We are proud to announce that QPTV has received a first place award at the Alliance for Community Media 2009 Hometown Video Awards in the professional division's "Making a Difference" category for the program:The Circle of Life: Excellence in Queens Health Care - Life Begins
The Circle of Life: Excellence in Queens Health Care, is a medical series produced at various hospitals in the borough of Queens. Initially, this series was created to portray the excellent health care services that are available at the hospitals and health care facilities within our community. However, the Circle of Life series is more than that. It also tells the stories of Queens residents who undergo, in one way or another, the difficult task of deciding what treatment options might be right for their medical condition.

They are not paid actors, the participants in this series are real doctors and medical professionals, real patients and, sometimes, their families. They are not paid actors; they are patients who are pregnant; they are babies; they are victims of cancer, and they are drug addicts, and some who can't stop smoking. They are nurses, doctors, and health care professionals who are dedicated, not only to their jobs, but also to making their patients as comfortable as possible. They work in hospitals that provide essential services to the Queens community. This series delves into the world of doctors, specialists and health care professionals, highlighting their work in the healing arts. They explain what they do as we get to see fascinating procedures that most are not privy to. Our cameras are in the operating rooms as physicians save, sustain, and welcome lives into the world. They explain procedures so that we, the viewing public, gain insight into the techniques that are available in the practice of medicine. We watch, we listen, and we learn about choices that are available to us right here in Queens.

The concept for this series was developed by Dr. Sandra Delson, Chair of Queens Public Television's Program Committee. Ms. Delson saw a real need for programs featuring health care in Queens. She wanted to get the message across that Queens County has excellent hospitals and health care facilities. Dr. Delson sought to dispel the myth that if you wanted the best health care you had to go to Manhattan. Thus the title for the series "Excellence in Queens Health Care." Her idea of documenting the various types of health care available from birth to old age prompted QPTV Program Committee, Nayibe Berger, John B. Haney, Joan Serrano-Laufer, and Alfred Harris, to support the endeavor through Queens Public Television's Grant-Aid Program. There were many meetings to develop the concept. Gail Sherwood, a QPTV advisor, added the subtitle, "The Circle of Life."

The stage: Elmhurst Hospital Medical Center, Flushing Hospital Medical Center, Forest Hills Hospital Medical Center, Jamaica Medical Center, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New York Hospital Queens, Peninsula Hospital Center and Schneider Children's Hospital.

The production team worked diligently to bring the project to life. They are: Daniel J. Leone, Executive Producer; Gail Bleckman, Supervising Producer; Bob Strahle and Gail Bleckman, Editors; Rene Valdivia, Director of Photography; Rene Valdivia, John Collins and Ravi Hussein, Camera Operators; John Collins, Lighting & Audio Engineer; Gail Bleckman, Writer & Director; Melanie Blakie, Jackie McCann, Peter Mendoras, and Christine LeSane, Production Assistants; Jonathan Mankuta, Associate Producer; Roslyn Nieves, Community Development Manager; James Faber, Webmaster; Clifford Jacobs, Online Writer and Linda Fanning, Executive Assistant.

The award winning program entitled Life Begins features twins who make their debut in the world prematurely. This episode explores the complications surrounding pregnancy.

Some of the content is extremely graphic; however, that's the reality of health care. During brain urgery the brain is exposed. During an angioplasty there will be blood loss that's unavoidable. Unavoidable and real.

So tune in if you missed any of the programs, education and early detection is a key factor in preventing health problems. The Circle of Life: Excellence in Queens Health Care will teach viewers something they don't know: whether it's watching a new baby being brought into the world by way of a cesarean-section, what to do to avoid having a heart attack, or where to go if you're a substance abuser in need of help. The Circle of Life: Excellence in Queens Health Care is a series that will benefit our community.

More:

- Circle of Life on QPTV.org

- Watch Webisodes