Tuesday, Dec. 11 2012 5:01PM
LS doctor visits Oz in NY
By Russ Pulley
rpulley@lsjournal.com
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ReprintA Lee’s Summit physician will be on the Dr. Oz Show this week along with a couple of area residents.
Steve Salanski, a Lee’s Summit resident and a member of the city’s Health Education Advisory Board, will be on the show, along with two others from Kansas City.
The show was recorded in New York on Nov. 19 and will be broadcast 4 p.m. Dec. 13 locally on Channel 9.
Mehmet Oz is a cardiothoracic surgeon, author and host of the televised health show.
Salanski works for HCA, owner of Lee’s Summit Medical Center and other hospitals in the Kansas City area, which is a sponsor of the television show. He is a physician in residency at Research Medical Center’s Brookside campus.
When Oz came to Kansas City in October for one if its “15-Minute Physical” events. Salanski was one of the doctors helping with that event.
Oz and Research staff screened 800 people at the event, using finger sticks to test blood sugar and cholesterol, checking for hypertension and other health indicators. Some were given longer consultations for more advice, Salanski said.
A Pleasant Hill woman who works in Lee’s Summit participated in the screening. She does not have health insurance, but was connected with the MetroCARE program, where physicians agree to see eligible people without insurance in their offices for no charge.
The Oz show also wanted to get her membership in a gym and Salanski suggested RevUP, a wellness program offered by Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation.
The theme of the episode is to show how lives were changed because of the Oz Show, Salanski said. He said that after talking to people backstage he was impressed with the show’s impact.
“It’s an amazing level of support that these people have gotten from Dr. Oz and his staff,” Salanski said.
He said Oz was a gracious host. In the middle of rehearsal Oz noticed Salanki’s wife taking pictures. Oz stopped the rehearsal to go shake her hand and speak to her. Salanski said he had to sign multiple agreements and releases, have his hair done and makeup for the recording session in front of a small live audience. He said it was “very neat” to see that side of television. He said he does a fair amount of public speaking and never gets nervous. But being on a nationally-televised show even got him going.
“My heart started pounding so hard and fast I thought, I was sure they could hear it on the microphone attached at my chest,” Salanski said.
