Bruce Buehler, M.D., chairman of the UNMC department of pediatrics and director of the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation, will soon assume a new role on the KMTV Channel 3 news team serving as the station’s primary medical news reporter.
Starting the week of August 18, Dr. Buehler will narrate nationally-syndicated health stories airing Mondays and Thursdays during Channel 3’s 10 p.m. newscast. The segments, called “Medical News with Dr. Bruce,” are scheduled to change to Wednesday and Thursday nights in the fall when “Chicago Hope” moves from Monday to Wednesday night. Manuscripts of these segments are available to people who send in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to KMTV.
Sometime this fall, Dr. Buehler also will start appearing live on the 5 p.m. newscast one or two Fridays per month. Viewers can write in their health-related questions for Dr. Buehler to answer during the two-minute segments. In addition, Dr. Buehler will continue to be a regular guest for live, in-studio interviews each Monday at noon.
For the past several years, Dr. Buehler also has done weekly health segments for KMTV which aired at 5:30 p.m. on Sundays. These segments, called “Dr. Bruce’s Medical Journal,” were syndicated to television stations in Oberlin, Kan., Sioux City, Iowa, St. Joseph, Mo., Charleston-Huntington, W.V., Kearney, McCook, North Platte and Scottsbluff, Neb. From 1991 to 1994, he also served as host of “LifeQuest,” a 30-minute weekly health show sponsored by UNMC and airing on Channel 3. Mark Rupp, M.D., assistant professor, internal medicine/infectious disease, is the program’s current host.
“Dr. Buehler has always been a tremendous ambassador for UNMC through his presence on LifeQuest and Channel 3,” said William Berndt, Ph.D., chancellor of UNMC. “We’re excited to see him receive this opportunity to become even a bigger contributor to the Channel 3 news team.”
An Ohio native, Dr. Buehler came to UNMC in 1981 as the director of UNMC’s Center for Human Genetics. He was named director of the Meyer Rehabilitation Institute in 1983 and chairman of pediatrics in 1994. Nationally recognized for his work in genetics, Dr. Buehler played a key role in the recent combining of the Meyer Rehabilitation Institute and the Hattie B. Munroe Pavilion into the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation.
With the increased presence for Dr. Buehler on Channel 3, UNMC now has two physicians who are the primary health reporters for Omaha television stations. Since 1994, Ed Dominquez, M.D., assistant professor, internal medicine/infectious disease, has served as health reporter for KETV Channel 7.
“We’re really proud of Dr. Buehler and Dr. Dominquez for their outstanding work with the news media,” said Dr. Berndt. “They have been instrumental in making the public aware of UNMC and keeping UNMC in the public’s eye.”
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state. Through its commitment to research, education and patient care, UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for and cancer research and treatment and solid organ transplantation. Nearly $25 million in research grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists annually. In addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.