OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. - August 25, 2008) A new grant from The Commonwealth Fund will be used by The Joint Commission to revise and develop accreditation standards for culturally competent patient-centered care in hospitals across America. This standards development initiative builds upon The Joint Commission’s ongoing Hospitals, Language, and Culture: A Snapshot of the Nation study that examines how hospitals in the United States respond to the diverse cultural and language needs of their patients.The Joint Commission is currently seeking nominations for the Expert Advisory Panel. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. The deadline to submit nominations is Monday, September 8, 2008. Read more at http://tinyurl.com/5fhryd [scb]

We are fast approaching National Medical Librarians Month, October 2008! Take advantage of this opportunity to submit a project that you would like to see highlighted on the NLM public web site. Submit project descriptions, the personnel responsible for implementation, and the name of the institution where the project took place to the Claire Hamasu, chamasu@RML4.utah.edu. Only logos will be accepted. No photos or other graphics, please.

Deadline for submissions is Wednesday, September 10, 2008.

To see highlighted projects for National Medical Librarians Month 2007 go to: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/lo/profiles07/

National Training Center and Clearinghouse (NTCC) trainers will be training just prior to MCMLA in Cody. Add some FREE professional development to your schedule.

Learn new skills and brush up old ones.

• NLM Gateway & ClinicalTrials.gov - Friday, October 3, 2008 2:00pm-6:00pm
• PubMed - Saturday, October 4, 2008 - 8:30am-5:00pm

Register at: http://nnlm.gov/ntcc/classes/register.html?schedule_id=430

Register today! (mm)

NN/LM MidContinental Region Offices and NLM will be closed on Monday, September 1, 2008 for the Labor Day Holiday.

MCMLA Library Advocacy Task Force is sponsoring a contest for “Frontier Forerunners of Library Marketing and Promotion!” Here is your chance to show off your marketing project or promotional activities that you have used to improve or expand services in your library or for your users. MCR members are encouraged to submit materials to Marketing and Promotion Categories: you may enter one or both categories

Prizes for the best entry scoring above 80 points will be awarded. Entries will be evaluated on Design, Presentation and Evaluation Criteria. Entries should be submitted to Barb Jones jonesbarb@health.missouri.edu by September 1, 2008. Judges for the contest will be members of the MCMLA Library Advocacy Task Force. All entries are encouraged to display their projects and promotional materials at the Marketing Booth at MCMLA. The winners will be announced at MCMLA 2008 in Cody, Wyoming. (bbj)

http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2008/drillelempr.htm
Hospitals can now identify the most important strengths and weaknesses in their disaster response plans using a new tool from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). [posted on PHPartners http://phpartners.org/ - New Links for the week of Aug 22, 2008 [scb]

Please join your colleagues in Cody, Wyoming for the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Midcontinental Chapter of the Medical Library Association, “Open Spaces, Frontier Places” : October 3-7. It’s a great opportunity to focus on health and information access on our rural and urban frontiers!

To learn more about the conference, visit the website: http://www.mcmla.org/meetings/2008/index.html and the conference wiki: http://mcmla2008openspaces.wetpaint.com [jh]

Due to problems with the Adobe Connect server, the August 21 online class, “Microblogging Using Twitter and Friendfeed,” has been canceled. The class will be rescheduled for Thursday, September 18, from 1 - 2 p.m. MT, 2 - 3 p.m. CT. [SD]

Public’s Use of the Internet for Health Information Rapidly Escalates
A national study released today by the Center for Studying Health System Change shows that Americans are increasingly looking for health information from sources other than medical professionals. In 2007, 56 percent of American adults sought health information from a source other than their own doctor, up from 38 percent in 2001. The proportion of Americans using the Internet for personal health information doubled since 2001.
Read the news release. http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=33852&c=EMC-CA142
Read the study. http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=33774&c=EMC-CA142
[from the RWJF Contents Alert]

From the Center for Studying Health System Change, see Tracking Report No. 20, August 2008 http://www.hschange.org/CONTENT/1006/ [scb]