R - Read a book on a selected topic
E - Enjoy talking about the book and its topic with others
W - Watch a movie on the topic
A - Analyze the topical points in the movie
R - Review the literature using a topic bibliography
D - Discuss the topic with an expert
S - Share the topical information with a friend

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• UPCOMING PROGRAM
• GENERAL INFORMATION
• ARCHIVE
• CONTACT INFORMATION
• See also: SCIENCE IN THE CINEMA

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UPCOMING PROGRAM

The next REWARDS program will be offered in the spring of 2009.

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GENERAL INFORMATION

REWARDS is a collaboration between Occupational Health Services (OHS), the Frederick Employee Diversity Team (EDT), and the Scientific Library. This multi-part program is designed to help attendees learn more about consumer health topics through participation in Movie Showings, Invited Speaker Talks, and Topic Discussions that include a book selection.

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ARCHIVE

Whenever possible, we videotape the REWARDS speakers, purchase multiple copies of the books, and buy videotapes or DVDs of the movies. We then package them together and add them to the Scientific Library's Center for Health Information collection, so that Library barcode holders may check them out to view at home.

Here is a list of previous REWARDS programs available from the Scientific Library. The list is organized alphabetically by consumer health topic.

• ALCOHOL ABUSE
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00204
     BOOK: SMASHED: THE STORY OF A DRUNKEN GIRLHOOD   by Koren Zailckas; Call Number: Reading Diversions WM 274 .Z22 2006 (10 copies)
  An eye-opening and gripping memoir, Koren Zailckas's story is that of thousands of girls like her who are not alcoholics-yet-but who routinely use booze as a shortcut to courage and a stand-in for good judgment.
  Book Discussion Questions
     MOVIE: 28 DAYS
  This 2000 drama stars Sandra Bullock. After having a car accident while drunk on the day of her sister's wedding, Gwen Cummings is given a choice between prison or a rehab center. She chooses rehab, but is extremely resistant to taking part in any of the treatment programs they have to offer, refusing to admit that she has an alcohol addiction.
     DOCUMENTARIES:
  1) BINGE DRINKING
  This 19-minute program shows how drinking too much too fast can be deadly. It explains what to do if someone develops acute alcohol poisoning.
  2) ALONE IN THE DARK
  This 30-minute program is a suspenseful drama that depicts the lethal dangers of alcohol, and shows how actions have consequences.
     INVITED SPEAKER: Mr. Mike Saponara, a MD certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, who is currently a Primary Addictions Counselor at Mountain Manor Outpatient and Safe Haven Counseling Center
  No Web Bibliography is available for this program.

• ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00175
     BOOK: THE NOTEBOOK   by Nicholas Sparks; Call Number: Reading Diversions PS 3569 .P363 .S736 2004 (10 copies)
  The story unfolds as an older gentleman reads a story to an older woman in a nursing home. Through flashbacks we see the development of a love story. The connection between the old and the young becomes clear as the older woman exhibits signs of Alzheimer's disease.
  Book Discussion Questions
     MOVIES:
  1) IRIS
  The movie is a tender, emotional depiction of novelist Iris Murdoch (Judy Dench and Kate Winslet) as she struggles with Alzheimer's disease. It covers the period from just before her marriage to intellectual John Bayley (Jim Broadbent and Hugh Bonneville) until her death.
  2) THE NOTEBOOK
  This poignant movie, starring Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, James Garner, and Gena Rowlands, is based on the Nicholas Sparks novel.
     INVITED SPEAKER: Dr. Edward Feher, Frederick neuropsychologist
  Web Bibliography

• AUTISM
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00171
     BOOK: CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME   by Mark Haddon; Call Number: Reading Diversions WM 203.5 .H116 2003 (10 copies)
  Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.
  Book Discussion Questions
     MOVIE: SILENT FALL
  Richard Dreyfuss plays a psychiatrist who attempts to treat an autistic boy who witnessed his parents' murders. The child only communicates by imitating others.
     INVITED SPEAKERS:
  1) Dr. Ralph McBee, Psy.D., Co-Director of Services, Monocacy Neurodevelopmental Center, Frederick, MD
  2) Ms. Paula Mathis, Parent and Registered Nurse, Occupational Health Services, NCI-Frederick
  Web Bibliography

• CIVIL WAR MEDICINE
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00198
     BOOK: MANHUNT: THE 12-DAY CHASE FOR LINCOLN'S KILLER   by James L. Swanson; Call Number: Reading Diversions E 457.5 .S972 2006 (10 copies)
  For 12 days after his brazen assassination of Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth was at large, and in MANHUNT, historian James L. Swanson tells the vivid, fully documented tale of his escape and the wild, massive pursuit.
  Book Discussion Questions
     MOVIE:THE DAY LINCOLN WAS SHOT
  This 1998 made-for-TV movie, starring Rob Morrow and Lance Henriksen, is based on the book by Jim Bishop. The movie is a thrilling and detailed chronicle of the plot, murder, and manhunt that changed America forever.
     INVITED SPEAKER:
  Mr. Jason Grabill, a Civil War Surgeon re-enactor and historian, and a docent with the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Frederick, MD
  Web Bibliography

