Monica Bertagnolli, MD, the 17th director of the National Institutes of Health joins UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, this evening at 5 p.m. CST on a live broadcast of “Rural Health Matters” on RFD-TV.
Dr. Bertagnolli is the latest headliner to appear with Dr. Gold on the weekly television broadcast, which delivers high-level yet accessible expertise on science, health, agriculture, the economy and more to RFD-TV’s national rural audience. “Rural Health Matters” is produced by RFD-TV in conjunction with UNMC and hosted by Dr. Gold and RFD-TV’s award-winning anchor and meteorologist Christina Loren.
Here is an archive of previous “Rural Health Matters” episodes.
Guests have included a mix of regional and national figures – officials from the NIH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, high-ranking military, members of Congress and more – and UNMC’s own Nebraska stakeholders, extended med center family and faculty with national-level expertise.
Monday night’s guest, Dr. Bertagnolli, is the first surgeon and second woman to serve as NIH director. She oversees the work of the largest funder of biomedical and behavioral research in the world and is former director of the National Cancer Institute. And she is a rural American herself, having grown up on a Wyoming cattle ranch.
Dr. Gold said UNMC is grateful to RFD-TV for having the generosity and foresight to create and air the show as a public service during the pandemic. But “Rural Health Matters” has since become so much more, addressing a myriad of issues that affect rural America.
A 2022 episode featuring since-retired director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, MD, earned a silver honor in the 44th annual Telly Awards.
“It is incredibly gratifying for our academic health science center to have a hand in bringing these experts to RFD-TV’s national rural audience and vice-versa,” the chancellor said.
As a result, UNMC increasingly is becoming a household name throughout rural America.
RFD-TV’s corporate headquarters are in Omaha, and broadcast operations are in Nashville. It is available in 52 million homes via cable or streaming and “is the nation’s first 24-hour television network featuring programming focused on the agribusiness, equine and the rural lifestyles, along with traditional country music and entertainment,” according to its website.
Viewers at home often take part in the show with live call-in questions. Call 877-731-6733 to ask Dr. Bertagnolli a question or take part in the show.