Press Releases
‘Sharing Miracles’ Program Expands to 100 TV Stations
Washington, DC (May 8, 2008) – Sharing Miracles – a 30-minute public affairs television program that tells the compelling and inspirational stories of real patients – is now airing on 100 television stations across the United States.
Hosted by former Congressman and cancer survivor Billy Tauzin, now the president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Sharing Miracles is designed to provide a forum for dialogue about the role of disease in the lives of Americans and how patients have learned to live with – and often, overcome – chronic conditions. Sharing Miracles is produced by PhRMA’s Communications & Public Affairs Department. It began airing in fall 2007 on one network affiliated station in the Washington, DC, area, but has quickly been added to television schedules around the country.
This month’s episode features Leave it to Beaver star Jerry Mathers, who has lived with diabetes for 10 years and now works tirelessly as a patient advocate. In the current episode, he says, “I’ve been so blessed, and I’ve had so many good things happen to me, that if I can help just one, two, maybe even 1,000 people – as many as I can – it makes my heart feel good.”
Previous episodes of Sharing Miracles have featured Emmy Award-winning actor Joey Pantoliano, who has clinical depression; former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, who is battling colon cancer; syndicated television talk show host Montel Williams, who suffers from multiple sclerosis; cancer survivor and mountain climber Sean Swarner; and breast cancer survivors Mayte Prida, a Telemundo personality, and North Carolina State University women’s basketball coach Kay Yow. Future programs will highlight Olympic Gold Medal winners Greg Louganis, who suffers from HIV, Mark Spitz, who has high cholesterol, and Bruce Jenner, who has attention deficit disorder; and pop icon and Broadway star Deborah Gibson, who has suffered from devastating anxiety attacks.
The show also features scientists who work for America’s pharmaceutical research companies and patient advocates. In addition, the show helps to spread the word about the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a program sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical research companies to help uninsured and financially-struggling patients access information on programs that provide prescription medicines for free or nearly free. The Partnership for Prescription Assistance has already helped nearly 5 million Americans. For more information, visit www.pparx.org or call 1-888-4PPA-NOW.
Sharing Miracles airs on Sunday mornings – in 37 television markets, reaching more than 20 million households – on the following network-affiliated stations:
- WUSA-TV (CBS), Washington, DC, 12 noon-12:30 pm
- WCIA-TV (CBS), Springfield/Champaign/Urbana/Decatur, IL, 10:30 am-11 am
- WLAJ-TV (ABC), Lansing, MI, 11 am-11:30 am
- WNYT-TV (NBC), Albany/Schenectady/Troy, NY, 11:30 am-12 noon
- KOVR-TV (CBS), Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, CA, 6 am-6:30 am
- WBRZ-TV (ABC), Baton Rouge, LA, 11 am-11:30 am
- WAPT-TV (ABC), Jackson, MS, 9 am-9:30 am
- WOWK-TV (CBS), Charleston/Huntington, WV, 11:30 am-12 noon
- WSYX-TV (ABC), Columbus, OH, 7:30 am-8 am
- WNAC-TV (FOX), Providence, RI, 10:30 am-11 am
- WMTW-TV (ABC), Portland/Augusta, ME, 11:30 am-12 noon
- KHBB-TV (ABC), Helena, MT, 10 am-10:30 am
- KIVI-TV (ABC), Boise, ID, 8 am-8:30 am
- WXIN-TV (FOX), Indianapolis, IN, 11:30 am-12 noon
