New Health Town Hall Series Premieres on NJTV Tonight

NJTV, New Jersey's public television network, premieres the first program in a new four-part town hall series, The State of NJ's Health.

The first episode, recorded at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children's Hospital of New Jersey and entitled The State of NJ's Health: Growing Healthy Kids, premieres tonight, March 12 at 8pm, with encore presentations Friday, March 14 at 2am and Sunday, March 16 at 6pm on NJTV (check local listings).

Hosted by NJTV News managing editor and anchor Mike Schneider, this town hall discussion examines the causes of the current childhood obesity crisis, the many organizations that have mobilized to tackle the problem and the strategies that are turning the tide, providing viewers with ways to make a difference in their own communities. Solutions include building playgrounds and launching farmer's markets to bringing supermarkets to areas once called "food deserts".

Expert panelists engage in dialogue before an audience of key stakeholders, health and healthcare practitioners and the general public at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children's Hospital of New Jersey, a Barnabas Health facility.

"This is exactly the type of programming public television should be doing," said NJTV General Manager John Servidio. "These town hall discussions localize a national issue, providing beneficial information to help viewers potentially improve their lives and that of their families."

"Preventing childhood obesity is a key step in creating a culture of health, and to do both we need to change the environments and policies where children live, learn, and play," said Marco V. Navarro, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "Our kids need access to healthy foods and safe places to have fun and be physically active. We're excited about the progress we are making in reversing the childhood obesity epidemic, and glad NJTV is getting New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania talking about it."

The State of NJ's Health: Growing Healthy Kids panelists:
Dr. Nwando Anyaoku, Director of General Pediatrics at Children's Hospital/Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
Adrian Benepe, Senior Vice President & Director of City Park Development of The Trust for Public Land
Miguel Brito, Head of School and Executive Director of Philip's Academy Charter School in Newark
Dwayne Proctor, Team Director and Senior Program Officer, Childhood Obesity at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Viewers also gain a child's perspective from Jalen Washington, a participant in the KidsFit Newark Program at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children's Hospital of New Jersey.

The State of NJ's Health: Growing Healthy Kids is a production of NJTV and is made possible by major funding by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and additional support from The Healthcare Foundation of NJ.

Subsequent town halls in the series, still to be scheduled, will tackle other health themes including the state of primary care, mental health and more.

Find out more about The State of NJ's Health at njtvonline.org and on Facebook and Twitter using hashtag #NJTVhealth.

About NJTV

NJTV brings quality public television programs and resources to communities throughout New Jersey and its tri-state neighbors, including acclaimed national PBS series like American Masters, Nature, Charlie Rose, and BBC World News America and state-focused news, arts and public affairs shows, including Reporters Roundtable with Michael Aron, One-on-One with Steve Adubato, Tales of the Jersey Shore, Due Process and State of the Arts. The station's week-nightly news broadcast, NJTV News with Mike Schneider, features stories from across the Garden State. NJTV complements its growing news staff by partnering with state-wide media and higher education institutions. The network's website, http://www.njtvonline.orgposts the latest local news, information and program schedules, and its education section offers local educators free, classroom-ready, digital resources through VITAL NJ.

NJTV is comprised of WNJN, WNJS, WNJB, and WNJT, which collectively broadcast throughout NJ. Formerly New Jersey Network (NJN), NJTV is operated under an agreement with the state of New Jersey by Public Media NJ, Inc. (PMNJ), a non-profit affiliate of WNET, parent company of award-winning New York public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21. Network sponsorships and partnerships are available.

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the largest private foundation in New Jersey and the nation's largest philanthropy working to improve the health and health care of all Americans. We are striving to build a national culture of health that will enable all Americans to live longer, healthier lives now and for generations to come. The Foundation has invested more than $1.5 billion in New Jersey since 1972. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org/nj. Follow the Foundation on Twitter atwww.rwjf.org/twitter or on Facebook at www.rwjf.org/facebook.

About The Healthcare Foundation of NJ (HFNJ)

Established in 1996 with the proceeds of the sale of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center to the Saint Barnabas Healthcare System, The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey is dedicated to reducing disparities in the provision of healthcare and serving the healthcare needs of the most vulnerable and underserved populations in greater Newark and in the Jewish community of MetroWest NJ. To this end, over $108 million in grants have been awarded by the Foundation in its 17-year history.