WKNO productions that highlight some of the most extraordinary institutions in the Mid-South. It shows WKNO’s commitment not only to great television but to programs that tell a story about the community in which we live.”
Christ Community: A Ministry of Care premieres Thursday, May 27 at 8:30 p.m. on WKNO/Channel 10 and repeats overnight at 1:30 a.m. It also airs Friday, May 28 at 9 p.m. on WKNO2, available on digital Channel 10.2 or on Comcast Digital Cable on Channel 910.
About Christ Community Health Services
Founded in 1995, Christ Community Health Services is a not-for-profit, Christian organization focused on fulfilling the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of the underprivileged, medically underserved population of Memphis. Geographically diverse communities throughout Memphis are served by seven medical/dental clinics, mobile medical services and outreach programs. For more information about Christ Community Health Services, please visit www.christcommunityhealth.org.
About WKNO
WKNO is a non-profit, private foundation serving the Mid-South for more than 50 years. An important community resource, WKNO uses the power of non-commercial public broadcasting to provide the Mid-South with quality educational and cultural programs that inform, entertain, and inspire. For more information: wkno.org
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