• CYSTIC FIBROSIS
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00178
     BOOK: ALEX: THE LIFE OF A CHILD   by Frank Deford; Call Number: Reading Diversions WI 8920 .D315 (10 copies)
  The book tells the moving story of Alexandra Deford, a very courageous young girl who lost her battle with cystic fibrosis at the age of 8.
  Book Discussion Questions
     MOVIE: ALEX: THE LIFE OF A CHILD
  This inspiring, 1986 made-for-TV movie starring Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia, is based on Frank Deford's book.
     INVITED SPEAKERS: Dr. Mike Dean,head of the Human Genetics Section of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, Dr. Bert Gold, senior staff scientist and licensed genetic counselor
  Web Bibliography

• DEAFNESS
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00176
     BOOK: IN THIS SIGN   by Joanne Greenberg; Call Number: Reading Diversions PS 3557.R3784 .G795 1984 (10 copies)
  A young, deaf, married couple navigate the strange world of the hearing as they raise a hearing daughter.
  Book Discussion Questions
     MOVIE: CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD
  William Hurt plays a newly-hired teacher at a school for deaf children, where he meets the deaf janitor, played by Marlee Matlin. While trying to teach deaf students how to speak, Hurt also reaches out to the withdrawn, antisocial Matlin.
     INVITED SPEAKERS: Ms. Lisa Houck and Ms. Louise Hansch, Itinerant Teachers for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Frederick County Public Schools
  NOTE: No speaker video is available for this topic.
  Web Bibliography

• DEATH AND DYING: ALIVE AND WELL IN THE 21st CENTURY
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00216
     BOOK:TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE    by Mitch Albom; Call Number: Reading Diversions WE 550 .A339 1997 (7 printed copies and 1 audio CD)
  This 1997 best selling non-fiction book tells the true story of Morrie Schwartz and his relationship with his student Mitch Albom. It chronicles the lessons about life that Mitch learns from his professor, who is dying from amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
  Book Discussion Questions
     MOVIES:
  1) FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN
  This movie tells the story of a war vet and maintenance worker at the Ruby Pier amusement park, who dies while trying to save a girl sitting under a falling ride. When he awakens in the afterlife, he encounters five people with ties to his corporeal existence who help him understand the meaning of his life.
  2) THE BUCKET LIST
  This film traces the adventures of the two unlikely friends, who meet in a hospital cancer ward, each given six months to live. The "bucket list" of the title refers to a lifelong list of goals that one of the men compiles to achieve "before you kick the bucket." The two go off on what may be the last grand adventure of their life, vowing to tick off as many goals as they can in the time they have left.
     INVITED PANEL OF SPEAKERS:
  1) Ms. Cheryl Parrott, Director of Communications at NCI-Frederick
  2) Ms. Andrea Warnick, R.N.
  3) Ms. Marlene Lee, former American Red Cross Volunteer of the Year, Disaster Services, National Capital Area
  4) Mr. Selden Cooper, On-Site Employee Assistance Program Provider at NCI-Frederick
  No Web Bibliography is available for this program.

• DEPRESSION
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00188
     BOOK: A LONG WAY DOWN   by Nick Hornby; Call Number: Reading Diversions PR 6058.O689 L66 2005 (10 copies)
  This book tells the story of four very different people who encounter one another on the roof of a London building on New Year's Eve, where they are all contemplating suicide.
  Book Discussion Questions
     MOVIES:
  1)PERMANENT RECORD
  In this 1988 movie starring Keanu Reeves, a surprise suicide of a teenage boy affects everyone in the community in different ways.
  2) GIRL, INTERRUPTED
  In this hard-hitting 1999 movie starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, a young woman who has attempted suicide is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where she meets other women with emotional problems.
     INVITED SPEAKER: Ms. Suzanne Borg, Program Director for the Frederick County Hotline, Frederick County Mental Health Association
  Web Bibliography

• DIABETES
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00190
     BOOK: GOING TO THE SUN by James McManus; Call Number: Reading Diversions PZ 4 .M167 1996 (10 copies)
  A young diabetic woman takes a solo bike trek from Chicago to Alaska, a journey that helps her come to terms with a past heartbreak and present health issues.
  Book Discussion Questions
     MOVIE: STEEL MAGNOLIAS
  This 1989 movie stars Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine, and Daryl Hannah as a close-knit group of friends who share their lives in a small town in Louisiana. One member of the group has Type 1 diabetes, a situation that affects everyone in different ways.
     INVITED SPEAKER: Ms. Linda Hicks, Registered Nurse and Certified Diabetes Educator with the FMH Diabetes Center.
  Web Bibliography

