Public Health

A ventriloquist and magician, WVSOM president pulls TV show out of his hat

With his dummy, Joey, as his sidekick, Michael D. Adelman, DO, DPM, JD, promotes healthful habits for kids on “Abracadabra.”

Most medical school leaders spend their days championing their institutions while wrestling with the multitudinous challenges facing medical education and health care. Michael D. Adelman, DO, DPM, JD, also finds the time to leverage his lifelong hobbies of ventriloquism and magic to fight childhood obesity.

With his dummy, Joey, as his sidekick, the president of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) in Lewisburg hosts a new children’s television show on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Dr. Adelman promotes both the school and healthful habits on “Abracadabra,” which started airing throughout the state this week.

During the rest of the summer, the half-hour show will air on West Virginia PBS stations Monday through Friday at 1 p.m. In the fall, it will air on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

“It’s a unique show that will appeal to children while delivering an important message about health,” says Richard L. Carter, the director of television production for West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

A part-time professional magician and ventriloquist for more than 40 years, Dr. Adelman came up with the show’s concept while a student at the Des Moines (Iowa) University College of Osteopathic Medicine in the late 1970s. He hosted early, simpler iterations of the program for local commercial TV stations in Des Moines and Toledo, Ohio.

Because West Virginia is a leading state for childhood obesity and ranks first in heart disease and hypertension, Dr. Adelman pitched the latest version of “Abracadabra” as a vehicle for improving public health in the state. “We decided that the best way to do this is to model healthful behavior for young children,” Dr. Adelman says. “Every episode has something to do with health. On one episode, we ask children to choose the healthiest entrée among a hamburger, fried fish and grilled chicken. We explain why grilled chicken is the best choice, showing the amount of fat, sugar and salt in each item.”

On another episode, children learn how to make “lady bug apples,” a nutritious snack of peanut butter, raisins and pretzel sticks inside cored apples. Each episode also includes a minute of exercise, in which all of the characters, even Joey, take part.

Known simply as “Mike” on the show, which is set in a magic shop, Dr. Adelman performs and explains magic tricks during every episode. For his card tricks, he uses a specially designed set of playing cards in which fruits replace the traditional suits. “So you have the eight of grapes instead of the eight of spades,” he says.

“Abracadabra” also features humorous health-related songs composed and sung by Jeff Kerscher, JD, the show’s musical director, whose brother and father are osteopathic physicians. And WVSOM anatomy professor and administrator James W. Nemitz, PhD, plays a pivotal role as “Professor Science.”

Thirteen episodes of “Abracadabra” have been produced so far. “All three sponsors are on board for the second season, and the state of West Virginia has allocated $100,000 in funding as well,” Dr. Adelman says. “Abracadabra” has been endorsed by the West Virginia Department of Education.

The show’s producers hope to take “Abracadabra” national in 2013. “We are excited about the opportunity to promote good health, our school and osteopathic medicine and hope we soon can reach a wider PBS audience,” Dr. Adelman says.

Watch a clip from “Abracadabra.”

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