LMU and Ramp It Up Entertainment Partner to Create Reality Series

Documentary-style production will spotlight Appalachian house calls made by osteopathic medical students and their mentor physicians.

Harrogate, TN, December 14, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) in Harrogate, Tenn., and ramp it up entertainment in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., announced today that they have signed an exclusive agreement to develop a reality television, web and mobile-based series tentatively titled “Black Bag Warriors.”

The concept for the series was generated by Dennis Gelbaum, CEO and managing director of ramp it up entertainment. Gelbaum conceived the idea after reading about fourth-year LMU-DCOM student Dena Krishnan in the September 27, 2010, issue of People magazine. In “Notes from a Country Doctor,” (http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20427066,00.html) writer Alicia Dennis profiled Krishnan and her experiences attending house calls. House calls are a frequent experience during fourth-year rural rotations for the osteopathic medical students at LMU-DCOM.

“Black Bag Warriors” will feature LMU-DCOM students as they pursue their fourth year clinical rotations in rural Appalachia. During the clinical rotations phase of medical school, students are assigned to mentor physicians, known as preceptors, who teach the students in clinical settings. During their fourth year of osteopathic medical school, LMU-DCOM students are required to complete a rural primary care rotation. Many of the physicians involved in these rotations have occasion to make home visits to their patients. As a result, LMU-DCOM students receive valuable experience in treating patients in this unique setting.

“‘Black Bag Warriors’ is the docu-drama reality based series I have dreamt of developing and producing,” said Gelbaum. “Our focus will be on our fourth-year osteopathic medical students at LMU-DCOM as they make their rounds in the heart of Appalachia, providing a glimpse of a world of poverty, pride and persistence most of us have never seen. They will go house to house in some of the most underserved rural parts of America, providing the best patient care they can provide under these less than ideal circumstances and learning what healing is all about.”

“The decision to participate in a reality series production is an innovative and groundbreaking one, and it is something that we considered with great care,” said Ray E. Stowers, DO, vice president and dean of LMU-DCOM. “Perhaps this series will even revive some interest in the centuries-old practice of house calls in medicine.”

“We hope to show viewers the quality care our students and our partner physicians in the community are providing to the patients of Appalachia,” said Stowers. “Often such care involves going literally extra miles to visit these patients in their homes. We believe the LMU-DCOM students that get to experience house calls gain extra insight and expertise into quality patient care. When I was a practicing family physician in rural Oklahoma, I made regular house calls as part of my practice and support this value being passed on to the LMU-DCOM students.”

“We look forward to working with Dennis Gelbaum and ramp it up entertainment,” said Stowers. “His extensive experience in the field as well as his knowledge and familiarity with osteopathic medicine made him a great fit for this project.”

“‘Black Bag Warriors’ will be character driven, intimate and hopeful in tonality, creating warmth and celebrating life,” said Gelbaum. “We will go on a journey that will motivate, inspire and often teach us something unexpected. The stories of the students, the doctors, the patients and their families will always be engaging, dramatic, funny and very personal... but never predictable. Our medical students will wish they could do more - as if making house calls and being a black bag warrior isn’t enough!”

ramp it up entertainment, a creative boutique and full service multimedia company, creates unique opportunities for people, institutions, companies and brands to tell their story. For more information, call 1-201-887-6012, email dennisg@rampitupentertainment.com or visit us online at www.rampitupentertainment.com.

The DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine is located on the campus of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. LMU-DCOM is an integral part of LMU’s values-based learning community, and is dedicated to preparing the next generation of osteopathic physicians to provide health care in the often underserved region of Appalachia and beyond. For more information about LMU-DCOM, call 1-800-325-0900, ext. 7082, e-mail dcom@lmunet.edu, or visit us online at www.lmunet.edu/dcom.

For more information, contact: Amy Drittler
Associate Director of Public Relations
Phone: 423-869-7108
Fax: 423-869-7078
E-mail: amy.drittler@LMUnet.edu

###
Contact
ramp it up entertainment
Dennis Gelbaum
201-887-6012
http://www.rampitupentertainment.com
ContactContact
Categories