- WMBD-TV (CBS), Peoria, IL, 10 am-10:30 am
- WTWC-TV (NBC), Tallahassee, FL, 10 am-10:30 am
- WWL-TV (CBS), New Orleans, LA, 7:30 am-8 am
- WOI-TV (ABC), Des Moines, IA, 6:30 am-7 am
- WKOW-TV (ABC), Madison, WI, 11 am-11:30 am
- KFBB-TV (ABC), Great Falls, MT, 10 am-10:30 am
- WVNY-TV (ABC), Burlington/Montpelier, VT, 11:30 am-12 noon
- WHBF-TV (CBS), Davenport, IA/Moline, IL, 10 am-10:30 am
- KEYE-TV (CBS), Austin, TX, 10:30 am-11 am
- KDEV-TV (ABC), Cheyenne, WY, 7:30 am-8:00 am
- KTKA-TV (ABC), Topeka, KS, 8:30 am-9 am
- WRAZ-TV (FOX), Raleigh, NC, 7:30 am-8 am
- KATV-TV (ABC), Little Rock, AK, 10 am-10:30 am
- WMAR-TV (ABC), Baltimore, MD, 6 am-6:30 am
- KDLT-TV (NBC), Sioux Falls, SD, 9 am-9:30 am
- WRLH-TV (FOX), Richmond, VA, 10 am-10:30 am
- KRCG-TV (CBS), Columbia/Jefferson City, MO, 10:30 am-11 am
- WNCF-TV (ABC), Montgomery, AL, 9:30 am-10 am
- KBMY-TV (ABC), Minot/Bismarck, ND, 9 am-9:30 am
- KLKN-TV (ABC), Lincoln, NE, 10:30 am-11 am
- WACH-TV (FOX), Columbia, SC, 11 am-11:30 am
- KOCO-TV (ABC), Oklahoma City, OK, 11 am-11:30 am
- WHTM-TV (ABC), Harrisburg, PA, 11 am-11:30 am.
Community stations airing Sharing Miracles are located in the following cities: Del Mar, CA; Gilroy, CA; Hayward, CA; Pasadena, CA; Petaluma, CA; Sacramento, CA; Santa Barbara, CA; Aurora, CO; Bridgeport, CT; Hamden, CT; Hartford, CT; Madison, CT; Plainville, CT; Tampa, FL; Atlanta, GA; Mountain Home, ID; Batavia, IL; Bloomington, IN; Covington, KY; Vicksburg, KY; Lafayette, LA; Boston, MA; Carver, MA; East Longmeadow, MA; Easthampton, MA; Lexington, MA; Sandwich, MA; Worcester, MA Mexico, ME; Cadillac, MI; Farmington Hills , MI; Kalamazoo, MI; Bloomington, MN; Champlin, MN; Duluth, MN; Hutchinson, MN; Minneapolis, MN; Columbia, MO; Londonderry, NH; Manchester, NH; North Conway, NH; Princeton, NJ; Albuquerque, NM; Los Alamos, NM; Minden, NV; Fairport, NY; Staten Island, NY; Tivoli, NY; Macedonia, OH; Norwood, OH; Gettysburg, PA; Reading, PA; White River Junction, VT; Bremerton, WA; Longview, WA; Port Townsend, WA; Seattle, WA; Toppenish, WA; Janesville, WI; River Falls, WI; Webster, NY; Whitehall, WI; Wisconsin Rapids, WI.
The show’s corresponding Web site, www.sharingmiracles.com, is an interactive forum for people to relate their own personal stories of hope and survival. Every patient's battle is unique, but the collective power of shared experiences can offer great help and courage to others who are fighting for their lives.
The Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) helps uninsured and financially-struggling patients access information on programs that provide prescription medicines for free or nearly free. To find out if they may qualify for help, patients should call toll-free 1-888-4PPA-NOW to speak with a trained specialist or visit www.pparx.org.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA companies are leading the way in the search for new cures. PhRMA members alone invested an estimated $44.5 billion in 2007 in discovering and developing new medicines. Industry-wide research and investment reached a record $58.8 billion in 2007.
PhRMA Internet Address: www.phrma.org
For information on stories of hope and survival, visit: http://sharingmiracles.com/
PhRMA en Español: www.nuestraphrma.org
For information on how innovative medicines save lives, visit: www.innovation.org
For information on the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, visit: www.pparx.org
For information on the danger of imported drugs, visit: www.buysafedrugs.info