A virtual town hall is scheduled with some of the region’s top health care officials answering questions about the pandemic.
A community discussion of the coronavirus threat in the Roanoke Valley will take place on live television April 6 at 7 p.m. The discussion will involve—and be sponsored by—the region’s largest health care organizations: Carilion Clinic, LewisGale Medical Center, Salem VA Medical Center and the Virginia Department of Health.
The program will be aired on the region’s ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates: WDBJ, WFXR, WSET and WSLS, all television stations and the moderator will be Karen McNew, a former television news reporter and anchor, who now works for Carilion in Public Information.
The panelists will include Dr. Molly O’Dell, director of communicable disease control for the Alleghany Health District; Dr. Paul Skolnik, chairman of the department of medicine at Carilion; Dr. Steven Pasternak, chief of staff and emergency room director at Lewis-Gale; and Dr. Thomas Martin, chief of medicine at the Salem Veterans Administration Hospital.
Panelists will answer questions from the public and topics will include: the current situation in our community and health systems; what people need to do; and how community members can plan and help, among other topics.
About the Writer:
Dan Smith is an award-winning Roanoke-based writer/author/photographer and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame (Class of 2010). His blog, fromtheeditr.com, is widely read and he has authored seven books, including the novel CLOG! He is founding editor of a Roanoke-based business magazine and a former Virginia Small Business Journalist of the Year (2005).