Award Report- Projecto Salud
The mission of Projecto Salud was to provide St. Francis Hospital’s clinic, the Center of Hope, access to viable health information. The goal was to improve healthcare by focusing on health literacy, as well as, improving patient services. The Technology Innovation Award from the National Library of Medicine Middle States supported this goal.
The Center of Hope is a community outreach facility located in Newark Delaware. The clinic serves the poor and underserved people in the area. It is a large Family Practice office whose patient population is approximately seventy percent Hispanic.
A combination of teaching skills and new technology was utilized to improve access to health resources. The clinic’s staff was educated on the resources from the National Library of Medicine (including the Doctors!). English and Spanish low literacy materials were explored and selected for patient education.
Learning how to search and evaluate the NLM resources was a considerable accomplishment for the staff. Initially basic computer skills were reviewed and then they learned how to search MedlinePlus quite efficiently. By the end of the training the staff could organize their findings using folders and files.
The new computers and printers replaced the old and unreliable equipment. Overall, the upgraded technology improved the office efficiency at the Center of Hope. Patient education was further enhanced with the new printers.
A series of patient education workshops were offered at the clinic. A bilingual librarian ran these workshops which were well received.
Collectively the staff at the Center of Hope acquired many new skills which made them more comfortable serving their patients. There is new sense of confidence and determination amongst the staff. Coupled with the new technology the clinic is moving forward in a positive direction.
Rosemary Figorito - St. Francis Medical Center. Wilmington, Delaware.
