| After 23 Years, Dr. Peppercorn Announces
End Of Pioneering Medical TV Program, Oldest In The United States
Long before it became a staple of national cable
television programming, Dr. Robert Peppercorn pioneered the idea
of taking the camera into the operating room. Long before the Discovery
Channel, the Yuba City physician took local viewers into maternity
wards and operating rooms to witness the beginning of life and life-saving
procedures. They witnessed live births, brain surgery, heart surgery,
cataract surgery and dozens of other fascinating procedures. One
show featured a local veterinarian treating an alligator injured
in a car accident. Other shows covered the nuts and bolts of dialysis
and heart surgery, the controversies surrounding HMOs, and even—a
controversial case where a local doctor was accused of the improper
performance of sports physicals on high school students Now, after
nearly a quarter of a century and 200 episodes covering nearly every
possible medical issue, “The Medical Explorer,” believed
to be the oldest running cable television program in the United
States, is ceasing production.
“It’s just time to pull the plug,” Dr. Peppercorn
said. “This program has been very worthwhile to the community
and to me personally, but the amount of time that it is taking away
from my family and my growing practice is a big consideration in
this decision. I will miss the program, but hopefully others will
step up and fill the gap.” “I believe that Dr. Peppercorn’s
Medical Explorer has been the longest running local cable television
program in the history of the United States”, said Fred Kirchubel,
Comcast Cable’s Northern California’s Director of Local
Origination Television, who convinced Dr. Peppercorn to create a
medical program in 1982. “I know of no other cable television
program and especially medical education program, where someone
has dedicated the amount of time and energy as Dr. Peppercorn has
done during the past two decades,” Kirchubel said. |
“He has never received a penny
to put these shows on. He just did it out of his love of television
and enjoyment of educating the public.” Virtually every new
medical doctor in the community in the past 23 years has been introduced
through Dr. Peppercorn’s program. Viewers were taken on tours
of an emergency room and just about every other medical facility in
the Yuba-Sutter region. The first program began with an interview
of Dr. Robert Burky, Sr. before he retired when he was president of
the local medical society. After that, Dr. Peppercorn decided it would
be more interesting to actually venture into medical facilities such
as doctors’ offices, operating rooms, hospitals and other care
centers. For the first time, local residents and viewers of cable
TV were able to venture behind the doors of Rideout Emergency Center,
the new hospital buildings of Rideout and Fremont while they were
being built and after completion, as well as all of the new structures
and procedures performed at Sutter Health’s vast new building
centers. Had he not gone into medicine, Dr. Peppercorn, a well-respected
dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon, would like to have been a Walter
Cronkite or Tom Brokaw— he was that interested in television
reporting. Kirchubel recognized that desire and convinced Dr. Peppercorn
to create a medical education program. “Probably no other person
at that time in our community could have created this,” Kirchubel
said. “His enthusiasm has been unmatchable and we have always
had a great time doing the show.” Doing the show often involved
Dr. Peppercorn racing out of his busy practice at lunchtime to meet
a camera crew at a local medical facility. Of late, time constraints
—and the loss of the participation of program regular Bob Church,
who sold his pharmacy business—has taken its toll. Viewers will
always remember his familiar Chuck Mangione theme song at the beginning
and end of each program. “Many young people whom I have met
in the local medical field have told me that they became interested
in medicine because of my show, and that makes me feel extremely grateful
that I have played a role in their decision to enter medicine.”
|
“People need to understand the
medical profession because it has such a profound influence on our
quality of life. Today, there are many shows on medicine on national
television that deserve our attention—I am sad, however that
the local element will be lost.” Peppercorn enjoyed being a
guinea pig having procedures performed on him during many of the shows.
Some of program’s most enjoyable moments were when he would
get into a CAT scan or MR scan and have his own brain examined. He
also had demonstrations of moles being removed from his arms and back,
and laser hair removal from his arm as well. “I got so much
out of putting these shows together. I feel that I received a full
medical education during the two and a half decades of production,”
said Kirchubel. More than 10 years ago local well known pharmacist,
Bob Church, joined Peppercorn as the local pharmacy expert on the
Medical Explorer. Peppercorn created a segment for Bob called The
Pharmacy Corner. During those years Bob Church discussed numerous
pharmacy and medication issues related to the practice of medicine.
Bob Church also fondly recalled the many hours of Medical Explorer
production. He was always thrilled to have his customers come in and
mention the Medical Explorer program as well. Dr. Peppercorn was sad
to learn that Bob sold his Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy this year. “Bob
became such a great part of the show that I felt it would be hard
to go on without him and his pharmacy,” Peppercorn said.
Now at age 52, with a growing office and 45 employees, Dr. Peppercorn
feels he needs to devote more time to his family, as well as the expanding
medical practice. His daughter Leanna, now 13, will be starting River
Valley High School in the fall. He is also actively recruiting additional
healthcare staff for his Advanced Dermatology and Laser Center as
he expands his satellite offices in Lincoln, Penn Valley, and Colusa.
“I have loved every moment of being able to use television to
explore the medical communities here and sharing these explorations
with our local residents on the Medical Explorer. And, Fred promised
me that I can still be on TV on his local Take 5 news show and continue
to educate our residents about new medical issues. “
|
Purchase
Online Dermatologist-Recommended state-of-the-art Skin Care Products