The McHenry Medical Office, an outpatient clinic run by the Stanislaus County Heath Services Agency, recently received a state health grant to support a 30-second radio commercial designed to raise awareness of family planning services to women.

The radio spot is titled "I'm a Woman . . . That's Me," and has received the Gold Award for radio advertising in the Spanish category of the prestigious 1998 Mercury Awards contest. There were over 250 entries for the Mercury Awards, which are open to radio advertising representing all industries.

Tina Love-Ridley and Samantha Phillips-Bland from the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency were part of the creative task force which developed the concepts and creative direction for the commercial. They worked with the advertising agency Muse, Cordero & Chen which was selected by the State of California Family Health Council to implement the project.

According to Samantha Phillips-Bland, Director of Family Planning for the Health Services Agency, "Our goal was to develop something that was creative enough so people would want to listen. Sometimes people tune out health information, but this was an important message that needed to be heard."

The radio spot was only one part of a health education and promotion campaign targeting women in Stanislaus County regarding the importance of reproductive health care and the availability of services through the county's network of ambulatory clinics.

The commercials can be heard on local radio stations for the remainder of this year.