• HEART DISORDERS
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00174
     BOOK: TAKING ON HEART DISEASE: Peggy Fleming, Brian Littrell, Mike Ditka, Walter Cronkite, Joyce Carol Oates, Eddie Griffin, Mike Wallace, Kate Jackson, Ed Bradley, Tommy Lasorda, Pat Buchanan, Victoria Gotti, Regis Philbin, and others...reveal how they triumphed over the nation's #1 killer and how you can, too   by Larry King; Call Number: Reading Diversions WG 200 .K5356 2004 (10 copies)
  The author takes the reader through his experience with heart disease, and explores stories of others who also faced it, whose names and work are known to the general public.
  Book Discussion Questions
     MOVIE: SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
  An older man (Jack Nicholson) suffers a heart attack at the home of his younger girlfriend's mother (Diane Keaton). Keanu Reeves plays the cardiac doctor caring for Nicholson.
     INVITED SPEAKER: Dr. John Vitarello, Frederick cardiologist
  Web Bibliography

• LAUGH FOR THE HEALTH OF IT!
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00206
     BOOK: SATURDAY MORNINGS   by Mark Butt; Call Number: Reading Diversions WM 90 .B988 2006 (2 copies)
  This book is a compilation of the author's weekly newspaper columns published in the Frederick News Post.
  There are no Discussion Questions for this book.
     MOVIES:
  1) MRS. DOUBTFIRE
  This 1993 comedy stars Robin Williams, Sally Field, and Pierce Brosnan. After a bitter divorce, an actor disguises himself as a female housekeeper so he can spend time with his three children.
  2) YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
  This 1974 Mel Brooks comedy stars Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, and Marty Feldman. Dr. Frankenstein's grandson, after years of living down the family reputation, inherits granddad's castle and repeats the experiments.
  COMPANION DOCUMENTARIES: HOW SERIOUS IS THIS?, HUMOR YOUR STRESS, THE JOY OF STRESS, LIFE IS NOT A STRESS REHEARSAL
     INVITED SPEAKER: Dr. Mark Butt, Frederick scientist/columnist/humorist
  List of Jokes

• MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS 00215
     BOOK: A SUNDOG MOMENT   by Sharon Baldacci; Call Number: Reading Diversions RC 377 .B175 2006 (8 copies)
  In this novel, Elizabeth Whittaker's seemingly perfect life is derailed after a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The disease affects her relationships with the well-meaning people who love her but don't know how to help her. Although the book is fictional, the author has suffered from multiple sclerosis for the last 20 years, so the story is realistic and authentic.
  Book Discussion Questions
     MOVIE: HILARY AND JACKIE
  This film follows the true story of the tragic life of the brilliant international concert cellist Jacqueline Du Pre and her sister, Hilary. Hilary's devotion to her sister causes them to take some rather drastic measures in their lives. The irony of having a great musical ability fades away as Jacqueline transcends into a slow decline when struck with multiple sclerosis.
  COMPANION DOCUMENTARIES: LIVING WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, ASPECTS OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
  Web Bibliography

• SMOKING AND TOBACCO
  Call Number for entire set: Center for Health Information AV OHS
      BOOK: GASP!: A NOVEL OF REVENGE   by Frank Freudberg; Call Number: Reading Diversions PS 3556 .F889 1996 (5 copies)
  Martin Muntor, dying from cancer after decades of heavy smoking, vows to wreak his revenge upon the industry that is killing him by distributing poisoned cigarettes and creating havoc.
  GASP! Discussion Questions
     MOVIE: THE INSIDER
  Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) is a former tobacco scientist who exposes big tobacco's lies about cigarettes. 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) reports Wigand's story, in spite of corporate objections.
  COMPANION DOCUMENTARIES: MODERN MARVELS: TOBACCO, NOT A COUGH IN A CARLOAD, DREAM STEALERS, IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE WHO SMOKES, GET THEM TO WATCH THIS VIDEO
     INVITED SPEAKER: Dr. Michael Dean, Head, Human Genetics Section of the Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, NCI-Frederick, and author of the book EMPTY CRIBS: THE IMPACT OF SMOKING ON CHILD HEALTH
     INVITED SPEAKER: Mr. Todd Crum, Frederick County Health Department
  Web Bibliography
   

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CONTACT INFORMATION

We encourage suggestions for consumer health topics or books or movies or speakers for our REWARDS programs. If you have a suggestion, you can email any of the representatives from the Scientific Library, Occupational Health Services (OHS), or the Frederick Employee Diversity Team (EDT).