Christopher Childs
Education & Outreach Librarian
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences
University of Iowa

Partnering for Patient Empowerment Through Community Awareness (PPECA) Article

Rhonda Reimer, the Special Project Coordinator of the Pella Regional Health Center in Pella, IA, and I recently collaborated on an article for the Focus On Patient Safety, the official newsletter of the National Patient Safety Foundation.  The article, entitled Hospital Uses PPECA “Train the Trainer” Program to Help Community Groups Empower Patients, discusses the PPECA  presentation made at the hospital and how the staff took the knowledge gained and created their own community outreach program on patient safety.

You can read this article by going to http://npsf.org/paf/npsfp/fo/pdf/Focus_Volume_12_%20Issue_1.pdf

Brenda Fay
Lead Librarian
Aurora Libraries-Aurora Sinai Medical Center
Milwaukee, WI

60^th Annual Wisconsin Student Nurses’ Association Conference, Wisconsin Dells

The Wisconsin Health Sciences Library Association (WHSLA) once again exhibited at the annual Wisconsin Student Nurses’ Association (WSNA) Annual Convention on February 14, 2009, at Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells, WI. Over 200 nursing students, faculty, and nursing leaders from across Wisconsin attended the meeting. (more…)

Anna Ercoli Schnitzer
InfoPoint Librarian
Health Sciences Libraries
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

The Give Kids a Smile free annual dental care event, held at the University of Michigan (U of M) School of Dentistry on February 7, 2009, was extremely well attended. Members of the Health Sciences Libraries contacted schools, PTO, and an online paper to help publicize the event.

A lengthy line of parents and children aged 5 through 12 were already waiting at the door of the building by 8:30 am. The many pre-dental and dental students, volunteering dentists, and all their assistants were very welcoming,  kind and friendly. Several dental students walked around to demonstrate how to brush one’s teeth using a huge toothbrush and employing a stuffed animal’s mouth. (more…)

Anna Ercoli Schnitzer
InfoPoint Librarian
Health Sciences Libraries
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

Three years in a row at the Asian American Health Fair

The University of Michigan (U of M) Health Sciences Libraries once again staffed a booth at the Asian American Health Fair, giving out reliable MedlinePlus information as well as MedlinePlus pens. On January 31, 2009, we distributed about 50 pens and a multitude of different National Library of Medicine (NLM) brochures, including information from the Asian American Health site: http://asianamericanhealth.nlm.nih.gov/. Once again, the information that was targeted specifically to the Asian American group was very popular. Fair participants also appreciated learning that MedlinePlus information was available in multiple Asian  languages as well as in English. (more…)

Anna Ercoli Schnitzer
InfoPoint Librarian
Health Sciences Libraries
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

Women’s Health and Fitness Day Event 2009

Sponsored by the University of Michigan (UM) Medical School, various University of Michigan Health System units, and even a few grocery stores, the 2009 Annual Women’s Health and Fitness Day Event took place at Ypsilanti High School in Michigan on Saturday, January 24th. The event had been organized and was facilitated by the UM Women Medical Students. (more…)

The goal of GMR’s outreach programs is to expand partnerships and implement activities with network members and other institutions and organizations to improve awareness of and access to health information resources for health professionals, the public health workforce, and members of the public. So how do network members find one another to form these partnerships? How do institutions and organizations who have providing health information as part of their mission become GMR members? The answers to both questions can be found on the GMR’s website. (more…)